D is for Dahl Read online

  Mama ~ This is what Roald Dahl called his mother—Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg Dahl. She was an incredible woman and the most important influence in Roald’s life. She was widowed when he was only three years old and she was pregnant with her fifth child. From then on, she brought up her children single-handed, taking them to Tenby in Pembrokeshire every Easter and Norway every summer. She inspired one of the loveliest characters in The Witches—the grandmother. Sofie was a wonderful storyteller and had an amazing memory for detail. (See Family Tree.)

  M is for Maze

  Master forger ~ Roald Dahl once painted a copy of a Cézanne landscape and hung it on his sitting-room wall. It fools everyone but the real art experts.

  Matilda ~ This book might have been very different. In Roald Dahl’s original draft, the main character was a boy called Jimmy. Then he became Matilda, who was a wicked girl who died from exhaustion when she used her powers to lift a truck off a minibus. Like his readers, Roald was delighted with the final version of Matilda, which had been an idea for twenty years before it became a finished book.

  Maze ~ There’s an amazing maze in the garden of Roald Dahl’s home, with surprises at every turn. Some of the best lines from his books—chosen by family, friends, and those who worked with him—are carved into slabs of York stone dotted throughout the maze. Here are a couple of quotations in the maze:

  M is for Maze

  Mary, Mary quite contrary

  How does your garden grow?

  “I live with a brat in a high-rise flat,

  So how in the world would I know?”

  “I know full well my tummy’s bulging

  But oh how I adore indulging.”

  Meanest man alive ~ Roald Dahl always used to say that the meanest man alive was the kind of person who would buy a turkey at Christmas, cut it in two, and freeze half for Easter.

  Meccano ~ When Roald Dahl was given a Meccano set one Christmas, he immediately put his thinking cap on. He soon had the bright idea of making a machine that would drop a waterfall onto passersby. He built this mischievous machine with great care and it worked splendidly—but unfortunately, his two lady victims were not amused. Result? The Meccano set was confiscated for the rest of the holiday.

  M is for Alert!

  The Minpins ~ Although he loved Quentin Blake’s work, Roald Dahl realized that this picture book needed a totally different style of illustration. A competition was held among several illustrators and it was Patrick Benson’s work that Roald liked most. His beautifully detailed pictures suit the story perfectly.

  Missing! ~ Roald Dahl ruthlessly chopped two revolting children out of the final version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Marvin Prune was a conceited boy, while Miranda Mary Piker was allowed to do anything she wanted. (Apart from appear in one of Roald’s books, it would seem.)

  Mole alert! ~ Roald Dahl didn’t attack the moles that dared to create molehills all over his garden. He deafened them instead. Here’s how he did it:

  M is for Mole alert!

  First, he buried an empty wine bottle near a molehill, leaving the neck sticking out.

  When the wind blew across the bottle, it made a humming sound that went on. . .

  3.. . . and on. . .

  4.. . . and on. . .

  5.. . . until the noise drove the moles so crazy that they moved out of Roald’s garden! Luckily there were no neighbors around Gipsy House.

  Mozart ~ Dahl was fascinated to learn that the eighteenth-century classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was already composing music when he was only five years old. This was one of the things that made him realize that adults often underestimate children. So he created the brilliant Matilda, who taught herself to read when she was just three years old.

  M is for Mushrooming

  Mushrooming ~ Mushroom-picking was one of Roald Dahl’s hobbies in later life. He loved to go out early in the morning, in his gumboots and with his dog Chopper for company, to gather mushrooms, hidden like jewels among the cowpats in the local field. (Hope he didn’t get them mixed up.)

  Did You Know?

  In France, you can take your mushrooms to the pharmacist to make sure they’re not poisonous. (Do not try this yourself!)

  M is for Mushrooming

  Liccy Dahl’s Recipe for Mushrooms on Toast

  Fry VERY fresh mushrooms with lots of butter.

  Pop them on to a hot piece of toast.

  Drizzle the juices on top of the mushrooms and toast and sprinkle them with a little salt.

  Eat at once.

  Mmm. . .

  Music ~ Roald Dahl liked listening to music by Beethoven in the morning—he hoped some of the great composer’s genius would rub off on him before he started work.

  Did You Know?

  Beethoven composed some of his best work when he was deaf.

  M is for Mystery motorcyclist

  Mystery motorcyclist ~ As a daredevil seventeen-year-old, Roald Dahl bought an old motorbike (a 500cc Ariel) and drove it to Repton School for his last term. He kept it a few miles away from the school and—disguised in a huge scarf and goggles—roared around the lanes whenever he could get out. Not a single teacher or prefect recognized him. He once said, “It gave me an amazing feeling of winged majesty and of independence.”

  Neal, Patricia ~ The Hollywood actress became Roald Dahl’s first wife in Trinity Church in New York in July 1953. It was such a hot day that Roald ripped out the lining of his suit to make it cooler. Patricia won an Academy Award—an Oscar—for her role in the film Hud (1963), in which she starred with Paul Newman. She and Roald were married for thirty years, had five children together, and divorced in 1983. (See Family Tree.)

  Newspaper and string ~ Roald Dahl was a great present-giver, always finding just the right gift for the right person. He wrapped his marvelous presents in newspaper and tied them with string. He also sometimes “gift-wrapped” presents in flowerpots!

  New York City ~ Roald Dahl lived in New York after the Second World War. He spent his time working on short stories for adults, trying hard to become established as a writer. It was a place he came to hate when his four-month-old son was hit in his stroller by a taxi.

  N is for Nose

  Nitpicking ~ Roald Dahl enjoyed research and made sure that his facts were spot on. Howiver, he woz a tirrible speller.

  Norway ~ Both Roald Dahl’s parents were from Norway. They spoke Norwegian to each other, and Roald and his sisters learned Norwegian before English. Roald visited Norway many times and took his own family there for holidays. They spent their time boating, fishing, snorkeling, and visiting a never-ending stream of Norwegian relatives. Do you know what this says? Jeg er en Roald Dahl vifte.

  Nose ~ Dahl’s nose had a rough life. It was nearly chopped off in an accident during his very first car journey. Then it was bashed in when his plane crash-landed during the Second World War. After the crash, the surgeon rebuilt his nose in the style of the terribly dashing silent-film star Rudolf Valentino. Ask a really old person—they might remember who he was.

  N is for Nose

  “The ear, nose, and throat man pulled my nose out of the back of my head, and shaped it, and now it looks just as before except that it’s a little bent about.”

  —ROALD DAHL

  Nurses ~ Roald Dahl thought nurses were wonderful, and made up lovely nicknames for all the ones who helped him on his many stays in hospital.

  Official photographer ~ Roald Dahl took the official photos on an expedition to Newfoundland when he was young. Look out for these splendid black-and-white photos at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre! He also took some good photographs when he was in Africa.

  Oil ~ When Roald Dahl finished school in 1934 he turned down his mother’s suggestion that he should go to the university because he desperately wanted to see the world. His first job was with the Shell Oil Company. After training in London and then selling oil in Somerset to old ladies, he was sent to work in the mysterious and exotic country of Tanganyika