“This censorship is simply absurd”: British publishing house criticized online for rewriting Roald Dahl books

From the works of the children's writer Roald Dahl, in some new editions, many words and expressions related to the mental health, physique, gender and race of the characters were cut or rewritten.

The British publisher Puffin Books felt that the books "are not up to modern standards".

The company re-released Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, The Amazing Mr. Fox, and James and the Giant Peach with new wording.

As noted, this measure was taken out of respect for the "cultural sensitivity" of the current audience, as well as the desire to make the works more acceptable to a new reader.

For example, such epithets as “freak” and “crazy”, as well as other references to the appearance and psychological portrait of the characters, were removed from the book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

So, the "very fat boy" August Gloop in the new edition appears simply "huge".

And the “fat seller” is a “seller”.

Moreover, the author's description of the character, implying an obese person, has been preserved.

At the same time, the gender identity of the Oompa-Loompa pygmy tribe has become neutral: in the new edition, the description of small men ("little men") is no longer applicable to them, now they are small people ("little people").

By the way, in the Russian-language version from 1991, the inhabitants of Lumplandia are described as a “people”, in which there are both women and men.

In the pages of Marvelous Mr. Fox, caterpillar tractors are no longer "black", but simply "deadly sinister monsters".

And in the new edition of The Witches, the heroine is a woman "leading an academic activity or managing a business" instead of a cashier in a store or a secretary.

Many users of social networks and public people reacted negatively to such changes made to the works of the writer.

Some urge not to ignore this kind of censorship.

The publisher of the books of the late Roald Dahl made hundreds of changes to them, presumably to make them more palatable to a "sensitive" audience.

Such totalitarian censorship should be widely condemned by writers and publishers,” said one Twitter user.

Booker Prize-winning writer Salman Rushdie could not resist commenting.

“Roald Dahl was no saint, but this censorship is simply absurd!

Puffin Books and The (Roald. -

) Dahl Estate should be ashamed, ”wrote the writer.

“Something about this change in the Roald Dahl books bothers me.

I don’t know how ethical it is to make changes to the text of a writer who has already died and cannot accept or reject them, ”one of the site users echoes him.

Susan Nossel, a human rights activist and head of PEN America, was also among the opponents.

According to her, the organization is concerned about the hundreds of edits made to Dahl's books just because the original expressions could offend anyone.

In addition, she emphasized that such liberties are reflected in the original narrative and generally distort the work of great authors.

“Literature should surprise and provoke.

This is part of her strength.

By setting out to eliminate anything that could offend someone, you weaken the power of the narrative, ”she said.

Instead of rewriting the wording, Nossel proposes to preface the books with introductory text and clarify the historical context in which the works were created.

“Will this end?

Will we rewrite Shakespeare, Doyle, Joyce, Atwood, or even the Bible?

We live in a country where freedom of choice reigns: if you don’t like Dal, don’t read it, but don’t change the original text,” says another comment.

Even British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined the discussion.

A representative of his office noted the importance of preserving rather than editing literary works.

“We have always defended the right to freedom of speech and expression,” the commentary says.

In the meantime, the Roald Dahl Story Company stated that it was involved in the amendment with the publisher.

The organization believes that the change in wording is akin to a new design and layout of works.

“It is not unusual to revise the wording used and update other details, including (design. - RT ) covers

page layout, when publishing new editions of books written many years ago.

We have always been guided by the principle of preserving the storylines, characters, as well as the bold and witty spirit of the original text.

All changes made were minor and carefully considered, ”the company said in a statement cited by the media.

The trend to make changes to original works is not new.

In 2020, Agatha Christie's book "Ten Little Indians" was republished in France with a new title - "There were ten."

The initiative came from the writer's grandson, James Pritchard, who heads Agatha Christie Limited, which owns the rights to Christie's works.

According to him, the novel contains expressions that are irrelevant to modern times and affect the feelings of readers.

The word “negro children” used 74 times in the work is replaced by “soldiers”.

“I believe that Agatha Christie wanted to entertain people first of all, and the idea that her speech turns offend someone, she probably would not like it.

Fortunately, now we can fix it, make everything acceptable to everyone, without distorting the meaning, - quotes the words of Pritchard RTL.

Later writers Rudyard Kipling and Enid Blyton were accused of "imperialism" and "racism" respectively.

This statement was made by the British State Commission "English Heritage", dealing with the protection of historical monuments.

However, their work has not been corrected.

Discussions due to inconsistency with modern views are also held around films.

So, according to cinematographer John Ridley, Gone with the Wind broadcasts painful stereotypes about black people.

Because of this, the tape was removed from the HBO Max video library.

Later, the picture was returned to the catalog of the video service with additional material that clarifies the historical context.

In addition, the Disney+ video service blocked access to the animated films Aladdin, The Aristocratic Cats, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan and Dumbo for children under seven years of age two years ago.

The site's management claimed that the paintings contained "erroneous stereotypes".

At the same time, cartoons are available to an adult audience with a warning about their harmful effects.