Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl - Hardcover

Sturrock, Donald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416550828 ISBN 13: 9781416550822

Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2010

Synopsis

THE FIRST AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF ROALD DAHL, STORYTELLER IS A MASTERFUL, WITTY AND INCISIVE LOOK AT ONE OF THE GREATEST AUTHORS AND ECCENTRIC CHARACTERS OF THE MODERN AGE.

In his lifetime Roald Dahl pushed children’s literature into uncharted territory, and today his popularity around the globe continues to grow, with millions of his books sold every year. But the man behind the mesmerizing stories has remained largely an enigma. A single-minded adventurer and an eternal child who gave us the iconic Willy Wonka and Matilda Wormwood, Dahl was better known during his lifetime for his blunt opinions on taboo subjects—he was called an anti-Semite, a racist and a misogynist—than for his creative genius. His wild imagination, dark humor and linguistic elegance were less than fully appreciated by critics and readers alike until after his death.

Granted unprecedented access to the Dahl estate’s extraordinary archives—personal correspondence, journals and interviews with family members and famous friends—Donald Sturrock draws on a wealth of previously unpublished materials that informed Dahl’s writing and his life. It was a life filled with incident, drama and adventure: from his harrowing experiences as an RAF fighter pilot and his work in wartime intelligence, to his many romances and turbulent marriage to the actress Patricia Neal, to the mental anguish caused by the death of his young daughter Olivia. Tracing a brilliant yet tempestuous ascent toward notoriety, Sturrock sheds new light on Dahl’s need for controversy, his abrasive manner and his fascination for the gruesome and the macabre.

A remarkable biography of one of the world’s most exceptional writers, Storyteller is an intimate portrait of an intensely private man hindered by physical pain and haunted by family tragedy, and a timely reexamination of Dahl’s long and complex literary career.

About this title

Review:

"At the end of Mr Sturrock’s satisfying and sparky tale, the reader has an overwhelming desire to rush off and read the first of Dahl’s books he can lay his hands on." "—The Economist"

"Donald Sturrock’s "Storyteller" ... [gives] us a sprawling entertainment packed with anecdote and incident.... an engaging tale with satisfying episodes of glamour, intrigue, failure and renewal." —William Georgiades, "The Wall Street Journal"

“A major literary biography...."Storyteller" is so packed with intimate details, sharply intelligent commentary and surprising revelations...that it should be read immediately by anyone interested in Dahl, the ins and outs of modern publishing or the art of biography. I can't sing its praises enough.” —Michael Dirda, " The Washington Post"

“An exhaustive, yet exuberant portrait . . . Sturrock unravels the Dahl myth.” —Susannah Cahalan, "New York Post"

"A no-stone-unturned examination of the man who gave us "Matilda" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"." — "TimeOut New York

"

“Diabolically readable! Donald Sturrock—a goodhearted Charlie with the keys to the factory well in hand—makes lucky ticketholders of us all, revealing from deep within this exotic, guarded, often painful life the conjuring triumphs and dark tragedies of the 20th century's most wonderfully wicked storyteller.” —David Michaelis, author of "Schulz and Peanuts"

“Sturrock’s superb biography . . . is a hugely readable portrait that examines vividly and sympathetically the life and work of a difficult, complex author who was adored by millions of children, loathed by many adults, and was possibly a genius.” —Graham Lord, "Daily Telegraph" (UK)

"A balanced and juicy treatment . . . running through Dahl's years spying for the Brits and bedding a slew of Americans as well as the tensions, setbacks, and depressive jags that gave his work its texture." —"New York" magazine, "The Twenty; Our most anticipated fiction and nonfiction of fall"

“The person I met when I met Roald Dahl comes through vividly on the pages of "Storyteller". Dahl told me that he was generally disappointed in what people wrote about him, but I believe he would have appreciated Donald Sturrock’s beautifully written book.” —Charlotte Chandler, author of "I Know Where I'm Going"

A major literary biography packed with intimate details, sharply intelligent commentary and surprising revelations. I can't sing its praises enough. Michael Dirda, Best Nonfiction of 2010, The Washington Post"

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1416550828
• ISBN 13: 9781416550822
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464