Four-year-old James Henry Trotter lives happily with his caring parents in a beautiful house by the sea. He has the perfect life, with friends and plenty of fun activities to keep him busy. All that changes when his parents are killed while on a shopping trip to London. A rhinoceros escapes from London Zoo and eats them. James, with nothing except a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush, is sent to live with his “horrible” aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. His aunts live in the south of England, in a rundown house on the very top of a high hill. James thinks he can see his beloved parent’s house in the distance. Neither aunt calls James by his name. They call him “you disgusting little beast”, or “you filthy nuisance” (2), and beat him for no reason. James is not given any toys or books and is never allowed to go beyond the garden fence. The only thing in the garden, apart from an old laurel bush, is an ancient peach tree. James becomes progressively more depressed and spends all his free time gazing at the forbidden world of woods, fields, and the ocean beyond the fence.