Penguin to Also Publish Classic Roald Dahl Books After Rewrites Criticized
The British publisher of
Roald Dahl’s
children’s books will release the classic versions of his stories along with updated editions rewritten in an effort to make them more acceptable to contemporary readers.
Seventeen of Mr. Dahl’s best-known books will be released in their unaltered form later this year as “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” Penguin Random House said Friday.
Those books, published under the company’s Penguin logo, will be available along with the Puffin versions of Mr. Dahl’s stories that were edited in places to remove or change passages that refer to body weight, race and gender. Puffin is a children’s publishing division of Penguin Random House and the longtime home of Mr. Dahl’s children’s books.
The alterations, which the company said were intended to make Mr. Dahl’s books more suitable for contemporary readers, drew criticism from high-profile authors, politicians and free-speech advocates earlier this month after they were revealed.
The publishing house said it decided to release both the classic and updated versions of Mr. Dahl’s works after realizing the importance of keeping the author’s original texts in print.
“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,” Penguin Random House said. “Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.”
How Roald Dahl’s Books Were Changed
In the changed version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” one of Mr. Dahl’s most famous books, the gluttonous boy Augustus Gloop is no longer described as “enormously fat,” and is just “enormous.”
In other changes, the Cloud Men in “James and the Giant Peach” are now Cloud People. The giants in The BFG no longer eat “men, women and children,” but “people.”
The heroine of the book “Matilda” no longer reads Rudyard Kipling, but Jane Austen. A reference in “The Witches” to putting people in a meat grinder is removed.
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which owns the rights to the books and was acquired by Netflix Inc. in 2021, said it was pleased that both versions will be available to fans.
“The most important thing to us is that the stories continue to be enjoyed by all,” the company said Friday.
This isn’t the first time Mr. Dahl’s books have been rewritten. The author himself rewrote some of his characters in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in the 1960s. In the first edition, Oompa-Loompas were Black pygmies enslaved to Willy Wonka.
In 2020, Mr. Dahl’s family issued an apology for antisemitic remarks he made. “We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words,” a statement on the Roald Dahl Story Company website reads.
Write to Ginger Adams Otis at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The British publisher of
Roald Dahl’s
children’s books will release the classic versions of his stories along with updated editions rewritten in an effort to make them more acceptable to contemporary readers.
Seventeen of Mr. Dahl’s best-known books will be released in their unaltered form later this year as “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” Penguin Random House said Friday.
Those books, published under the company’s Penguin logo, will be available along with the Puffin versions of Mr. Dahl’s stories that were edited in places to remove or change passages that refer to body weight, race and gender. Puffin is a children’s publishing division of Penguin Random House and the longtime home of Mr. Dahl’s children’s books.
The alterations, which the company said were intended to make Mr. Dahl’s books more suitable for contemporary readers, drew criticism from high-profile authors, politicians and free-speech advocates earlier this month after they were revealed.
The publishing house said it decided to release both the classic and updated versions of Mr. Dahl’s works after realizing the importance of keeping the author’s original texts in print.
“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,” Penguin Random House said. “Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.”
How Roald Dahl’s Books Were Changed
In the changed version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” one of Mr. Dahl’s most famous books, the gluttonous boy Augustus Gloop is no longer described as “enormously fat,” and is just “enormous.”
In other changes, the Cloud Men in “James and the Giant Peach” are now Cloud People. The giants in The BFG no longer eat “men, women and children,” but “people.”
The heroine of the book “Matilda” no longer reads Rudyard Kipling, but Jane Austen. A reference in “The Witches” to putting people in a meat grinder is removed.
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which owns the rights to the books and was acquired by Netflix Inc. in 2021, said it was pleased that both versions will be available to fans.
“The most important thing to us is that the stories continue to be enjoyed by all,” the company said Friday.
This isn’t the first time Mr. Dahl’s books have been rewritten. The author himself rewrote some of his characters in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in the 1960s. In the first edition, Oompa-Loompas were Black pygmies enslaved to Willy Wonka.
In 2020, Mr. Dahl’s family issued an apology for antisemitic remarks he made. “We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words,” a statement on the Roald Dahl Story Company website reads.
Write to Ginger Adams Otis at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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