Teller of the Unexpected

Book of the Week on Radio 4, and in the Observer, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Week

'Riveting, and immaculately written' Sunday Telegraph

'A superb psychological study of a literary genius' Business Post

'A rounded picture... and gets to Dahl's flawed, human core' Country Life

'Crisply done and well-judged' TLS

Roald Dahl was one of the world's greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as one as intrepid as that of any explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child's viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day.

In this brand-new biography, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the received narrative surrounding Dahl – that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turned-author – and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl's extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast and a romantic, both insider and outsider, hero and child's friend.