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Roald Dahl revision controversy

Puffin Books, the children's imprint of the British publisher Penguin Books, expurgated various works by British author Roald Dahl in 2023, sparking controversy.

Works by Roald Dahl (author pictured in 1988) were expurgated in 2023.

Dahl has received criticism for anti-Semitic comments and his use of racial and sexual stereotypes. Reviewing Australian author Tony Clifton's God Cried, a picture book about the siege of West Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War, Dahl used several antisemitic tropes, including claiming that the United States was "dominated by Jewish financial institutions". Following Dahl's death in 1990, multiple works of his were examined further, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and Dahl's short story collection Switch Bitch. Dahl's comments received renewed attention in the years leading up to the controversy, with his family issuing an apology for his comments in 2020.

During his lifetime Dahl had urged his publishers not to "so much as change a single comma in one of my books".[1] On 19 February 2023 Puffin Books announced it had hired sensitivity readers over the span of three years to assess Dahl's works, rereleasing his work with multiple changes regarding Dahl's depiction of race, sex, and character. A report from British newspaper The Telegraph determined that Puffin Books altered hundreds of passages in Dahl's work, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches. Facing backlash from readers and authors, on 23 February Puffin Books announced that Dahl's original publications would be released alongside the expurgated versions as "The Roald Dahl Classic Collection", but did not retract the revisions.

Various authors, politicians, and organisations have provided commentary on the controversy. In the following month it was announced that the works of Enid Blyton (author of The Famous Five) and Ian Fleming (author of James Bond) would be expurgated as well, and it was revealed that R. L. Stine's Goosebumps had already been expurgated, without the author's knowledge or consent.

Background

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They killed 22,000 civilians when they bombed Beirut. It was very much hushed up in the newspapers because they are primarily Jewish-owned. I'm certainly anti-Israeli and I've become antisemitic in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism. I think they should see both sides. It's the same old thing: we all know about Jews and the rest of it. There aren't any non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media—jolly clever thing to do—that's why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel.

– Roald Dahl in an interview with The Independent[2]

Roald Dahl was a British author of children's literature. Dahl's works are published by Puffin Books, the children's imprint of the British publisher Penguin Books, while the rights to his works are managed by the Roald Dahl Story Company.[3] In September 2021, streaming service Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company.[4]

Dahl's comments and writing have received criticism. In the August 1983 issue of the Literary Review, a review by Dahl of Tony Clifton's God Cried appears, in which he writes that the United States is "so utterly dominated by the great Jewish financial institutions" and asks, "must Israel, like Germany, be brought to her knees before she learns how to behave in this world?"[2] In a 1990 interview with The Independent, Dahl said that he had become antisemitic, "in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism".[5]

Characters in Dahl's works have been criticised for perceived racist and sexist stereotypes. In 1972, children's book author Eleanor Cameron compared the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to African slaves in an article for The Horn Book Magazine.[6] These statements were echoed further following Dahl's death in 1990, with book critic Michael Dirda accusing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches of racism and misogyny, respectively, in an article for The Washington Post.[7] In the Jewish-American and feminist publication Lilith, Michele Landsberg argued that "evil, domineering, smelly, fat, ugly women are [Dahl's] favorite villains".[8] Dahl's short story collection Switch Bitch was criticised for its crude and disturbing themes.[9] In 1973, Dahl rewrote Oompa-Loompas, making them white in skin colour.[10] In 2020, Dahl's family apologised for his antisemitic comments.[11]

Revisions

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On 19 February 2023, Puffin Books announced that it would be altering the language used in many of Dahl's books to expurgate what they deemed derogatory words and passages. The process took approximately three years, and was conducted in association with Inclusive Minds, a collective that promotes accessibility and inclusivity.[12] A report from British newspaper The Telegraph found hundreds of removed or altered words and passages.[13]

Some changes focused on race and ethnicity. Numerous changes were made to the use of colour descriptions, whether in reference to skin colour (a character having a face "white with horror", becoming "agog with horror") or otherwise (a person saying something "darkly", which is changed to "mysteriously").[13]

References to other countries, regions, and ethnicities were sometimes removed or significantly altered, as were references to cultural practices, culturally-tied words, and indigenous lifestyles. For example, a character "hopping about like a dervish" in Fantastic Mr Fox became "like a frog".[13]

Other changes focused on sex and gender. The word queer (in the sense of "strange") was regularly removed, and most references to "men and women", "boys and girls", "mothers and fathers", and similar were replaced with equivalent gender-neutral words and phrases such as "parents" or "siblings". Similarly, masculine pronouns were changed in certain general circumstances, such as the plan in The Witches to catch "the catspringer in his burrow" becoming "its burrow". In some cases, references to gender were changed, including changing the character of "Small Fox" in Fantastic Mr Fox from male to female.[13]

References to roles traditionally associated with men or women were often altered, and some insults directed at women were often softened (such as "ugly old cow" becoming "ghastly old shrew" in The Twits). The stereotype of female shrillness was sometimes obscured. References to behavioral differences between men and women were also removed or altered, including the removal of some dialogue in The BFG about girls' and boys' dreams ("If I is giving a girl's dream to a boy, even if it was a really whoppsy girl's dream, the boy would be waking up and thinking what a rotbungling grinksludging old dream that was.")[13]

Other changes focused on appearance and disabilities. Many references to people, especially women, being physically attractive or unattractive were removed. The word fat was regularly removed, being replaced with terms such as enormous or large, as were references to short height and similar descriptions. References to characters being old was sometimes altered or removed.[13]

The words crazy and mad, along with similar words, were regularly removed, as were some descriptions of low intelligence and mental disorders, such as removing a line from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory about a character being "shut up in some disgusting sanatorium". References to physical deformity or disability, including deafness, were also commonly removed or altered.[13]

References to lack of privilege were sometimes altered, such as removing a description of Sophie as "a little orphan of no real importance in the world" from The BFG.[13]

References to poor personal hygiene were often removed, while some references to drinking alcohol and smoking were also changed. In Fantastic Mr Fox, Small Fox sniffs a bottle of cider rather than taking a sip, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Oompa Loompas are no longer described as "drunk as lords" on butterscotch and soda.[13]

Other changes focused on violence. Comic references to violence were sometimes removed, and references to corporal punishment were changed. Mentions of deadly weapons such as guns and knives were often removed.[13]

References to slaves and prisoners were removed, and certain references to death were removed.[13]

Other changes focused on words that in British English usage have taken on more vulgar associations, such as horny and fanny.[13]

Some changes removed whole lines or passages, while others replaced them with entirely new text. The centipede's songs in James and the Giant Peach that contrasted the "tremendously flabby" Aunt Sponge with the "thin as a wire" Aunt Spiker were changed to a more general lyrics about both characters being "nasty" and "frightful". Willy Wonka's anecdote about having tried Hair Toffee on an Oompa-Loompa in the Testing Room ("and immediately a huge black beard started shooting out of his chin") was changed to Wonka testing the sweet personally.[13]

Editions

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Following the announcement, e-book copies of Dahl's works were automatically updated.[14][15]

Dahl's publishers in the United States, France, and the Netherlands announced they had declined to incorporate the changes altogether.[16]

On 23 February, Puffin Books announced The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, consisting of Dahl's original texts. The expurgated versions will continue to be sold.[17]

Aftermath

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Criticism of sensitivity readers

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See also: Sensitivity reader

Puffin Books' use of sensitivity readers to determine potentially offensive words or phrases renewed criticism of sensitivity readers as a whole; the use of sensitivity readers in the industry has increased following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

British poet Kate Clanchy, whose own work was edited by sensitivity readers, wrote an essay in The Times in response to Puffin Books' revisions to Dahl, criticising sensitivity readers:[18]

After my Orwell Prize-winning memoir Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me became embroiled in a Twitter storm, my publishers sought to solve the problem by sending the book to sensitivity readers. I was quite happy to do this, I thought it would help. […] One of my sensitivity readers told me that I should remove all mentions of terrorism and violence as it was "too heavy a topic with minors involved". […] I think these young people would also have agreed terrorism was "too heavy a topic" for them. Nevertheless, it happened in their lives and could not be clipped away from their experience like a sentence. I wanted my readers to understand that, even if it did discomfort them, because it was the truth, and I didn't want to change it even if it did mean losing my books.[19]

Reaction

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Readers

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Many readers and fans expressed outrage at the idea that an author's words would be changed after death, or dismay at revisions. The backlash was so strong, Puffin Books announced a few days later that it would continue to publish the older versions of the books alongside the revised editions.[20][21][22][23]

Authors

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The revisions were met with sharp criticism from numerous authors and literary groups. British-American novelist Salman Rushdie criticised the rewrites in a tweet, writing, "Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed."[24][16][25][26] Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of PEN America, spoke on behalf of the organisation to condemn Puffin Books' changes.[16][25][27] In an interview with Newsnight, author Margaret Atwood said concerning the revisions: "Good luck with Roald Dahl. You're just really going to have to replace the whole book if you want things to be nice. But this started a long time ago; it was the Disneyfication of fairy tales. What do I think of it? I'm with Chaucer, who said, 'If you don't like this tale, turn over the page and read something else.'"[28] Author Christopher Paolini wrote in a tweet, "This is wrong. Ban a book if you must. Or put a content warning at the front. But don't rewrite it. Don't put words in an author's mouth (especially one who has no say in the matter)."[26]

In contrast, author Joanne Harris supported the revisions in a tweet,[29] saying: 'Publishers updating a book - with the approval of the author's estate - to ensure its saleability is not censorship. It's just business.'[30] English writer Philip Pullman suggested that Dahl's work should fade away in favour of authors such as Malorie Blackman, Michael Morpurgo, or Beverley Naidoo.[31] At Writer's Digest, author and translator Diego Jourdan Pereira compared the situation to similar revisions of books in earlier decades, such as The Purple Smurfs and Tintin in the Congo,[32] saying that classic children's books will always be modified or withdrawn from sale to reflect modern sensibilities.[33]

Politicians and government

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, referencing The BFG, stated that Puffin Books "shouldn't gobblefunk around with words."[16][25][31] Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson recited the opening line of the poem "Augustus Gloop" (which had been heavily edited by Puffin) and compared Puffin's actions to Thomas Bowdler's expurgation of William Shakespeare's work.[34]

Kemi Badenoch, British Minister for Women and Equalities, spoke publicly on the matter, saying, "If you change everything old to look new, then people don't know what things used to be like, which means that you lose the institutional memory, you lose the collective memory," adding, "But changing the words that someone wrote, I don't think is right."[35]

Queen Camilla was reportedly "shocked and dismayed" upon hearing about the revisions, and publicly denounced them.[16][36][37][38]

Other contemporary reactions

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Several journalists have written op-eds on the controversy. The Atlantic's Helen Lewis used Dahl's novel My Uncle Oswald—known for its vulgarity, sexism, and themes of eugenics—to state that grotesque description of people is rooted within Dahl's work, and as such cannot be omitted, describing the revisions as "corporate safetyism".[39] In a differing opinion, Matthew Walter of The Lamp viewed the controversy as insignificant, comparing the release of the collection to New Coke and Coca-Cola Classic.[40]

English comedian Ricky Gervais poked fun at the changes in a tweet.[41] The revisions were also criticised by actors Brian Cox[35] and Whoopi Goldberg.[42]

Legacy

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On 26 February 2023, Ian Fleming Publications announced that Ian Fleming's James Bond series would receive several revisions, including removing racial slurs and a racist depiction of African Americans in Live and Let Die, following a review from sensitivity reviewers.[43]

It was reported that following the Dahl edits, author R. L. Stine was reworking the text of some of his Goosebumps books. Stine denied this, saying that "The stories aren't true. I've never changed a word in Goosebumps. Any changes were never shown to me."[44] The publisher Scholastic clarified in a statement that some edits had been made to reissues of the books several years previously, saying that they had "reviewed the text to keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person's view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health".[44]

A month later, it was announced Enid Blyton's works would be expurgated as well.[45][46][47]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sawer, Patrick (25 February 2023). "Roald Dahl warned 'politically correct' publishers – 'change one word and deal with my crocodile'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Dahl, Roald (August 1983). "Not a Chivalrous Affair". Literary Review. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  3. ^ Syed, Armani (20 February 2023). "Why Rewrites to Roald Dahl's Books Are Stirring Controversy". Time. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  4. ^ Guy, Jack (22 September 2021). "Netflix buys rights to Roald Dahl's beloved children's stories". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  5. ^ Murphy, Simon (6 November 2018). "Royal Mint rejected Roald Dahl coin over antisemitic views". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  6. ^ Cameron, Eleanor (19 October 1972). "McLuhan, Youth, and Literature: Part I". The Horn Book Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  7. ^ Dirda, Michael (12 May 1991). "The Disturbing Mr. Dahl". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  8. ^ Landsberg, Michele (27 September 1998). "Think Twice about Roald Dahl". Lilith. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  9. ^ Mullally, Una (3 September 2016). "Women, as written by Roald Dahl". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  10. ^ Siddique, Haroon (13 September 2017). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hero 'was originally black'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  11. ^ Schwartz, Michael (6 December 2020). "Roald Dahl Family Apologizes For Children's Author's Anti-Semitism". NPR. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  12. ^ Kirka, Danica (19 February 2023). "Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cumming, Ed; Buchanan, Abigail; Holl-Allen, Genevieve; Smith, Benedict (24 February 2023). "Roald Dahl rewritten: the hundreds of changes made to suit a new 'sensitive' generation". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  14. ^ Meek, Andy (1 March 2023). "The Roald Dahl censorship news is a reminder your eBooks aren't safe from the sensitivity police". BGR. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  15. ^ Ellery, Ben; Beal, James (25 February 2023). "Roald Dahl ebooks 'force censored versions on readers' despite backlash". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e Blair, Elizabeth (24 February 2023). "Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print". NPR. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Publisher rolls back proposed changes to Roald Dahl books after backlash". ABC News. 24 February 2023. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  18. ^ Gollom, Mark (5 March 2023). "Why 'sensitivity readers' are causing such a stir in the publishing world". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  19. ^ Clanchy, Kate (21 February 2023). "I was censored by 'sensitivity readers'. Now they're on to Roald Dahl". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  20. ^ Hughes, William (18 February 2023). "Fans react to publisher efforts to edit in a kinder, gentler Roald Dahl". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  21. ^ Das, Amrita (19 February 2023). "'It staggers me': Netizens react as Roald Dahl's books are edited to remove words deemed sensitive". SKPop. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  22. ^ O'Neill, Natalie (24 February 2023). "Roald Dahl publisher backtracks, will also print 'un-woke' versions of books". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  23. ^ Jakhwal, Sejal (22 February 2023). "Revised Versions of Roald Dahl's Books Reach Stores, Publishers Criticised for 'Absurd Censorship'". IndiaTimes. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  24. ^ Zymeri, Jeff (21 February 2023). "Salman Rushdie Blasts 'Absurd' Censorship of Roald Dahl". National Review. New York City, NY, USA: National Review, Inc. ISSN 0028-0038. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  25. ^ a b c Dellatto, Marisa (20 February 2023). "Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' And More". Forbes. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. ISSN 0015-6914. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  26. ^ a b Murdock, Hannah (21 February 2023). "Authors react to 'absurd' changes to Roald Dahl's children's books to make them less offensive". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  27. ^ Mandler, C (19 February 2023). "Changes to Roald Dahl's books spark criticism: 'Absurd censorship'". CBS News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  28. ^ Atwood, Margaret (17 March 2023). "Margaret Atwood on gender, women's rights, and Roald Dahl revisions". Newsnight (Interview). Interviewed by Kirsty Wark. BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  29. ^ Roy, Nilanjana (24 February 2023). "The case against rewriting Roald Dahl". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Good for business? It's still censorship". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  31. ^ a b Rawlinson, Kevin; Banfield-Nwachi, Mabel; Shaffi, Sarah (20 February 2023). "Rishi Sunak joins criticism of changes to Roald Dahl books". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  32. ^ Comments, Rich Johnston | (12 December 2023). "Tintin In The Congo Republished With Racism In Context". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  33. ^ Pereira, Diego Jourdan (28 August 2023). "Roald Rage: On When and Whether It Makes Sense to Update Previously Published Text for Modern Sensibilities". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  34. ^ Adu, Aletha (2 March 2023). "Boris Johnson recites Oompa-Loompas song in defence of Roald Dahl's books". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  35. ^ a b Honeycombe-Foster, Matt; Blanchard, Jack (21 February 2023). "UK's Badenoch slams 'problematic' rewrites of classic Roald Dahl books". Politico. Arlington County, Virginia, USA: Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  36. ^ Lawless, Jill (24 February 2023). "Penguin to publish 'classic' Roald Dahl books after backlash". Associated Press. New York City, NY, USA. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023.
  37. ^ Tominey, Camilla. "Thank heavens for Queen Camilla, who saved Britain from Roald Dahl censorship". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  38. ^ Vanderhoof, Erin (24 February 2023). "Queen Consort Camilla Was Reportedly 'Shocked and Dismayed' About the New Roald Dahl Editions". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  39. ^ Lewis, Helen (21 February 2023). "Roald Dahl Can Never Be Made Nice". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  40. ^ Walter, Matthew (3 March 2023). "The Truth About the 'Censorship' of Roald Dahl". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  41. ^ Frost, Caroline (25 February 2023). "Ricky Gervais Pokes Fun At 'Fragile' And 'Easily Offended' People In Debate Over Revising Roald Dahl's Classic Books". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  42. ^ Thornton, Cedric (28 February 2023). "Whoopi Goldberg criticizes publishers re-editing older books to avoid offending current audiences". Black Enterprise. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  43. ^ Atkinson, Emily (26 February 2023). "James Bond books rewritten to remove 'offensive' references". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  44. ^ a b Tinoco, Armando (4 March 2023). "Author R.L. Stine Responds To Reports Goosebumps Is Getting Edited With Inclusive Language". Deadline. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  45. ^ Chung, Frank (14 March 2023). "'Ongoing process': Enid Blyton's Famous Five books edited to remove 'offensive' words". news.com.au. Nationwide News. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  46. ^ Mason, Jamie (15 March 2023). "Who Will the Sensitivity Readers Edit Next?". Book & Film Globe. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  47. ^ Brown, Neil (8 April 2023). "It was really very satisfying". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
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