Puffin Books Replaces Language Deemed ‘Offensive’ In Roald Dahl Books

Roald Dahl’s books have been a staple in childhoods everywhere, with whimsical characters and adventures that often hide real-world themes with them.
 
Now, they’re being revised by Puffin to omit words and phrases it deems potentially “offensive.”
 
The publisher has taken out language such as “fat” and “ugly” from the literature. In one instance, Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now said to be “enormous.” Likewise, Mrs Twits from The Twits is no longer “ugly and beastly” but simply “beastly.”
 
Gender-neutral terms have also been added to the books in the case of the Oompa Loompas, who were written as “small men” but are now “small people.” Other ways to describe them, such as “tiny,” “titchy,” and “no higher than my knee,” have also been removed.
 
In Matilda, Miss Trunchbull is no longer the “most formidable female” but now reads as the “most formidable woman.” And along with this, Matilda is now seen reading Jane Austen instead of Rudyard Kipling.
 
Songs from James and the Giant Peach were also up for rewording. For example, in a portion of the book where the Centipede sings, “Aunt Sponge was terrifically fat/ And tremendously flabby at that,” and “Aunt Spiker was thin as a wire/And dry as a bone, only drier,” the text has transformed to read “Aunt Sponge was a nasty old brute/And deserved to be squashed by the fruit,” and “Aunt Spiker was much of the same/And deserves half of the blame.”
 
Additionally, Puffin also added new paragraphs that were never written by Dahl. For example, in The Witches, as an explanation to the reader as to why the witches were bald under their wigs, a new sentence has been added: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.”
 
In a statement to The Telegraph, Puffin mentions that the move is to ensure that the books are current and relevant to today’s readers.
 
Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company—now owned by Netflix—worked together to make these changes. In 2020, sensitivity readers were asked to review the language used in the books.
 
The new editions will receive a notice from the publisher that states, “The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most marvellous characters. This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.”
 
 
 
[via The Guardian and Deadline, Photo 246268653 © Vung Nguyen | Dreamstime.com]