[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.

A hideous, vindictive, spiteful married couple known as the Twits live together in a brick house without windows.

On a Tuesday night, a group of four boys see the ladder next to this tree and they decided to walk up into it, not thinking or knowing that glue was on it.

Hours later, both Mr. and Mrs. Twit are putting all their weight down on the heads and catch the "Dreaded Shrinks" with their bodies compressing "downwards".

Mr. Twit is a wicked person, having hair that covers his entire face, with the exception of his forehead, eyes, and nose.

Because he never washes it, Mr. Twit's beard holds scraps of food stuck there while he ate, including tinned sardines, Stilton cheese, and corn flakes.

As part of a plan to make Mrs. Twit feel that she is shrinking, he slowly extended her chair and cane until she was convinced that she was getting shorter.

Mrs. Twit takes advantage of her glass eye to play practical jokes in revenge against her husband, and demonstrates multiple acts of cruelty and viciousness throughout the story: the main reason behind her use of a walking cane was as a weapon against innocent children and animals, she participates in the torment of the couple's pet monkeys the Muggle-Wumps, and she once served Mr. Twit a lunch of worms disguised as spaghetti.

While Mrs. Twit frequently demonstrates acts of stupidity, she has also exhibited intelligence as she managed to maneuver her way out of being carried off into the sky by balloons by chewing through several of the strings and landing safely on the ground.

Brief descriptions appear below: Mrs. Twit removes her glass eye and drops it in her husband's beer mug while he isn't looking.

During their absence on this errand, Muggle-Wump plots a final trick: to turn the Twits' house upside down.

Everything goes as planned, the Twits believed they've been turned upside down and so stand on their heads to counter it, only to be stuck to the bare floor.

With so much weight on it from above, the Twits literally get 'the shrinks', as was mentioned earlier in the book, but this time it's not a trick; it's the real thing.

[7] The decision was met with sharp criticism from groups and public figures including authors Salman Rushdie[8][9] and Christopher Paolini,[10] British prime minister Rishi Sunak,[8][9] Queen Camilla,[8][11][12] Kemi Badenoch,[13] PEN America,[8][9] and Brian Cox.

[14][15] In February 2003, a feature film adaptation of the book entered development at Vanguard Animation with its founder John H. Williams set to produce.

As part of a multi-picture deal with Walt Disney Pictures, Vanguard was set to produce a CG animated/live-action film, with John Cleese and Kirk DeMicco writing the screenplay.

[16] In November 2004, Mark Mylod signed up to direct the feature, while Cleese was attached to star in the film.

[19][20] By January 2012, the official site of Vanguard Animation stated that Conrad Vernon, the director of Shrek 2 (2004) and Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), would direct the film.

[23] In April 1999, a theatrical musical adaptation by Justin Pearson (general manager and the artistic director of the UK's National Symphony Orchestra) and actress Anne Collis, directed by Michael Dineen was presented at The Questors Theatre in Ealing, West London.

A second production of The Twits adapted by Enda Walsh and directed by John Tiffany was performed at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2015, running from 7 April to 31 May.

In 2024, it was announced that Greg James and Chris Smith would co-write a continuation novel titled The Twits Next Door illustrated by Emily Jones.