Rushdie, Sunak Condemn Rewriting Roald Dahl; What Is The Fuss About?

The literary world and the British society has spoken out against the news about Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House, rewriting some of Roald Dahl’s work.

Dahl (1916-1990), one of the best-selling children’s authors, has been subject to numerous controversies for his anti-Semitic views. However, this move has invited criticism from has from writers, politicians, and publishers.

Author Salman Rushdie called it “absurd censorship”. And Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said we should not “gobblefunk” around with the words.

Dahl’s most popular works include Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Fantastic Mr Fox among others. They have sold around 300 million copies and have been translated into 68 languages.

According to a report by BBC, Inclusive Minds an organisation, and the author’s estate, the Roald Dahl Story Company, have come to an agreement with Puffin for a review of his works which began in 2020.

“We want to ensure that Roald Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today. When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered,” the Roald Dahl Story Company told CNN.

The criticism has risen from the way these changes have been implemented.  According to The Telegraph, the character Augustus Gloop’s description has been changed from “enormously fat” to “enormous”.

In his work The Witches, the job description of a witch posing as a woman read as someone who “is working as a cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman”. This has been changed to a woman who “may be working as a top scientist or running a business”.

According to reports “hundreds of changes” have been made to Dahl’s books. 59 changes have been made to The Witches alone.

The Earthworm from James and the Giant Peach had “lovely pink” skin in the original version. It now has “lovely smooth skin”. In the same work, Aunt Sponge’s “fat arms” has been changed to just “arms”.

Dahl, who died in 1990, himself had changed the description of Oompa-Loompas of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He removed the African features to “de-Negro” them. In the 1964 edition of the book, Oompa-Loompas were “black pygmies”. In the 1973 edition, they were changed to “little fantasy creatures”.

This is the first time since his death that changes are being made to his books.

Other authors who have faced this include Enid Blyton, the writer of The Famous Five and Secret Seven, whose works were called racist and patriarchal. Rudyard Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden has also come under fire.

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