Roald Dahl is one of the world’s best-loved British writers.
Known by many for his books for young readers, Dahl was also a prolific writer of short stories and fiction for adults, and his dark humour and wild imagination has captivated readers of all ages for decades. Dahl’s characters and titles have long been household names in Britain and, in recent years, multiple stage and screen adaptations of Dahl’s books – from the award-winning Matilda the Musical, now being staged in five countries, to Steven Spielberg’s new blockbuster CGI version of The BFG – have brought his stories to new audiences all over the world.
Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, in 1916, and the UK recently celebrated his 100th birthday. To mark the occasion, the streets of Cardiff played host to The City of the Unexpected, a public spectacle on an unprecedented scale, bringing Dahl’s stories and characters to life in his honour.
Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake: a lifelong collaboration
In celebration of the Dahl centenary, Cardiff’s National Museum of Wales mounted an exhibition of Quentin Blake’s illustrations, telling the story of the long-term creative collaboration between Roald Dahl and his illustrator. In the short film below, curator Beth McIntyre gives us a tour of the exhibition and reveals some of the secrets of Blake’s distinctive style and his working relationship with the great writer.