The light comic prose of iconic English author P.G. Wodehouse has been amended in his Jeeves and Wooster tales after being deemed “unacceptable” by the publishers.
A report Saturday in the Daily Telegraph details original passages in the novels have been expunged or reworked for new editions issued by Penguin Random House.
Trigger warnings have also been added, according to the outlet, to comfort would-be Wodehouse readers worried his themes and characters may be “outdated” and care should be taken.
One warning states the writer’s prose has been altered because it was judged to be “unacceptable” by Penguin, a publishing house which enlists the services of sensitivity readers.
PG Wodehouse, English novelist and writer, 1937. Born in Guilford, Surrey, Pelham Grenville (PG) Wodehouse (1881-1975) was the creator of Bertie Wooster, Jeeves and Lord Emsworth. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty)
The disclaimer printed on the opening pages of the 2023 reissue of Thank You, Jeeves reportedly states:
Please be aware that this book was published in the 1930s and contains language, themes and characterisations which you may find outdated.
In the present edition we have sought to edit, minimally, words that we regard as unacceptable to present-day readers.
The warning adds the changes “do not affect the story” of the novel, which is the first full-length work to feature the famed comic creations of idle gentleman Bertie Wooster and his resourceful valet Reginald Jeeves.
The two were portrayed by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in a 1990s British ITV adaptation to wide acclaim.
File/Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as butler Jeeves and Bertie Wooster in the television comedy drama. (TVT Archive 1990)
The Telegraph also revealed edits have been made to the 2022 edition of Right Ho, Jeeves, which carries the same disclaimer warning the sensitive reader of outdated content, and stating changes have been imposed on Wodehouse’s original text.
Wodehouse joins other writers including Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, and Agatha Christie who have been purged of words seemingly at odds with modern sensitivities.
As Breitbart News reported, Christie is famous for creating such timeless sleuths as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and last month it was announced new editions based on both these investigators have had original passages amended or excised by publisher Harper Collins.
Insults and references to ethnicity feature amongst the references to have received the editorial reworking.