Billy and the Minpins

Roald Dahl’s life experiences, especially those from his childhood, had a significant influence on his writing, and he relates many aspects of these events in his 1986 memoirs, Boy: Tales of Childhood and Going Solo. Born in Wales in 1916 to parents who were Norwegian immigrants, Dahl lost his father and one of his sisters when he was only three years old, and many of his stories feature young protagonists who likewise experience loss and grief at a very early age.

Other aspects of his childhood inspired the lonely, unhappy circumstances of many of his characters. For example, he had a headmaster who caned him for playing a prank on the owner of the town candy shop, Mrs. Pratchett, who was notoriously mean, and he then used this experience to create Ms. Trunchbull, the foul-tempered antagonist in Matilda. The candy shop itself, which carried a sweet called Gobstoppers, became the inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl later transitioned to a boarding school, where he witnessed the physical violence of the administrators and the bullying behavior of the older students.