Mr Hoppy has two great loves in his life: the flowers that grow on his balcony, and his neighbour, Mrs Silver. The only problem is that Mrs Silver gives all of her love to someone else: her tortoise, Alfie. One day Mrs Silver asks Mr Hoppy how to make poor Alfie grow a little faster and suddenly Mr Hoppy’s happiness is only a dubious magical spell away…
But can the nosy, bassoon-playing next-door neighbour, Humphrey, figure out Mr Hoppy’s plot before it’s too late? Or will Mrs Silver’s heart be stolen by a man who names his favourite chrysanthemum Gerald?
Told through the eyes of Alfie – the whimsical and embittered tortoise – Esio Trot is a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s story of infatuation, deceit and celery, which poses the timeless question: should true love come before tortoises?