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Going Solo
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature
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Boy
- Tales of Childhood
- By: Roald Dahl
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Throughout his young days at school and just afterwards, a number of things happened to Roald Dahl, which made such a tremendous impression he never forgot them. Boy is the remarkable story of Roald Dahl's childhood; tales of exciting and strange things - some funny, some frightening, all true.
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a perfect insight into the mind of Roald Dahl!
- By ruth on 02-12-14
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Danny the Champion of the World
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Danny thinks his dad is the most marvellous and exciting father any boy ever had - but Danny's dad has a very big secret. This secret leads them both into the strangest adventure of their lives, and a daring plot that makes Danny the champion of the world.
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Excellent for all ages.
- By Nick on 03-02-15
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Esio Trot
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Mr Hoppy loves Mrs Silver. Mrs Silver loves Alfie the tortoise. Sometimes Mr Hoppy wishes he could become a tortoise. Until one day he finds a way to win Mrs Silver's heart, with the help of a little magic and some cabbage.
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cool
- By anne-marie on 09-08-18
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The Vicar of Nibbleswicke and Other Stories
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The stories on this recording include pieces from the 1950s and 1960s to "The Vicar of Nibbleswicke" which was completed just before he died. This tape includes "The Landlady", "The Hitchhiker", "Mr Botibol", "Edward the Conqueror" and "Taste" and is read by Stephen Fry.
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Dark and Twisted.
- By Caroline on 15-12-18
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Love from Boy
- Roald Dahl's Letters to His Mother
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'Dear Mama, I am having a lovely time here. We play football every day here. The beds have no springs....' So begins the first letter that nine-year-old Roald Dahl penned to his mother, Sofie Magdalene, under the watchful eye of his boarding school headmaster. For most of his life, Roald Dahl would continue to write weekly letters to his mother, chronicling his adventures, frustrations and opinions, from the delights of childhood to the excitements of flying as a World War II fighter pilot....
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Dearest Mama
- By Rachel Redford on 20-06-16
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The Witches
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Miranda Richardson
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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There are witches everywhere. Witches could be a cashier in a supermarket, a woman driving a fancy car, or even your own teacher. The only thing a witch cares about is squelching children. She hunts and squelches as many children as she possibly can. At least one a week. The Grand High Witch hates children most of all and plans to make every single one of you disappear. Only one boy and his grandmother can stop her. But if their plan fails, the Grand High Witch will frizzle them like fritters and then what will happen?
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Really good to listen to
- By Kerry Coupe on 12-12-14
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Boy
- Tales of Childhood
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout his young days at school and just afterwards, a number of things happened to Roald Dahl, which made such a tremendous impression he never forgot them. Boy is the remarkable story of Roald Dahl's childhood; tales of exciting and strange things - some funny, some frightening, all true.
-
-
a perfect insight into the mind of Roald Dahl!
- By ruth on 02-12-14
-
Danny the Champion of the World
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Peter Serafinowicz
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Danny thinks his dad is the most marvellous and exciting father any boy ever had - but Danny's dad has a very big secret. This secret leads them both into the strangest adventure of their lives, and a daring plot that makes Danny the champion of the world.
-
-
Excellent for all ages.
- By Nick on 03-02-15
-
Esio Trot
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Quentin Blake
- Length: 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mr Hoppy loves Mrs Silver. Mrs Silver loves Alfie the tortoise. Sometimes Mr Hoppy wishes he could become a tortoise. Until one day he finds a way to win Mrs Silver's heart, with the help of a little magic and some cabbage.
-
-
cool
- By anne-marie on 09-08-18
-
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke and Other Stories
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories on this recording include pieces from the 1950s and 1960s to "The Vicar of Nibbleswicke" which was completed just before he died. This tape includes "The Landlady", "The Hitchhiker", "Mr Botibol", "Edward the Conqueror" and "Taste" and is read by Stephen Fry.
-
-
Dark and Twisted.
- By Caroline on 15-12-18
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Love from Boy
- Roald Dahl's Letters to His Mother
- By: Donald Sturrock
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Thomas Judd
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Dear Mama, I am having a lovely time here. We play football every day here. The beds have no springs....' So begins the first letter that nine-year-old Roald Dahl penned to his mother, Sofie Magdalene, under the watchful eye of his boarding school headmaster. For most of his life, Roald Dahl would continue to write weekly letters to his mother, chronicling his adventures, frustrations and opinions, from the delights of childhood to the excitements of flying as a World War II fighter pilot....
-
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Dearest Mama
- By Rachel Redford on 20-06-16
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The Witches
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Miranda Richardson
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
There are witches everywhere. Witches could be a cashier in a supermarket, a woman driving a fancy car, or even your own teacher. The only thing a witch cares about is squelching children. She hunts and squelches as many children as she possibly can. At least one a week. The Grand High Witch hates children most of all and plans to make every single one of you disappear. Only one boy and his grandmother can stop her. But if their plan fails, the Grand High Witch will frizzle them like fritters and then what will happen?
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Really good to listen to
- By Kerry Coupe on 12-12-14
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Billy and the Minpins
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Bill Bailey
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Billy's mum says he must never go out through the garden gate and explore the dark forest beyond. So, one day, that's exactly what he does! There he meets the Minpins, tiny tree-dwelling people whose children are the size of matchsticks. They live in fear of the terrible, galloping Gruncher. Will it gobble Billy too - or can he find a way to defeat the hungry beast?
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My son loves this
- By ZA on 20-09-20
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- By: Roald Dahl
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A boy who only gets to eat cabbage soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner finds a Golden Ticket that will take him into Willy Wonka's magical chocolate factory. Joining him on the tour are four horrible blighters: Augustus Gloop - a great big greedy nincompoop, Veruca Salt - a spoiled brat, Violet Beauregarde - a repulsive little gum-chewer and Mike Teavee - a TV addict. With a chocolate river, crafty squirrels and mysterious Oompa Loompas, Mr Wonka's chocolate factory is the strangest, most magnificent place Charlie has ever seen.
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a truly wonderful book
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Storyteller
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Roald Dahl is one of the greatest storytellers of all time. He pushed children's literature into uncharted territory and almost twenty years after his death his popularity continues to grow - worldwide sales of his books have now topped 100 million. The man behind the stories, however, remains an enigma. Dahl was a single-minded adventurer, an eternal child, and his public persona was often controversial.
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Thoroughly enjoyed it, despite minor flaws
- By Amazon Customer on 05-10-11
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Boy & Going Solo
- BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramas
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Patrick Malahid, full cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
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Two new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Roald Dahl's gripping autobiographical stories. These two compelling adaptations, based on Roald Dahl's real-life tales of his of his boyhood and youthful overseas adventures, celebrate his remarkable life and commemorate his genius.
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Not the whole book?
- By H Harper on 21-02-18
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James and the Giant Peach
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
James Henry Trotter lives with two ghastly hags. Aunt Sponge is enormously fat with a face that looks boiled and Aunt Spiker is bony and screeching. He's very lonely until one day something peculiar happens.... At the end of the garden a peach starts to grow and grow and grow. Inside that peach are seven very unusual insects - all waiting to take James on a magical adventure. But where will they go in their giant peach, and what will happen to the horrible aunts if they stand in their way? There's only one way to find out....
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fantastic for grown ups too!
- By JULIE MILLS on 25-08-18
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The Magic Finger
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Kate Winslet
- Length: 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
'Well, that did it. I saw red. And before I was able to stop myself, I did something I never meant to do. I PUT THE MAGIC FINGER ON THEM ALL!'
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Short Story Over Quick
- By Gary on 19-09-15
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Dirty Beasts
- By: Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake - illustrator
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig
- Length: 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In Dirty Beasts we meet a ghastly menagerie of wonderfully comic animals that can only have been invented by Roald Dahl. There is the toad that jumps to France - at his own peril; the pig who ponders the meaning of life; the anteater who gets the wrong end of the stick; and many more. Snigger, titter and laugh at their antics in this collection of irreverent and absurdly comic verse!
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Great
- By Ruth D. on 21-03-19
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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Andrew Scott
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Roald Dahl turns his pen to anything, twisting everyday life into powerful, and sometimes terrifying fantasies. Seven superb stories, full of Roald Dahl's usual magic, mystery and suspense: meet the boy who can talk to animals, the man who can see with his eyes closed, and find out about the treasure, buried deep underground on Thistley Green.
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Beautifully narrated
- By Lady Fushia on 26-04-19
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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Hugh Laurie
- Length: 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, a classic Roald Dahl story, brought to life in an audiobook reading by House star Hugh Laurie. Billy dreams of turning a weird old wooden house into a wonderful sweet-shop. But a giraffe, a pelly, and a monkey already live inside! Soon they are friends, and when they meet the richest man in England, Billy's scrumptious-galumptious dream just might come true....
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Perfect
- By E. Parke on 20-04-15
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The BFG
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: David Walliams
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
On a dark, silvery moonlit night, Sophie is snatched from her bed by a giant. Luckily it is the Big Friendly Giant, the BFG, who only eats snozzcumbers and glugs frobscottle. But there are other giants in Giant Country. Fifty foot brutes who gallop far and wide every night to find human beans to eat. Can Sophie and her friend the BFG stop them? Let's hope so - otherwise the next child a gruesome giant guzzles could be YOU.
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The best book ever
- By GRant on 23-02-15
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The Twits
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Richard Ayoade
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Mr Twit is a foul and smelly man with bits of cornflake and sardine in his beard. Mrs Twit is a horrible old hag with a glass eye. Together they make the nastiest couple you could ever hope not to meet. Down in their garden, the ghastly, evil Twits keep Muggle-Wump the monkey and his family locked in a cage. But not for much longer! Because the monkeys are planning to trick the terrible Twits and make their escape, once and for all....
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VERY expensive for an hour
- By Tim J. on 04-10-18
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George's Marvellous Medicine
- By: Roald Dahl
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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George Kranky's Grandma is a miserable grouch. George really hates that horrid old witchy woman. One Saturday morning, George is in charge of giving Grandma her medicine. So-ho! Ah-ha! Ho-hum! George knows exactly what to do. A magic medicine it will be! One that will either cure her completely of her horrible grouchiness...or blow off the top of her head!
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fantastic narration
- By RKDas on 31-10-15
Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Going Solo by Roald Dahl, read by Dan Stevens.
This is the second part of Roald Dahl's remarkable life story, following on from Boy. When he grew up, Roald Dahl left England for Africa - and a series of dangerous adventures began. From tales of plane crashes to surviving snake bites, this is Roald Dahl's extraordinary life before becoming the world's number one story teller.
What listeners say about Going Solo
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- O Day
- 16-11-17
Snakes, Boats & Dogfights
Roald Dahl’s Going Solo picks up where Boy left off, as Dahl heads to Africa at the tender age of 22 to work for Shell. The first part of the book charts his adventures just before the outbreak of WW2. As war breaks out, Dahl joins the RAF as a fighter pilot – not a comfortable job for a man of 6’ 6” – and he shares his stories of crash landings in North Africa and dogfights in Greece. Incredible stuff. Dan Stevens does a superb job with the narration, pulling off a wide variety of eccentric accents, suitably befitting of the oddball characters that Dahl meets along the way, and no-doubt used as inspiration for his, now famous, characters.
Don’t be misled by the cover art or author, this is very much a book for young adults and up.
5 people found this helpful
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- Dr. SA And Mrs Henley-Castleden
- 30-03-15
Great book
I loved the expression in the narrators voice and also the story was great and had lots of action in it.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-02-15
Perfect
I have no words to describe how exciting, interesting and sometimes touching this story is, so you'll just have to read it yourself and find out. The narration is also excellent - Dan Stevens has a wonderful voice which suits Dahl's autobiography exactly. As an aside, Boy is equally good.
3 people found this helpful
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- K Bright
- 28-01-17
Interesting insight into war.
Surprise at how much I enjoyed this book. Narrator had the right tone and pace to reflect the story.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mr Bigglesworth
- 15-11-16
Mint
Very very good. Had no idea he did all this stuff before he became an author
2 people found this helpful
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- I D Ordish
- 24-02-16
What a fascinating life
First off listen to boy
You will not be disappointed
One of the best books I have listened to
Enjoy :)
2 people found this helpful
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- David
- 19-03-17
Worth a listen
What did you like most about Going Solo?
The WW2 generation had such amazing lives and Roald Dahl was no exception. His time in Africa before the war and then as a fighter pilot makes this well worth listening to, though if anything I did prefer the first book "Boy",
What does Dan Stevens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Well narrated by Dan Stevens.
1 person found this helpful
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- MR M.A.PATEL
- 01-11-16
Excellent sequel
Excellent sequel wish there was 3rd and 4th installment. Made horrible traffic past faster. A1
1 person found this helpful
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- Jules
- 10-10-16
Fascinating
A direct follow on story from Roald Dahl's book 'Boy' and both were fascinating and captivating reading. A captivating story which provides a fascinating perspective on life during WWII adding both humour and feeling to a tremendously difficult period.
1 person found this helpful
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- Ben
- 02-10-16
Fantastic book!
Great narration. Exhilarating stories which gave great insight into a time long ago. Wished there was more.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 17-10-19
rlly boring
this was really boring so uh yeah dont listen to it unless u have to
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- Pearl
- 07-04-17
Outstandingly charming
Would you consider the audio edition of Going Solo to be better than the print version?
This book made my day. The narrator is outstanding and the memoir is one of the best from world war and ofcourse Roald Dahl is a darling..
Who was your favorite character and why?
The author- This is his memoir!
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- David
- 28-10-16
A terrific read
Great book, with an excellent narrator. I just wish Dahl would have talked about his spy days!
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- Diana
- 24-10-16
just wonderful
just loved every moment of it. The narrator was superb. you never tire of Dahl