Renowned British author Salman Rushdie, who was recently attacked after decades spent under the threat of a fatwa, criticized the publisher Puffin and the estate of Roald Dahl for posthumously bowdlerizing the author’s work.
“Roald Dahl was no angel, but this is absurd censorship,” wrote Rushdie in a tweet. “Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed.”
Rushdie joins others who have condemned the British publisher Puffin for making hundreds of changes to Dahl’s well-known children’s books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox.
A review of Puffin’s latest editions of the books has revealed that language related to weight, mental health, race, and gender were altered to conform to contemporary mores. The changes number in the hundreds, according to a report from the Telegraph.
“Words matter,” begins a programmatic notice in one of the latest editions. “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.”
What were once the “Cloud-Men” in James and the Giant Peach are now “Cloud-People.” Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now “enormous” instead of “fat.” And a mention of Rudyard Kipling in Matilda has been cut and replaced by a mention of Jane Austen.
Rushdie has been living under the threat of assassination since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — then the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran — issued a fatwa calling for the author to be killed in 1989. The call was issued in response to the publication of Rushdie’s fourth novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims considered to contain an offensive portrayal of the prophet Muhammad.
The changes to Dahl’s books were made in collaboration with “sensitivity readers” from an organization called Inclusive Minds, described as “a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature, and are committed to changing the face of children’s books.”
Speaking to Times Radio, Scottish actor Brian Cox likened the changes to McCarthyism. “I really do believe [these books are] of their time and they should be left alone,” Cox explained.
Dahl’s books have sold more than 250 million copies and have been translated into 68 languages. The author died in 1990 at the age of 74.
This is not the first time that Dahl and his works have come under controversy. Dahl himself rewrote the Oompa-Loompas in the late 1960s after the first edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In 2020, Dahl’s estate apologized for antisemitic comments the author had made throughout his life.
Dahl is only the latest flashpoint in a larger debate about cultural sensitivity and offensive language. There is a desire among some in the book world to ensure representation, and protect children from racial, gender, and other stereotypes. Critics counter that such tinkering undermines the voice of great writers.
Laura Hackett, a childhood Dahl fan who is now deputy literary editor of the Sunday Times, explained she wanted nothing to do with the new editions.
“As for me, I’ll be carefully stowing away my old, original copies of Dahl’s stories, so that one day my children can enjoy them in their full, nasty, colorful glory,” Hackett wrote.