Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 to Norwegian parents. When he was three years old, his father and older sister died, leaving his mother to raise three children alone. From age 13, he attended Repton, an English boarding school in Derbyshire.

Dahl’s life and career were varied. As well as being a writer, he served as a fighter pilot and intelligence officer in World War II and later became an assistant air attaché in Washington, DC. For 30 years, he was married to American actress Patricia Neal. Together, they had five children. Dahl died at age 74 in 1990, having published 19 novels and 13 short story collections in his lifetime. He also produced several screenplays, including “You Only Live Twice” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” adapted from the novels by his friend Ian Fleming. Over time, Dahl’s popularity as a children’s author has overshadowed his earlier fiction for adults.

Dahl’s early life experiences shaped the themes of his work. In his autobiography, Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984), the author described how teachers at Repton boarding school savagely beat their pupils. Dahl was traumatized by his time at the school, and his fiction frequently critiques the abuse of power over the young, weak, or helpless.