The modern publisher of Roald Dahl has defended their censorship of his work, saying that it is necessary in order to protect young readers.
Publisher Puffin has argued that the hundreds of changes that they have made to the various novels of Roald Dahl are minimal, and that such changes are ultimately required in order to protect young readers, The Telegraph has reported.
Although the publisher has described the changes as “minimal”, the nature of the alterations have drawn significant criticism, with the new edits removing reference to the word “fat”, as well as to seminal English novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling.
Despite the widespread censorship in the works being denounced by a number of major figures in modern literature including Salman Rushdie, the publisher has defended its re-writing of the books, describing it as necessary for the welfare of modern children.
“Children as young as five or six read Roald Dahl books and often they are the first stories they will read independently,” The Telegraph reports the publisher as saying. “With that comes a significant responsibility as it might be the first time they are navigating written content without a parent, teacher or carer.”
Puffin went on to add that such revisions of older texts were not “unusual”, billing that changes as merely being implemented in order to bring Dahl’s works “up to date”.
The publisher’s views do not seem to be shared by others however, with many within the world of literature lashing out at the “absurd censorship” of the novels, which has seen references to historical figures deemed problematic removed, and descriptions of characters and events that would offend modern-day progressives replaced with less inflamatory material.
Puffin’s claim that such changes are necessary for the works to survive also do not appear to be substantiated, with the French-language publisher of Roald Dahl saying they have no intention on changing the works to make them less offensive.
“This rewrite only affects Great Britain,” publisher Gallimard Jeunesse remarked. “We have never modified the texts of Roald Dahl, and to date it is not planned.”
Even UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took aim at the changes, with a spokesman for the premier saying that he was not happy with the changes.
“When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage the prime minister agrees with the BFG that we shouldn’t gobblefunk around with words,” the spokesman remarked. “It is important that works of literature, works of fiction, are preserved and not airbrushed.”
Whether this opinion is shared by other parts of the British government remains to be seen, with various apparatus of the UK state frequently criticisng older works of art as being problematic.
Such bodies sometimes even link such older works to extremism, with it being revealed last week that the UK’s Anti-Terror organisation Prevent views someone reading classic works of art such as 1984, Brave New World, and Paradise Lost as possible signs that someone is a radical right-winger.
In a document produced in 2019, the body warned that an individual’s consumption of various pieces of media could indicate that they are secretly an extremist.
Apart from the various classic works of literature — including the plays and poems of William Shakespeare — other pieces of media material deemed as being a red flag by the counter-terror body included British comedy classic Yes, Minister, as well as BBC train and travel documentary Great British Railway Journeys, a series that is hosted by a former UK Secretary of Defence.