Article from The Telegraph:
European publishers have joined a backlash against changing Roald Dahl’s books, saying his stories “lose all their power” if his language is watered down
The author’s Dutch publisher Joris van de Leur criticised the decision by Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company to make hundreds of changes after consulting sensitivity readers and said he may stick with the original text.
The word “fat” has been removed from the books, including its use in reference to Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But Mr van de Leur said of Dahl’s writing: “Exaggerations are a figure of speech with him: if a person is fat, it represents gluttony and excess. Children understand what such literary hyperbole is. They really don’t think all fat kids are greedy.”
He said that De Fontein, the publishing company of which he is director, could continue to publish the old versions.
Old copies of Roald Dahl’s books have become sought-after following the news that new editions replace the original text.
World of Books, the online seller, said sales of Dahl’s books have risen by 600 per cent in the past week.
Nick Poole, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, said that libraries should try to stock the original editions along with the new to allow readers to “judge for themselves which they prefer”.
Mr Poole said that to give readers a choice, it was essential that publishers who edit classic works clearly label new editions, saying: “We are dependent on publishers to identify that this has been done, for example by marking it as a ‘revised’ edition.”
He added: “We are committed to opposing censorship unless there is a specific risk that providing access to a particular book will break the law or incite hatred or violence. We recognise that publishers do regularly revisit the text of new editions to reflect changing values. It is important for them to let the reader know that the text has been altered from the original.”
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