The Twits
1980 children's novel by Roald Dahl / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Twits is a 1980 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was first published by Jonathan Cape. The story features The Twits (Mr. and Mrs. Twit), a spiteful, idle, unkempt couple who continuously play nasty practical jokes on each other to amuse themselves, and exercise their devious wickedness on their pet monkeys.
Author | Roald Dahl |
---|---|
Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
Cover artist | Quentin Blake |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's novel |
Publisher | Jonathan Cape (United Kingdom) |
Publication date | 1980 |
Media type | Print (hardback, paperback) |
Pages | 87 |
Dahl's disgust at beards was the inspiration for Mr. Twit. As he stated, he penned The Twits in an effort to "do something against beards".[1] His biographer, fellow children's author Michael Rosen, recalls the first time the pair met, Dahl leant across to Rosen's son Joe and said of his father's beard: "It's probably got this morning's breakfast in it. And last night's dinner. And old bits of rubbish, any old stuff that he's come across. You might even find a bicycle wheel in it".[1]
In 2003, The Twits was listed at number 81 in The Big Read, a BBC survey of the British public of the top 200 novels of all time.[2] In 2012, the titular Twits appeared on a Royal Mail commemorative postage stamp.[3] In 2023, the novel was ranked by BBC at no. 87 in their poll of "The 100 greatest children's books of all time".[4] The Twits was adapted for the stage in 2007 and an animated film adaptation, directed by Phil Johnston, is scheduled for release in 2025 on Netflix.[5][6]
Penguin Books has released the book in audiobook form twice, in 2001 read by Simon Callow and in 2023 read by Richard Ayoade.