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Critics are accusing the British publisher of Roald Dahl's children's books of censorship after it removed colourful language to make them more acceptable to modern readers.
Key points:
- Puffin Books worked with a company that aims make children's literature more inclusive and accessible
- In the new editions, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Augustus Gloop is called "enormous" rather than "enormously fat"
- Critics say the approach risks "distorting the work" of great authors
A review of new editions of Dahl's books now available in bookstores shows that some passages relating to weight, mental health, gender and race have been altered.
The changes made by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House, first were reported by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Augustus Gloop is no longer "enormously fat", just "enormous".
In the new edition of Witches, a supernatural female posing as an ordinary woman may be working as a "top scientist or running a business" instead of as a "cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman".
The word "black" has removed from the description of the terrible tractors in The Fabulous Mr. Fox, with the machines now described as "murderous, brutal-looking monsters".
Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie was among those who reacted angrily to the rewriting of Dahl's words.
"Roald Dahl was no angel, but this is absurd censorship,'' Rushdie said.
There is a growing debate over cultural sensitivity as campaigners seek to protect young people from cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes.
Critics complain revisions to suit 21st century sensibilities risks undermining the genius of artists.
The Roald Dahl Story Company said it worked with Puffin to review the texts because it wanted to ensure "Dahl's wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today".
Language in Dahl's books was reviewed in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective which is working to make children's literature more inclusive and accessible.
The company said any changes were "small and carefully considered".
It said the analysis started in 2020, before Netflix bought the Roald Dahl Story Company.
"When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it's not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details, including a book's cover and page layout,'' the company said.
"Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text."
Puffin was contacted for comment.
Writers 'alarmed' by changes
Dahl died in 1990, at the age of 74, and was a controversial figure who made anti-Semitic comments, which his family apologised for in 2020, saying it recognised the "lasting and understandable hurt" the comments caused.
PEN America — a group of writers who advocate for freedom of expression — said it was "alarmed" by reports of the changes to Dahl's books.
"If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society," PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel said.
Deputy literary editor of London's Sunday Times newspaper said the editors "should be ashamed of the botched surgery they've carried out on some of the finest children's literature".
"I'll be carefully stowing away my old, original copies of Dahl's stories, so that one day my children can enjoy them in their full, nasty, colourful glory," she said.
AP