| Matilda | |
|---|---|
1st UK edition |
|
| Author(s) | Roald Dahl |
| Original title | Matilda |
| Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape (British hardback edition), & Puffin Books (Paperback edition in Britain and the US) |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 0-224-02572-4 |
| OCLC Number | 21077870 |
| Dewey Decimal | [Fic] 20 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.D1515 Mat 1988b |
| Preceded by | The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me |
| Followed by | Esio Trot |
Matilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's prodigious talents. Matilda was adapted into a film in 1996, a two-part adaptation for BBC Radio 4 (later re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra) starring Nicola McAuliffe as Matilda and narrated by Lenny Henry and a musical in 2010.[1][2]
Contents |
The parents of the five-year-old Matilda Wormwood have no interest in their daughter, but if they did, they would have discovered that she is incredibly gifted. A child prodigy, Matilda taught herself to read at three years old, though the only actual books in the house were a cookbook and magazines. When she asks for a real book for herself, her father rudely turns her down and tells her to watch television instead. In spite of this, Matilda looks up the address of the local library, where she finishes all the children's books within a short time, thus leaving her to read adult novels, which she really enjoys. The librarian gives Matilda her own library card, and she is able to borrow books to read at home.[3]
Mr. Wormwood sells used cars for a living, and tells Matilda and her brother Michael about how he makes a handsome profit by cheating customers out of their money in ingenious ways (such as putting sawdust in the transmission, rolling back the mileage on the odometer with an electric drill, and gluing back on bumpers that have fallen off). Matilda accuses him of being a crook though he shrugs it off and insults her. Matilda resolves to teach her parents a lesson every time they do something wrong, carrying out a variety of pranks.
Matilda's father sells a car to Miss Agatha Trunchbull, headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School. He arranges with her to have Matilda attend the school where she impresses her teacher Miss Jennifer "Jenny" Honey with her amazing intellectual capacity and mathematical ability.[3] Miss Honey appeals to Miss Trunchbull to have Matilda moved up into an advanced class, but the child-hating headmistress refuses. Miss Honey also tries, in vain, to reason with Mr and Mrs. Wormwood, but she is not welcomed, and both parents make it clear that they are not interested either in Matilda or the value of education and learning. Matilda quickly learns of the Trunchbull's capacity for punishing children, as she carries out cruelties for minor reasons. When Matilda's friend Lavender places a newt in the Trunchbull's glass of water, Matilda is blamed and the tyrant refuses to listen to her. Incensed by the injustice, Matilda soon discovers she has psychokinetic powers, as she focuses on the glass with her eyes, and surprises everyone by tipping it over right onto Miss Trunchbull.
Befriended by Miss Honey, Matilda later proves to her that she made the glass move. Miss Honey confides in Matilda that Miss Trunchbull is actually her aunt, who took over her father's home and abused her after her father, Magnus, supposedly killed himself. Miss Honey was able to escape, though is still as dominated by the Trunchbull's tyranny as the children at school are. Matilda intends to resolve this by working on her new found powers. Matilda "haunts" Miss Trunchbull's classroom as Magnus' ghost, focusing her eyes on the chalk, and writes a threatening message for the Trunchbull on the blackboard that tells her to give Miss Honey back her home and money and leave for good. A terrified Trunchbull does so, never to be seen by anyone again. Matilda visits Miss Honey in her new home often, but returns to her parents one afternoon to find them packing everything they have into the car, as the police have apparently discovered some of Mr. Wormwood's covert illegal activity and now the whole family is moving to Spain to escape the punishment. Miss Honey appears with Matilda and confronts the Wormwoods. Matilda begs her parents to let her stay with Miss Honey, which they do so without a second glance back at her (although her brother waves goodbye).
It is clear that Matilda will have a better life with Miss Honey. She eventually discovers that she cannot use her powers anymore and Miss Honey suggests that she only had her powers when she needed them, and now that she is happy she no longer needs them.
The novel was adapted into a film in 1996, being directed by Danny DeVito. Some plot points are shortened or removed, while new details and action sequences are added:
A musical version of the novel, Matilda: A Musical, written by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin and commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, premiered in November 2010. It opened at the Cambridge Theatre in the West End on 24th November 2011.[4][1] The stage version has been hailed by one critic as "the best British musical since Billy Elliot".[2]
The first draft of the novel introduced Matilda's character from the point of view of her parents, misleadingly portraying her as 'just plain rotten' to highlight the misplaced priorities of Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood. It has also been reported that the character of Miss Honey began as a well-intentioned alcoholic whose misdemeanors repeatedly had to be covered up by Matilda from the attentions of her headmistress. Likewise, the headmistress of the initial drafts was not a specifically villainous character.