Esio Trot is a charming and whimsical short novel about a timid, lonely elderly man named Mr. Hoppy, who is desperately in love with his downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Silver. Mrs. Silver's only affection is reserved for her beloved pet tortoise, Alfie. Mr. Hoppy devises a wildly ambitious and complicated plot to win her heart, which involves him secretly replacing Alfie with successively larger tortoises from his balcony, all while using a magical, backwards-written poem to convince Mrs. Silver that he has made Alfie grow. The phrase "Esio Trot" is the backwards spelling of "tortoise," which forms the key to the fake magical spell. The book is a gentle, yet classic Dahl tale of love, elaborate deception, and the quiet triumph of a cunning, romantic scheme.
