The move comes after criticism of changes made to 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and other books, in which passages relating to weight, mental health, gender and race were altered.
LONDON — Publisher Penguin Random House announced Friday it 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.
Augustus Gloop, Charlie's gluttonous antagonist in"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" — originally published in 1964 — became"enormous" rather than"enormously fat." In"Witches," an"old hag" became an"old crow," and a supernatural female posing as an ordinary woman may be a"top scientist or running a business" instead of a"cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman.
While tweaking old books for modern sensibilities is not a new phenomenon in publishing, the scale of the edits drew strong criticism from free-speech groups such as writers' organization PEN America, and from authors including Salman Rushdie. 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."
But Dahl, who died in 1990, is also a controversial figure because of antisemitic comments made throughout his life. His family apologized in 2020. "Roald Dahl's fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility," she said.
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