Roald Dahl’s UK publisher responded to the backlash over the proposed changes. : NPR

Roald Dahl’s UK publisher responded to the backlash by keeping his language intact in a new collection.

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Roald Dahl’s UK publisher responded to the backlash by keeping his language intact in a new collection.

Ronald DuMont/Getty Images

Don’t mess with the language of Roald Dahl or his “fanatic” fans. When his UK publisher announced it would change some of its lyrics, the response was fierce. “An insult to democracy,” one reader replied. The Daily Telegraph‘s a report on the proposed changes. “An exercise in inherent stupidity,” A.S the address in Sydney Morning Herald. Even the Queen of the Queen and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom eviction The idea of ​​messing with the original Dal language.

For readers who don’t want altered versions of MatildaAnd the BFGAnd fools And Other Delightfully Wicked Dahl Tales, Penguin Random House Children’s UK announced Roald Dahl Classic Collection. that it described 17 titles “will sit alongside Roald Dahl’s newly released Puffin books for young readers, which are designed for children who may be navigating independently written content for the first time.”

“We’ve listened to the debate that’s been going on for the past week,” writes Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children’s UK, reaffirming the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books and the very real questions about how stories from another person can survive. relevant to each new generation.

control or sensitivity

according to The Daily TelegraphThere are hundreds of adaptations of new Puffin editions of Dahl’s books. Working with The Roald Dahl Story Company and Inclusive Minds, the imprint He said The changes were necessary because it had a “huge responsibility” to protect young readers. However, Dahl’s publishers in the United States, France and the Netherlands announced that they would not incorporate any of the changes made into the UK editions.

This week’s discussion and subsequent outcome is “heart-warming” for Susan Nossel, Executive Director of PEN America. “One thing that has been remarkable about this controversy over the past week is that there is a fair amount of unity, not complete unity, but a fair amount of consensus that this is not the right answer to potentially being offended,” Nussel tells NPR. “People would rather deal with the work in the original, and they have to put it in context, and they have to explain to their kids, you know, maybe even get them a little offended, and then have somebody take down anything that people might object to.”

Dahl’s mischievous, even humorous, is often seen as part of the appeal of his books. Words like “horse face” and “idiots” might be seen as his least insults.

Roald Dahl “wasn’t an angel,” as author Salman Rushdie puts it, even as he is Criticize Dahl’s publishers censored his books. Dahl, who died in 1990, made anti-Semitic remarks. Some of his books have been called into existence racist.

“As a teacher, I have always liked Roald Dahl,” books One observer on Twitter, “I simultaneously loved but at the same time struggled with elements of his writing. He mixes the ugly and the fat with the mean! I have no problem making changes to the text!”