Roald Dahl's Matilda stands up to Donald Trump in defiant new statue

A new statue of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, standing up to President Donald Trump, has been unveiled to mark the 30th anniversary of the novel’s publication.

The two statues at the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire were created as part of a “reimagining” of Dahl’s 1986 book.

Trump was chosen by the public as the young heroine’s modern-day nemesis, the Roald Dahl Story Company said. In the book, Matilda stood up to her tyrannical teacher Miss Trunchbull, famously played by Darling Buds of May star Pam Ferris in the 1996 film adaptation.

The new temporary statues, unveiled today, can be found in the opposite the library in Great Missenden where Dahl lived for many years. The town’s library inspired Mrs Phelps’ library in the book, where young Matilda learned to read at an early age after being neglected by her parents, Mr and Mrs Wormwood.

Bernie Hall, from The Roald Dahl Story Company, told the BBC: “Matilda demonstrates that it’s possible for anyone, no matter how small and powerless they feel, to defeat the Trunchbulls in their own lives – a message that feels even more relevant today than it did 30 years ago.”

Prime Minister Theresa May came second and TV presenter Piers Morgan came third in the poll that asked public to name people who they imagined Matilda would stand up to in 2018.

The poll also revealed that the public believes that Matilda, who develops telekinetic powers in the book, would still be best friends with Lavender, and that Bertie Bogtrotter – who is force fed a huge chocolate cake in the story – would be a contestant on The Great British Bake Off.

Actor and filmmaker Danny DeVito, who directed the 1996 adaptation of Matilda, is also an outspoken critic of President Trump, once calling the politician “a clown”.

Dahl, who also wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and Witches, died in 1990 aged 74.

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