Facts
- Dahl wrote many of his stories in a little shed at the bottom of his garden. In his “writing hut”, as he called it, Dahl sat in a battered old armchair and penned famous tales such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Dahl wrote for around four hours every single day, from 10am-12pm, and then 4pm-6pm
- Dahl was a spy. During World War II, he passed intelligence from Washington to MI6.
- He never learned how to type. Instead, Dahl preferred to do all his writing in pencil.
- When he died in 1990, he was buried with some of his favourite things, including a power drill, chocolate, snooker cues and of course, his HB pencils.
Quotes
“A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.”
“So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookcase on the wall.”
“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.”
“It’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren’t feeling twinkly yourself.”
“Don’t gobblefunk around with words.”
Declassified 08/06/2018
