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Publisher Puffin Books Revises Author Roald Dahl’s Books

The publisher Puffin stated that some content had been revised in a note at the start of the new editions.
on Feb 20, 2023

According to The Telegraph, the most recent editions of Roald Dahl's beloved children's tales have been changed to exclude terms like "fat," "ugly," and "crazy."

Roald Dahl, who passed away in 1990, is one of the best-known writers in history. According to WordsRated, his 43 novels, which include more than 20 children's books, have sold more than 250 million copies.

The publisher Puffin stated that some content had been revised in a note at the start of the new editions, which The Telegraph noted, to guarantee that Dahl's works "can continue to be appreciated by everybody today."

The Roald Dahl Story Company, in charge of protecting the author's rights and working with Puffin to modernize the texts, said that "the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit" of the original novels had not been lost.

Inclusive Minds, which describes itself as "a community for people who are enthusiastic about inclusion, diversity, equality, and accessibility in children's reading," employed sensitivity readers for Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company.

According to The Telegraph, all Dahl's children's novels have been changed to exclude the term "fat." Instead of being "enormously obese," Augustus Gloop from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is now just "enormous." In "James and the Giant Peach," Aunt Sponge is no longer "the obese one."

The publisher has also eliminated the term "ugly." Mrs. Twit from "The Twits" is now just "monstrous," not "ugly and beastly." Moreover, phrases like "insane" and "mad," which Dahl frequently used, have been removed by the publisher.

The treatment of women in the works is also updated in the new versions. In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the word "undignified" has been substituted for the phrase "not ladylike."

Also, references to "female" characters have been changed by the publisher: Miss Trunchbull, who was previously a "most formidable female," is now a "most formidable woman" in "Matilda."

There is now an additional sentence after the one in "The Witches" that explains that the infamous witches are bald underneath their wigs: "There are plenty of other reasons why ladies could wear wigs, and there is surely nothing wrong with that."

Whenever feasible, they have also used gender-neutral words. The "Cloud-Men" of "James and the Giant Peach" are now "Cloud-People," and "mothers and dads" have changed to "parents."

We want to ensure that all children today may experience Roald Dahl's fantastic stories and characters, a spokesperson of the Roald Dahl Story Company told Insider.

"We want to ensure that all youngsters may still appreciate Roald Dahl's fantastic books and characters today. It's not unusual to evaluate the language used while changing other features like a book's cover and page layout when releasing new print runs of books published years ago. Our overarching goal has been to stay true to the original text's plots, characters, irreverence, and razor-sharp edge.

All modifications made have been minor and thoughtful " We collaborated with Inclusive Minds, a group of people concerned about inclusivity and accessibility in children's literature, as part of our process to assess the language used.