Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British author (1916–1990) best known for darkly whimsical children's books including *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, *Matilda*, and *James and the Giant Peach*.
His stories characteristically feature plucky child protagonists triumphing over cruel or incompetent adults, with gleefully macabre humor throughout.
He also wrote acclaimed short fiction for adults, often with twist endings, and the screenplay for the James Bond film *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang*.
Practitioners of dark magic
- giantsBeings of immense stature
- magicSupernatural or illusory power
- chocolate factoryFacility producing cocoa-based sweets
- dreamsInvoluntary sleep visions
telekinesis · inventions · concoctions · glass elevator · golden ticket · everlasting gobstopper · Willy Wonka · imagination
Female name, strength-in-combat meaning
- CharliePhonetic alphabet's third
- JamesTraditional masculine name
- SophieFeminine name, Greek origin
- DannyMale nickname
The BFG · The Witches · Fantastic Mr Fox · Quentin Blake · illustrations · bedtime · read-aloud
Disturbing, death-obsessed
- sardonicGrimly mocking
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
revenge · cruelty · comeuppance · villains · punishment · black comedy · wickedness · menace
Nonsense word meaning delectable
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- neologismsNewly invented words
- portmanteauWord combining two others
- nonsenseMeaningless words or actions
Writer of prose narratives
- BritishOf the United Kingdom
- literatureBody of written works
- fictionImagined narrative work
- screenwriterAuthor of film scripts
autobiography · The Witches · Someone Like You · wartime · RAF · spy · Wales
witches
Practitioners of dark magic
- giantsBeings of immense stature
- magicSupernatural or illusory power
- chocolate factoryFacility producing cocoa-based sweets
dreams · telekinesis · inventions · concoctions · glass elevator · golden ticket · everlasting gobstopper · Willy Wonka · imagination · wonder
Matilda
Female name, strength-in-combat meaning
The BFG · Danny · The Witches · Fantastic Mr Fox · Quentin Blake · illustrations · bedtime · read-aloud
macabre
Disturbing, death-obsessed
- sardonicGrimly mocking
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
sinister · revenge · cruelty · comeuppance · villains · punishment · black comedy · wickedness · menace · spite
scrumdiddlyumptious
Nonsense word meaning delectable
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- neologismsNewly invented words
- portmanteauWord combining two others
novelist
Writer of prose narratives
- BritishOf the United Kingdom
- literatureBody of written works
- fictionImagined narrative work
screenwriter · autobiography · The Witches · Someone Like You · wartime · RAF · spy · Wales
- NovelistsStephen King, Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen
- British AuthorsCharles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Shakespeare
- Short Story WritersAnton Chekhov, Guy de Maupassant, O. Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Alice Munro
- Welsh PeopleAnthony Hopkins, Richard Burton, Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dylan Thomas
- Humorous PoetsOgden Nash, Shel Silverstein, Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss, W.S. Gilbert
- children's booksfairy tales, nursery rhymes, picture books, bedtime stories, Harry Potter
Roald DahlA.A. Milne
Beatrix Potter · Laura Ingalls Wilder · L.M. Montgomery · Louisa May Alcott · Beverly Cleary
Roald DahlC.S. Lewis
Madeleine L'Engle · J.R.R. Tolkien · Laura Ingalls Wilder · Louisa May Alcott
Roald DahlC.S. Lewis
Madeleine L'Engle · redemption narratives · turn the other cheek · preachy · moralizing