Cover Image: Matilda at 30: Chief Executive of the British Library

Matilda at 30: Chief Executive of the British Library

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Member Reviews

Funny and clever. Makes you laugh and cry.. and think too. Iconic author and your must read book. Every person - young and old should read it to relax and have good time.

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With thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

First of all, I can't believe that Matilda is 30... just seems yesterday I was reading it for the first time and wishing I had her 'powers'

The book hasn't lost it magic in the 30 years and is still as brilliant as ever. A very good book.

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Matilda and I have come a long way together and yet it has been quite a while since last we met. It caught me by surprise to learn that she has also hit her thirties and while I recognise that the new Quentin Blake illustrations to accompany the anniversary editions are a marketing ploy, I fell for them hook, line and sinker. Matilda Wormwood was one of the seminal literary characters of my childhood. I read her, I loved her, I reread her. But it was more than that. If you were a little girl who read a lot during the early 1990s, then you were labelled as like Matilda. A few years later, it switched to Hermione Granger. But I never felt like a Hermione. I did want to be a Matilda. And even now, Matilda feels like she is somehow mine. It has felt strange to see how she has stayed the same, becoming a supermarket staple for World Book Day costumes, while I have grown up. The new editions made me smile because it was like greeting an old friend. At last Matilda had caught me up and we could be reunited once more.

There is something about the name Matilda which signals rebel. When I read Storyteller, Donald Sturrock's biography of Roald Dahl, it was suggested that Dahl had taken inspiration from Hillaire Belloc's glorious poem about Matilda the fire-starter. Another iconic Matilda is the one played by Natalie Portman in the film Leon: The Professional, only seven years after Dahl's Matilda hit the shelves. Another worthy holder of the name is would-be queen Matilda who allegedly escaped from Oxford Castle by abseiling out the window on bedsheets and then skated down the icy river to freedom. But still, it is Dahl's Matilda who reigns supreme.

What is it about her that we love so much? She is small and she fights back against authority. She has integrity and stands up for what is right. She is the archetypal fearless girl. And reading is her superpower. But oddly enough, she was nearly a completely different character. The original draft saw her 'born wicked', using her powers to gamble on horses and ultimately dying as a result of her dreadful deeds. Dahl's editors sent him back to the drawing board, ruining their relationship with him in the process but ultimately gifting his readership with one of his most likeable books.

The Matilda industry has grown and evolved over her thirty years. In the 1990s, if a British novel became popular then the characters were immediately transplanted over to America to make a successful film. And so we got the wonderful Danny DeVito film featuring Mara Wilson. It's funny how that was such a quotable film and yet it has faded so far in the popular consciousness. Flash forward twenty odd years and if a story is popular, it gets made into a musical. Frustratingly though, I have not yet seen Matilda the Musical but I'm keen enough to see it that I may actually re-subscribe to Netflix and catch the film version.

My point through this is that Matilda has evolved to attract a changing fanbase but the character herself has remained the same. Small. Dark hair. Blue dress. Easy to pick out in a crowd. Or indeed to dress up as. Ready to be re-colonised by a new generation of little girls who love to read. I liked though that this anniversary edition does not just celebrate that the book has remained in print all these years but also calls back to the original generation of fans. We were the first to love her, we still do and while we are happy to see her befriend our children, it is nice to see our own history with her acknowledged too.

I do not go in heavily for book-related home furnishings but I do have several Matilda illustrations up in my home. I even have a cushion featuring her in my living room. There was even a brief period when I considered Matilda as a front-runner for possible names for my daughter. At least until my partner pointed out gently that to do so would be loading our child up with a hefty amount of expectation. I am glad that I gave my daughter a name of 'her own' but I will always love Matilda.

Of the three anniversary editions, my favourite is the World Traveller. I know she loved books enough to be a librarian and that she was clever enough to be an astrophysicist but I like the idea of Matilda the globe trotter. The girl who dreamed of flying through the sky on silver wings deserved to explore the unknown. But the glorious thing about Matilda is that she could have grown up to be anything. She was gifted, she was brilliant, she was determined. Whatever it was that she would have decided to do, we know that she would have excelled. Be she poet, actress, wrestler, hairdresser, astrophysicist or prime minister, Matilda at thirty would have been at the top of her game.

I am so glad that the publishers chose to depict Matilda as a mature woman. For me, my thirties have been my favourite decade yet. My teens were plagued by insecurity, my twenties were a lot of fun but also had a few very tricky years in and among. My thirties have been a time of self-acceptance. They have also been the years when I welcomed my children, my own ultimate wish. Funnily though, I can't picture motherhood among Matilda's incarnations. She was always an independent spirit standing alone. But I could be wrong. For me and many of my contemporaries though, our thirties have been the years where we got where we wanted to be. The varying possibilities portrayed by these book covers suggest that the same is true for Matilda, whether as Dr Wormwood, Professor Wormwood, Ms Wormwood or whichever other path she chose. And for that, I truly rejoice.

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Knew exactly what I was getting with this. Fantastic thoroughly enjoyable read. 5 stars 🌟 without a doubt!

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Roald dahl was my favourite author as a child so when this came out, I was so glad I got a copy. Wonderful story, still love Matilda as much as I did back then

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One of my favourite books as a child, still brilliant. Still waiting for my powers. My children love it too.

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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A beautiful edition of a classic children's book. I loved re-reading one of my favourites as a child and it certainly does stand the test of time

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I love this. Matilda was my go-to read as a kid. It's strange thinking of her all grown up (and my age at the time this was published)

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Matilda is still as funny as she was when she was 10.
Absolutely delightful to revisit a childhood favorite — if you're a Matilda fan, make sure to read this one :)

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Wow I can not believe that Matilda is 30! I love the cover design of this book as I'd always imagined Matilda venturing down the book avenue in her career. What a great way to celebrate a well written classic.

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Matilda is as perfectly delightful today as she was 30 years ago! What a wonderful trip down memory lane, and a fantastic prompt to add the movie to my Christmas watch list. Roald Dahl was sublimely talented in expressing his creativity to children, and his books still hold the same magic when you're way past 30 yourself!

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I was a little too old for this book when it first came out but I had loved other Roald Dahl books as I was growing up (Danny the Champion of the World was my favourite back then!). So when my baby brother was old enough to have this read to him, there was no way anyone else was getting the chance but me (this was almost 30 years ago now)! I’m so glad I made time to re-read it recently as I loved it as much as I ever did. Matilda is such a brilliant character, one you root for all the way through the book. I remember getting absorbed in my very own copy of Oliver Twist when I was 9 and while I was nowhere near as precocious as Matilda I could identify with the way adults didn’t believe I could read at that level on my own. I loved the humour in this book, Roald Dahl had such a talent for capturing children’s imaginations but also making his books fun for adults to (re-)read too. I adore this book and now want to re-read my whole Roald Dahl collection!

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Unfortunately i was unable to download this book in a readable format so i will not be able to give a review

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Loved this book and also loved the film when much younger and still love it now, as an adult! Wonderful!

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Who doesn't love Matilda, or any Roald Dahl for that matter?

Every time I read it I find myself falling in love with it a little bit more, and find my fear of Miss Trunchbull growing even more. A tale that never ages and one that will enthrall children for generations to come.

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Matilda is a classic of the children's canon, and the new covers for the 30th anniversary are everything a little girl could imagine for what grown-up Matilda might be doing. The story is still wonderful - and the continuing presence of the musical in the West End ensures that this will remain a staple for another generation.

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An amazing book that reminded me just how magical Matilda is / was - sure to be a favourite for kids and adults alike!

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Matilda is a classic. Ronald Dahl is, in my opinion, one of the best children's authors ever, and Matilda is one of my favourites.
It shows the importance of finding strength from within. The power of books and knowledge and the ever important need for love and acceptance.
Amazing. Simply amazing!

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Matilda is in school with a horrible principal who makes everyone's life hell. At home as well, she's faced with horrible parents. The only light in her life is in the form of a sweet teacher who looks after her. After Matilda discovers she has magic powers, she uses those powers to put everyone in their place and lives happily ever after. It's a great classic.

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