Roald Dahl’s published works

1940s

1943 - The Gremlins

1940s

1943 - The Gremlins

Roald Dahl's first children's book was about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore.

1940s

1946 - Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying

1940s

1946 - Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying

Ten terrifying tales of life as a wartime fighter pilot inspired by Roald Dahl's time during World War II.

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1940s

1948 - Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen

1940s

1948 - Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen

Roald's first adult novel, inspired by his time as a fighter pilot during World War II.

This is a darker take on his children’s book The Gremlins.

1950s

1953 - Someone Like You

1950s

1953 - Someone Like You

A collection of short stories for adults with a darker and more sinister side.

Includes the short stories The Ratcatcher and Poison which have recently been adapted for the screen by Wes Anderson.

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1960s

1960 - Kiss Kiss

1960s

1960 - Kiss Kiss

A collection of eleven short stories for adults.

The book features The Champion of the World which Dahl would later rework into the children’s book Danny the Champion of the World, published in 1975.

“Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn't be exciting if they didn't.”

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1960s

1961 - James and the Giant peach

1960s

1961 - James and the Giant peach

One of Roald Dahl's best-loved books. A magical tale about a peach that doesn't stop growing.

Roald Dahl had the idea for the story after observing fruit growing on the trees in his garden in Great Missenden.

The first edition is illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, and later illustrated by Michael Simeon, Emma Chichester Clark, Lane Smith and Quentin Blake.

It was made into a feature-length film directed by Henry Selick in 1996.

“A little magic can take you a long way.”

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1960s

1964 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

1960s

1964 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

A story about 5 lucky children who win a Golden Ticket to a chocolate factory.

Originally inspired by Roald Dahl’s time at Repton School in Derbyshire. Roald said that local chocolate companies would send the boys sweets to taste-test.

The book has also been adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. A prequel called Wonka was released in 2023.

“I am the maker of music, the dreamer of dreams!”

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1960s

1966 - The Magic Finger

1960s

1966 - The Magic Finger

A children's book featuring an unnamed 8-year-old girl with magical powers.

Its working title was The Almost Ducks.

“I PUT THE MAGIC FINGER ON THEM ALL!”

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1970s

1970 - Fantastic Mr Fox

1970s

1970 - Fantastic Mr Fox

A book about an incredible fox that takes on three local farmers.

Fantastic Mr Fox was inspired by the local Chiltern countryside close to where Roald Dahl lived.

It originally started life as a picture book for young children. The first draft text is in a hard back notebook, cut up by Roald and sellotaped in to form a ‘picture book’ with Roald’s rough line drawings above the text.

“Mr Fox used to live under the roots of this tree and he made a burrow all the way down this lane to the village, and then from there he would make tunnels going up into various shops of the village. ”

Roald Dahl

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1970s

1972 - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

1970s

1972 - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

The story is a sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and picks up directly from the end of the first book.

Roald said he wrote Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator as a response to all the letters he had been receiving from children asking for another Charlie book.

“We must hurry!’ said Mr. Wonka. ‘We have so much time and so little to do! No! Wait! Strike that! Reverse it!”

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1970s

1974 - Switch Bitch

1970s

1974 - Switch Bitch

A collection of short stories that feature very adult subject matter exploring a darker side of desire.

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1970s

1975 - Danny the Champion of the World

1970s

1975 - Danny the Champion of the World

A book about a father and son greatly inspired by local people and places.

In one of Roald’s Ideas Books we can see an idea for hiding poached rabbits in a pram. This has been ticked off with ‘The Champion of the World’ scribbled next to it.

The book also features the first mention of the BFG.

“Grown ups are complicated creatures, full of quirks and secrets.”

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1970s

1977 - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

1970s

1977 - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

A collection of seven short stories aimed at older children.

One of the stories, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, has recently been adapted by Wes Anderson for Netflix.

“The very rich are enormously resentful of bad weather. It is the one discomfort that their money cannot do anything about.”

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1970s

1978 - The Enormous Crocodile

1970s

1978 - The Enormous Crocodile

A picture book aimed at 3 to 4 year olds.

Roald said it was “the hardest thing in the world, to write a little book with a strong plot that will hold a three and a four year old.”

This was the first Roald Dahl book that Quentin Blake illustrated.

“I have secret plans and clever tricks.”

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1970s

1979 - Tales of the Unexpected

1970s

1979 - Tales of the Unexpected

A collection of 16 short stories, taken from Kiss Kiss and Someone Like You.

1970s

1979 - My Uncle Oswald

1970s

1979 - My Uncle Oswald

A book for adults that features Uncle Oswald, a character that previously appeared in Switch Bitch.

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1980s

1980 - The Twits

1980s

1980 - The Twits

Featuring Mr and Mrs Twit, two unsavoury characters who like to play tricks on each other.

The first seed of an idea for The Twits can be found in one of Roald’s Ideas Books:  ‘Beer stealing. The old boy dropped his glass eye into the tankard.  The thief saw it looking up at him.’

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.”

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1980s

1980 - More Tales of the Unexpected

1980s

1980 - More Tales of the Unexpected

Nine short stories for grown-ups, five of which had been published in previous collections.

1980s

1981 - George's Marvellous Medicine

1980s

1981 - George's Marvellous Medicine

What would happen if you mixed up a new medicine for your mean old grandma?

Roald Dahl kept many animals including a mischievous nanny goat named Alma and a pony called Jack Frost, which are explicitly named in this book.

“But we have to grow, Grandma. If we didn’t grow, we’d never be grown-ups.”

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1980s

1982 - The BFG

1980s

1982 - The BFG

A magical tale of an orphan called Sophie and a giant.

Roald Dahl based the street on which Sophie lives in the orphanage on Great Missenden High Street.

The book has been made into two films, most recently directed by Steven Spielberg in 2016.

“We is in Dream Country,” the BFG said. “This is where all dreams is beginning.”

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1980s

1982 - Revolting Rhymes

1980s

1982 - Revolting Rhymes

A selection of traditional fairy tales rewritten with a Roald Dahl twist.

Roald Dahl was a fan of the poet Hilaire Belloc; his cautionary tales inspired Revolting Rhymes.

“The little pig began to pray But Wolfie blew his house away. He shouted, "Bacon, Pork, and Ham! Oh what a lucky wolf I am!”

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1980s

1983 - The Witches

1980s

1983 - The Witches

A story about a boy, his grandmother, and a hotel full of witches.

The inspiration to write The Witches came to Roald Dahl after he had finished writing about giants in The BFG. He then wanted to have a go at writing about the other great mythological creatures in folklore: witches.

“In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks, and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES. ”

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1980s

1983 - Dirty Beasts

1980s

1983 - Dirty Beasts

A collection of animal-related comic verse.

Some of these poems were originally due to be published in Revolting Rhymes, but it was decided that a separate publication of animal-related verse would work better.

The Roly-Poly Bird appears in Dirty Beasts and also features in The Enormous Crocodile and The Twits.

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1980s

1984 - Boy: Tales of Childhood

1980s

1984 - Boy: Tales of Childhood

An autobiography of Roald's childhood, from his early life until he left school.

Anecdotes about Roald Dahl’s childhood were originally included in a early manuscript of The Witches. These were removed, but it was later decided that they would make a great story and the idea of an autobiography was born.

“We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine.”

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1980s

1985 - The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

1980s

1985 - The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

A book for younger readers about a group of window-cleaning animals.

Roald worked for months to perfect his second book for younger readers. He found the process tricky and admitted to having a file of discards and re-writes containing 314 handwritten and typewritten pages.

He wanted the story to include a monkey as he enjoyed how Quentin Blake “drew it so wonderfully in The Enormous Crocodile.”

““I believe this one gives me as much satisfaction as almost everything else I’ve done, never mind the length.””

Roald Dahl

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1980s

1986 - Two Fables

1980s

1986 - Two Fables

A collection of two short stories by Roald Dahl: Princess and the Poacher and Princess Mammalia.

1980s

1986 - Going Solo

1980s

1986 - Going Solo

The book covers three years in Roald Dahl's early adulthood, from his first job at Shell Oil in Africa to his time during World War II.

Going Solo is a direct follow on from Roald Dahl’s first autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood.

“A life is made up of a great number of small incidents and a small number of great ones.”

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1980s

1988 - Matilda

1980s

1988 - Matilda

Matilda is an incredibly clever child with a mind that can move things.

Matilda is one of Roald Dahl’s best-loved books. It’s most likely set in Great Missenden and the library Roald imagined Matilda visiting was probably the village library. In the story Matilda’s mum went to Aylesbury to play bingo, which is a short drive away.

“Make sure everything you do is completely unbelievable.”

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1980s

1989 - Rhyme Stew

1980s

1989 - Rhyme Stew

Roald's third collection of poems.

Some of these verses were originally intended to be published in Revolting Rhymes. This collection, whose working title was Even More Revolting Rhymes, eventually became Rhyme Stew as a stand alone title aimed at older readers.

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1980s

1989 - Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life

1980s

1989 - Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life

A collection of short stories originally published in the 1940s and 1950s.

The seven tales all depict the mysteries and eccentricities of rural life, with dark humour and unexpected turns.

1990s

1990 - Esio Trot

1990s

1990 - Esio Trot

The adorable story of Mr Hoppy and Miss Silver, and just a few tortoises.

Roald Dahl was inspired to write the story after visiting his daughter in London, who lived in a flat with a balcony. He also made many sketches of the tortoise catcher in various drafts of the story.

1990s

1991 - The Vicar of Nibbleswicke

1990s

1991 - The Vicar of Nibbleswicke

A story about a vicar who's struggling to have his sermons understood.

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke was designed to raise awareness of dyslexia. The worldwide publishing rights were sold at auction to raise money for the Dyslexia Institute. The book was published posthumously; Roald Dahl died a week after the auction.

1990s

1991 - Billy and the Minpins

1990s

1991 - Billy and the Minpins

Roald Dahl's final work of literature features a community of little people living in the forest.

Billy and the Minpins was originally titled The Minpins and illustrated by Patrick Benson. It was the only remaining Roald Dahl children’s book not to have been illustrated by Quentin Blake until its re-print in 2017. The new edition featured brand new illustrations by Quentin who said it felt like “the cornerstone in our long collaboration together”.

The forests in Billy and the Minpins were inspired by the Chilterns countryside that surrounds Great Missenden.

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

1990s

1991 - Memories with Food at Gipsy House

1990s

1991 - Memories with Food at Gipsy House

A collection of anecdotes and recipes by Roald Dahl and his second wife, Felicity, first published in 1991.

It was later renamed Roald Dahl’s Cookbook.

1990s

1991 - Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety

1990s

1991 - Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety

A guide to help young people enjoy the railways safely.

Created to help combat the rise of train-related fatalities involving children. British Railways asked Roald Dahl to write a book to help young people use the railways safely, and they asked Quentin Blake to illustrate it.

The resulting guide was distributed to children in UK primary schools in 1991, the year after Roald’s death.

“I must now regretfully become one of those unpopular giants who tells you WHAT TO DO and WHAT NOT TO DO. This is something I have never done in any of my books.”

1990s

1991 - My Year

1990s

1991 - My Year

Roald Dahl's final book is firmly set in the landscape surrounding the Museum.

In the last year of his life Roald worked on a diary of notes about the flora and fauna around his home, and these notes transformed into a month-by-month account of the passing year.

In this book you will find childhood memories, alongside tips, observations and beautiful illustrations by Quentin Blake.

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