Publisher to offer ‘classic’ Dahl books after backlash to changes
Publisher Penguin Random House will publish “classic” unexpurgated versions of Roald Dahl’s children’s novels after it received criticism for cuts and rewrites that were intended to make the books suitable for modern readers.
Along with the new editions, the company said 17 of Dahl’s books would be published in their original form later this year as “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” so “readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.”
The move comes after critics accused the publisher of censorship after it removed colorful language from works such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and other classics for recent editions released under the company’s Puffin children’s label. Passages relating to weight, mental health, gender and race have been altered in the new versions.
Augustus Gloop, Charlie’s gluttonous antagonist in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which originally was published in 1964, became “enormous” rather than “enormously fat.” In the new edition of 1983’s “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” was removed from the description of the terrible tractors in 1970’s “The Fabulous Mr. Fox.” The machines are now simply “murderous, brutal-looking monsters.”
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which controls the rights to the books, said it had worked with Puffin to review and revise the texts because it wanted to ensure that “Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today.”
The changes to Dahl’s books marked the latest skirmish in a debate over cultural sensitivity as campaigners seek to protect young people from cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes in literature and other media. Critics complain revisions to suit 21st-century sensibilities risk undermining the genius of great artists and preventing readers from confronting the world as it is.
While tweaking old books is not a new phenomenon, the scale of the edits to Dahl’s texts drew strong criticism from free-speech groups, such as writers’ organization PEN America, and authors, including Salman Rushdie.
On Twitter, Rushdie — who lived under threat of death from Iran’s Islamic regime for years because of the alleged blasphemy of his novel “The Satanic Verses” — called the revisions “absurd censorship.”
Rushdie tweeted news of Penguin’s change of heart with the words, “Penguin Books back down after Roald Dahl backlash!”
PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel wrote on Twitter: “I applaud Penguin for hearing out critics, taking the time to rethink this, and coming to the right place.”
Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children’s, said the publisher had “listened to the debate … which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation.
“By making both Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are offering readers the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl’s magical, marvelous stories,” Dow added.
Dahl died in 1990 at age 74. His books — with their mischievous children, strange beasts and often beastly adults — have sold more than 300 million copies and been translated into 68 languages. But he is also a controversial figure because of antisemitic comments made throughout his life.
The Dahl family apologized in 2020, saying it recognized the “lasting and understandable hurt caused by Roald Dahl’s antisemitic statements.”