Esio Trot is a 1990 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl.[1] The title is an anadrome of "tortoise". It was the last of Dahl's books to be published in his lifetime; he died just two months later.
.jpg) First UK edition | |
| Author | Roald Dahl |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape (UK) Viking Press (US) |
Publication date | 3 September 1990 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 62 |
| ISBN | 0-224-02786-7 |
| OCLC | 24734818 |
Unlike other Dahl works (which often feature tyrannical adults and heroic/magical children), Esio Trot is the story of an aging lonely man (Mr Hoppy), trying to make a connection with a person that he has loved from afar (his widowed neighbour, Mrs Silver).[2]
In 1994, Monty Python star Michael Palin narrated the English language audiobook recording of the book.[3] In 2015 it was adapted by Richard Curtis into a BBC television film, Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, featuring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench as the couple, with James Corden narrating.[4] Geoffrey Palmer narrated a second English-language recording in 2023.[5]
Plot edit
Mr. Hoppy is a shy elderly bachelor who lives alone. For many years, he has had a secret love, the widowed Mrs. Silver. His courage fails him whenever he prepares to hint at his true feelings for her.
She has a small pet tortoise, Alfie, who is the center of her world. One morning, Mrs. Silver mentions to Mr. Hoppy that even though she has owned Alfie for many years, he has bared grown. She wishes she knew of some way to make her little Alfie grow into a larger, more dignified tortoise. Mr. Hoppy gives her a "spell" written on a piece of paper, which Hoppy tells Silver to whisper in the tortoise's ear. In reality, Hoppy has gone to pet shops to buy tortoises of varying sizes and builds a special tool to help him snatch the tortoise from Mrs. Silver's balcony.
Mr. Hoppy continues to switch Mrs. Silver's current pet with larger ones, but she still does not perceive that her pet is growing in size, until Mrs. Silver notices that Alfie can no longer fit through the door to his house. Mr. Hoppy summons his courage and asks Mrs. Silver if he can come down and see the effect for himself. Mrs. Silver, gladly grants his request. Mrs. Hoppy thanks her friend for the spell, but the tortoise can no longer fit in the house. Hoppy tells her how to "reverse" the spell (meaning that Hoppy reverses the procedure from before), then Mr. Hoppy asks Mrs. Silver for her hand in marriage. She accepts.
2023 censorship controversy edit
Despite Roald Dahl having enjoined his publishers not to "so much as change a single comma in one of my books", in February 2023 Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Books, announced it would be re-writing portions of many of Dahl's children's novels, changing the language to, in the publisher's words, "ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today."[6] The decision was met with sharp criticism from groups and public figures including authors Salman Rushdie[7][8] and Christopher Paolini,[9] British prime minister Rishi Sunak,[7][8] Queen Camilla,[7][10] Kemi Badenoch,[11] PEN America,[7][8] and Brian Cox.[11] Dahl's publishers in the United States, France, and the Netherlands announced they had declined to incorporate the changes.[7]
In Esio Trot, more than a dozen changes were made, including removing reference to Mrs Silver being "attractive", changing "I'll be your slave for life" to "You'll be my hero for life" (and similar), and removing reference to a woman changing her surname upon marriage.[12][13]
| Original text | 2023 text[13] |
|---|---|
| Tortoises used to be brought into England by the thousand, packed in crates, and they came mostly from North Africa. But not many years ago a law was passed that made it illegal to bring any tortoises into the country. | Tortoises used to be brought into England by the thousand. They came from lots of different countries, packed in crates. But many years ago a law was passed that made it illegal to bring any tortoises into the UK. |
Film adaptation edit
The book was turned into a BBC One television film of the same name. It features Dustin Hoffman, as Mr Hoppy and Judi Dench as Mrs Silver, with James Corden as the narrator.[14] It was screened on 1 January 2015 and received praise, with The Guardian calling it "a thing of wonder".[15]
References edit
- ^ "Stories". Roald Dahl. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ "Why we love the mischievous spirit of Roald Dahl". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ McCall, Douglas (2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 166.
- ^ "BBC One - Roald Dahl's Esio Trot". BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- ^ "Esio Trot by Roald Dahl narrated by Geoffrey Palmer". Audible.com. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick (25 February 2023). "Roald Dahl warned 'politically correct' publishers – 'change one word and deal with my crocodile'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Blair, Elizabeth (24 February 2023). "Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print". NPR. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Dellatto, Marisa (20 February 2023). "Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' And More". Forbes. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. ISSN 0015-6914. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Murdock, Hannah (21 February 2023). "Authors react to 'absurd' changes to Roald Dahl's children's books to make them less offensive". Deseret News. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Lawless, Jill (24 February 2023). "Penguin to publish 'classic' Roald Dahl books after backlash". Associated Press. New York City, NY, USA. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023.
- ^ a b Honeycombe-Foster, Matt; Blanchard, Jack (21 February 2023). "UK's Badenoch slams 'problematic' rewrites of classic Roald Dahl books". Politico. Arlington County, Virginia, USA: Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Kirka, Danica. "Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship". abc NEWS. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b Cumming, Ed; Buchanan, Abigail; Holl-Allen, Genevieve; Smith, Benedict (24 February 2023). "The Writing of Roald Dahl". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Patrick, Seb (23 August 2013). "Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman to Star in Roald Dahl's 'Esio Trot' for BBC". BBC America. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ "Esio Trot review – Dench sparkles, Hoffman is perfect". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
Editions edit
- ISBN 0-670-83451-3 (hardcover, 1990)
- ISBN 0-14-034728-3 (paperback, 1991)
- ISBN 0-14-131133-9