Critics have lashed out at changes to Roald Dahl's children's books by the British publisher, accusing it of distorting the content of the author’s works.
The changes made by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House, were first reported by a UK newspaper, which said that Dahl’s selective works such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The Witches have been edited in an effort to remove offensive language and promote more inclusivity.
Puffin told the newspaper that the purpose of the changes is to ensure that Dahl's works, which were "written many years ago", can "continue to be enjoyed by all today."
In one of the examples, the newspaper refers to the 2001 version of one extract of The Witches, which reads, "A witch is always a woman. I do not wish to speak badly about women. Most women are lovely. But the fact remains that all witches are women. There is no such thing as a male witch."
According to the 2022 edition, the extract simply became, “A witch is always a woman. There is no such thing as a male witch.”
In a wide array of other changes to Dahl's works in the 2022 edition, the UK publisher replaced the author's colorful and funny language with more neutral words and expressions (ladies and gentlemen - folks, fearful ugliness - ugliness, old hag - old crow and so on). In addition, some sentences from the books were completely removed.
PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of expression, was quick to say that it was “alarmed” by reports of the changes to Dahl’s books.
“If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society,” PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel tweeted.
Salman Rushdie, a celebrated India-born British-American author and winner of numerous literary prizes, also bashed Puffin Books’ decision to change Dahl’s works.
“Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed,” he wrote on his Twitter page.