Roald Dahl Books in Order: Complete List of Every Book & Story

By Anna Marie CarrollChildren

Roald Dahl books have introduced generations of readers to giant peaches, chocolate factories, clever foxes, fearsome witches, and children who refuse to be pushed around. Dahl wrote imaginative fiction and comic verse for young readers, but his bibliography also includes adult novels, macabre short stories, memoirs, nonfiction, and books he edited or helped create.

This guide separates the books Dahl actually wrote from selected collections, reissued excerpts, companion books, and later stories inspired by his characters. That distinction matters because many online lists count every new edition, audiobook, anthology appearance, and repackaged story as another Roald Dahl book.

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Roald Dahl Books

There isn’t one useful answer to how many books Roald Dahl wrote unless the count explains what it includes. A list becomes much longer when it counts reissues, audiobooks, individual-story editions, and anthologies that contain one Dahl story. The numbered lists below treat Dahl’s original works as distinct books, then separate the later selections and companion material.

Using that definition, the core fiction and poetry lists below contain 28 distinct books written by Dahl. Memoirs, nonfiction, edited anthologies, coauthored books, posthumous collections, and reissues are listed separately.

Publication years are the first U.S. publication years unless a section specifically explains that a title did not receive a verified separate U.S. edition.

Children’s Novels and Stories

Most of Dahl’s children’s fiction consists of standalones, so these books can be read in any order. The Charlie Bucket books are the important exception and have their own list below.

  1. James and the Giant Peach (1961)
  2. The Magic Finger (1966)
  3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)
  4. Danny the Champion of the World (1975)
  5. The Twits (1981)
  6. George’s Marvelous Medicine (1982)
  7. The BFG (1982)
  8. The Witches (1983)
  9. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)
  10. Matilda (1988)
  11. Esio Trot (1990)
  12. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1992)

Esio Trot was the final book published during Dahl’s lifetime. The Minpins and The Vicar of Nibbleswicke were published after his death.

Charlie Bucket Books

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator begins where the first book ends, so read the two Charlie Bucket books in publication order.

  1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
  2. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)

Dahl began ideas for another Charlie story, but he never published a completed third novel. Pop-up books, movie tie-ins, and later stories about Willy Wonka are not additional Charlie Bucket installments.

Children’s Story and Poetry Collections

These books collect longer stories, short fiction, and Dahl’s comic verse for younger readers. Some of the material, especially the Henry Sugar collection, also appeals to adults.

  1. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)
  2. Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes (1983) (Poems)
  3. Dirty Beasts (1983) (Poems)
  4. Rhyme Stew (1990) (Poems)

Books for Adults

Dahl published two adult novels. Some Time Never is a bleak speculative fable and his first adult novel. Its 1948 U.S. title separates “Some Time,” while the 1949 British edition was titled Sometime Never. My Uncle Oswald is a sexually explicit comic novel and is intended for adult readers.

  1. Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen (1948)
  2. My Uncle Oswald (1980)

For Uncle Oswald’s complete sequence, read “The Visitor” and “Bitch” in Switch Bitch before My Uncle Oswald. The novel still works on its own, but the two stories introduce the character first.

Roald Dahl Picture Books

Dahl’s first children’s book was The Gremlins, an illustrated story inspired by Royal Air Force folklore. His later illustrated stories include The Enormous Crocodile and the posthumously published The Minpins.

  1. The Gremlins (1943)
  2. The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
  3. The Minpins (1991)

The Minpins was Dahl’s final work of literature, published after his death in 1991. It was retitled and reillustrated as Billy and the Minpins in 2017. These are two editions of the same story, not separate books in a reading order.

Roald Dahl Short Story Collections

Dahl’s adult short stories range from wartime fiction to crime, suspense, black comedy, and unsettling tales with sharp final twists. The books below are the foundational collections that introduced or first gathered substantial bodies of his adult short fiction.

  1. Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying (1946)
  2. Someone Like You (1953)
  3. Kiss Kiss (1960)
  4. Switch Bitch (1974)
  5. Two Fables (1987)

Dahl also reused and reshaped earlier material. “The Champion of the World,” collected in Kiss Kiss, became the basis for Danny the Champion of the World. You do not need to read the short story first, but it is an interesting comparison for completists.

Roald Dahl Selected and Collected Editions

The books in this section gather stories, poems, or excerpts that had already appeared elsewhere. They are useful editions, but they are not additional original works and should not be used to inflate the number of books Dahl wrote.

Major Selections and Omnibuses

The 1969 British omnibus Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl combined Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss. It is one of several early repackages that readers may encounter, but buying it is not necessary if you already own those collections.

  1. The Best of Roald Dahl (1978)
  2. Tales of the Unexpected (1979)
  3. More Tales of the Unexpected (1980)
  4. Roald Dahl’s Completely Unexpected Tales (1986)
  5. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1990)
  6. The Roald Dahl Treasury (1997)
  7. The Umbrella Man and Other Stories (1998)
  8. Skin and Other Stories (2000)
  9. Vile Verses (2005) (Poems)
  10. Collected Stories (2006)
  11. The Complete Short Stories: Volume One (2013)
  12. The Complete Short Stories: Volume Two (2013)

More Tales of the Unexpected did not receive a separate first U.S. edition that could be conclusively verified, so its original 1980 British publication year is shown. Further Tales of the Unexpected and editions titled More Roald Dahl Tales of the Unexpected are alternate presentations of this selection, not additional collections.

The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories is the British title for the selection published in the United States as The Umbrella Man and Other Stories. Likewise, the British collection Songs and Verse overlaps with the U.S. poetry selection Vile Verses. These title changes do not create new bodies of work.

Collected Stories is a broad one-volume choice for Dahl’s adult short fiction. The two Complete Short Stories volumes offer another broad option, but their 2013 dates refer to the British editions because separate first U.S. editions could not be conclusively verified.

Themed Adult Story Selections

Penguin later reorganized Dahl’s previously published adult writing into themed collections. These editions were released in Britain, and separate first U.S. editions could not be conclusively verified, so the original British years are shown.

  1. Lust (2016)
  2. Madness (2016)
  3. Cruelty (2016)
  4. Deception (2016)
  5. Trickery (2017)
  6. War (2017)
  7. Innocence (2017)

Fear shares this series design, but its stories were written by other authors and selected by Dahl. It belongs with the edited anthology below rather than among collections of Dahl’s own fiction.

Standalone Story and Excerpt Editions

Several Dahl stories and excerpts have been issued as small standalone books or classroom readers. These editions can be convenient, but the writing first appeared elsewhere and should not be counted again as new work. Most were issued in Britain or for international educational markets, so the original edition years are shown when a separate first U.S. edition could not be conclusively verified.

  1. Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories (1995)
  2. The Great Mouse Plot (1996)
  3. The Mildenhall Treasure (2000)
  4. The Man from the South and Other Stories (2002)

“The Great Mouse Plot” is an episode from Boy. “The Mildenhall Treasure” was included in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More before its illustrated standalone edition. “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Man from the South” also appeared in earlier adult collections. Other classroom editions, including Edward the Conqueror and Other Stories, repackage previously collected fiction in the same way.

Roald Dahl Anthologies

Dahl edited one major anthology rather than writing its stories himself. He selected fourteen ghost stories by writers including Edith Wharton, L. P. Hartley, Rosemary Timperley, and Robert Aickman.

  1. Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1983)

Fear is a 2017 Penguin edition of the same fourteen-story selection. It is an anthology chosen by Dahl, not a collection of ghost stories he wrote.

Many other anthologies have included one Dahl story, including books associated with Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Karloff, the Fontana and Pan horror series, and The Penguin Book of Horror Stories. Those are books by other editors and authors, so they do not belong in a list of books written or edited by Dahl.

Roald Dahl Nonfiction

Memoirs and Autobiographical Books

Read Boy before Going Solo. The first covers Dahl’s childhood and school years, while the second continues through his work in East Africa and his Royal Air Force service during World War II. My Year was assembled from the seasonal diary and reflections Dahl wrote near the end of his life.

  1. Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
  2. Going Solo (1986)
  3. My Year (1993)

More About Boy (2009) expands and repackages material from Boy. It is not a third volume in the memoir sequence.

Other Nonfiction

Dahl also wrote a personal essay about measles and a public-safety booklet for young readers. These are short publications rather than conventional trade books.

  1. Measles: A Dangerous Illness (1986)
  2. Roald Dahl’s Guide to Railway Safety (1991)
  3. Love from Boy: Roald Dahl’s Letters to His Mother (2016)

Roald Dahl’s Guide to Railway Safety was a British Railways Board publication, and a separate U.S. edition could not be verified. Love from Boy is a posthumous collection of Dahl’s letters selected and edited by Donald Sturrock, rather than a book Dahl prepared for publication himself.

Roald Dahl Companion Books

The following books are useful additions for readers who want recipes, archival material, expanded editions, or younger-reader products. They are kept separate because several were coauthored, assembled after Dahl’s death, or built from material that had already been published.

Food and Recipe Books

These books turn the strange meals and sweets in Dahl’s stories into real recipes. Several were created with Felicity Dahl, Josie Fison, and other contributors, so they are companion books rather than additional solo literary works.

  1. Memories with Food at Gipsy House (1991) (With Felicity Dahl)
  2. Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes (1994)
  3. Even More Revolting Recipes (2001)
  4. Roald Dahl’s Completely Revolting Recipes (2009)
  5. Marvelously Revolting Recipes (2024)

Memories with Food at Gipsy House was later republished as Roald Dahl’s Cookbook. Completely Revolting Recipes, first published in Britain in 2009, combines material from the two earlier recipe books rather than adding another full set of new Dahl writing. Marvelously Revolting Recipes is a later cookbook built around food from Dahl’s stories.

Expanded and Preschool Books

A few later publications contain genuine archival material or offer a simple introduction to Dahl’s characters. They should still be distinguished from original novels and story collections.

  1. The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets (2010)
  2. Words (2023)
  3. Shapes (2023)
  4. Trick or Treat (2023)

The Missing Golden Ticket includes cut material and background related to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Words, Shapes, and Trick or Treat are brief estate-produced books for very young readers, not newly discovered Dahl stories.

Books by Later Authors Inspired by Roald Dahl

These books use Dahl’s characters and story worlds, but their new prose was written by later authors. They are listed here for readers who want the continuations and movie tie-ins, not as additional books written by Dahl.

  1. Wonka (2023) (Adapted by Sibéal Pounder)
  2. The Twits Next Door (2024) (By Greg James and Chris Smith)
  3. The Twits: The Terrible Tale of Twitlandia (2025) (Adapted by Sam Hay)
  4. Charlie and the Christmas Factory: And Other Stories (2026)

Wonka is Sibéal Pounder’s novelization of the 2023 film. The Twits Next Door was written by Greg James and Chris Smith, while Sam Hay adapted Netflix’s animated The Twits as The Terrible Tale of Twitlandia. Charlie and the Christmas Factory: And Other Stories contains six new stories by Sibéal Pounder, Adam Kay, Nathan Bryon, Pamela Butchart, Adam Hills, and Hannah Gold.

None of these books is a third Charlie Bucket novel or another original Dahl story.

Roald Dahl Book-to-Screen Adaptations

Dahl’s stories have been adapted into feature films, television movies, animated specials, streaming shorts, and the long-running anthology series Tales of the Unexpected. This list focuses on the major screen productions rather than every individual television episode based on one of his adult stories. Titles link to a matching Amazon Prime Video page when one could be verified. Streaming and rental availability can change.

  1. 36 Hours (1964) (Based on “Beware of the Dog”)
  2. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) (Based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
  3. Tales of the Unexpected (1979–1988) (TV Series)
  4. Breaking Point (1989) (TV Movie based on “Beware of the Dog”)
  5. Danny the Champion of the World (1989) (TV Movie)
  6. The BFG (1989) (Animated Film)
  7. The Witches (1990)
  8. The Enormous Crocodile (1990) (Animated Video)
  9. Four Rooms (1995) (The final segment is inspired by “Man from the South”)
  10. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
  11. Matilda (1996)
  12. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
  13. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
  14. Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot (2015) (TV Movie)
  15. The BFG (2016)
  16. Revolting Rhymes (2016) (Animated TV Special)
  17. Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (2017) (Animated Film)
  18. Roald Dahl’s The Witches (2020)
  19. Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022)
  20. Wonka (2023) (Prequel inspired by Willy Wonka)
  21. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More (2024)
  22. The Twits (2025) (Animated Film)
  23. Wonka’s The Golden Ticket (2026) (Reality Competition Series)
  24. Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory (2027) (Animated Film)

36 Hours and Breaking Point both draw from Dahl’s wartime story “Beware of the Dog.” Only the final segment of Four Rooms, titled “The Man from Hollywood,” is based on Dahl’s work. Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory retells the 1971 film with Tom and Jerry added to the story.

Wonka is an original prequel built around Dahl’s character rather than a direct adaptation of one of the Charlie novels. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More combines Wes Anderson’s adaptations of “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” “The Swan,” “The Rat Catcher,” and “Poison.” Wonka’s The Golden Ticket is a reality competition inspired by the chocolate factory. Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory is a separate animated continuation with new characters rather than a direct adaptation of either Charlie Bucket novel.

About Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916, in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents. After leaving school, he worked for the Shell Company in East Africa. He joined the Royal Air Force during World War II, survived a crash landing in Libya, and later served in Washington, D.C., where his writing career began.

His early work focused on wartime experiences and adult short fiction. He later became best known for children’s stories that mix danger, dark humor, inventive language, and young characters who outsmart cruel adults. Dahl died on November 23, 1990, at the age of 74.

Dahl also made antisemitic statements during his lifetime. His family and the Roald Dahl Story Company issued an apology in 2020, acknowledging the hurt caused by those remarks and condemning antisemitism.

Another debate followed changes made to the language in some Puffin editions of Dahl’s children’s books. In 2023, Puffin announced a separate Roald Dahl Classic Collection that preserves the original texts alongside the revised editions. Readers may therefore encounter different wording depending on the edition they buy.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Books in Order index.

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