Esio Trot (originally published in 1990) is one of Roald Dahl's last books, but also one of his best. It tells the story of an old and lonely man called Mr. Hoppy who desperately tries to connect with a person whom he has admired for quite a long time from afar named Mrs. Silver. Eventually, the two begin a relationship and marry, ensuring that the old man and the old woman are neither old nor lonely any longer. Now, they have each other's company.
When it was released, Esio Trot received incredibly positive reviews. A child reviewer from The Guardian, for example, loved the book. In their review, they remarked that they "liked Roald Dahl's descriptions because he made the characters come to life and it felt like I knew them." They also said that "[the book] would suit anybody who likes stories with or about animals and friendship."
In 2015, long after the books release, a film adaptation was released starring Dame Judi Dench as Mrs. Silver, Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Hoppy and James Corden as the narrator. The film, directed by Dearbhla Walsh, was first distributed by the BBC in the UK and was received fairly well by the public and critics alike, scoring 72% on Rotten Tomatoes' audience score and 6.9 on IMDb.
