Roald Dahl: Original books to be kept in print following criticism

Roald Dahl’s books are to be printed in their original form, following criticism of the decision to amend novels including The BFG, making them more suitable for modern audiences.

The plan to remove references to things like characters’ appearance and weight had sparked a fierce debate.

Words including “fat” and “ugly” were removed after being reviewed by sensitivity readers, who check for potentially offensive content.

Puffin will now sell the originals.

Francesca Dow, managing editor of Penguin, which owns Puffin, said: “We’ve listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books, and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation.”

Sir Salman Rushdie had called the edits “censorship”, whilst His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman told BBC Radio 4 that Dahl’s books “should be allowed to fade away”, not changed if people judge them to be offensive.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said they should not be “airbrushed”, while on Thursday, the Queen Consort told an audience of writers and publishers: “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination. Enough said.”

Penguin said their latest decision to keep producing the original versions was because “we recognise the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print”.

Puffin said the release of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, featuring original versions of his children’s books, was in order to “keep the texts in print”.

Francesca Dow added: “At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl’s stories for more than 40 years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company.

“Their mischievous spirit and his unique storytelling genius have delighted the imaginations of readers across many generations.

Updated changes to his books include “fat” being removed in reference to Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, whilst Mrs Twit in The Twits is no longer referred to as “ugly and beastly” but just “beastly”.

Also in The Twits, “a weird African language” is no longer weird in the new updated versions.

The titles due to be published without any edits are:

Penguin said they will be available before the end of the year.

Dahl, who died aged 74 in 1990, remains one of the UK’s most popular children’s authors, and Netflix bought the rights to his works in 2021.

But antisemitic comments made throughout his life led to Dahl being a highly problematic figure.

In 2020, his family apologised, saying they recognised the “lasting and understandable hurt caused by Roald Dahl’s antisemitic statements”.