Children’s books by Roald Dahl rewritten: references to “fat” characters are removed, “inclusive” gender terms are added.

The publishing house changed the children’s books of Roald Dahl, the author of several well-received children’s books that were later made into popular films, including Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. remove the language now considered offensive.

Puffin, publisher of Dahl’s classics, has hired sensitive readers to amend certain parts of the author’s wording in British editions to ensure the books “can still be enjoyed by everyone today”.

The publisher’s rewrite, first reported by The Telegraph, changed numerous descriptions of some characters’ appearances, removed references to some characters being fat, and changed some language to be gender-neutral.

Augustus Gloop, the chubby character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is now described as “huge,” while Mrs. Tweet, the character from Tweets, is described as simply “bestial” rather than “ugly and monstrous.” .”

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In “James and the Giant Peach”, the Miss Sponge character is no longer described as “fat”, Miss Spider’s head is no longer “black”, and Earthworm has changed his “fine pink” skin to “beautiful”. smooth skin.”

In Dahl’s book Witches, first published in 1983, the paragraph that says that witches are bald under wigs includes a new line that reads: “There are many other reasons why women might wear wigs, and this certainly , There is nothing bad. “

Another passage from The Witches that originally described “a fat brown mouse” was changed to “a little brown mouse” and a section that used to be “Here’s your little boy,” she said. “He needs to go.” on a diet” was changed to “Here’s your little boy.”

In Matilda, the description of Mrs. Trunchbull’s “big horse face” was changed to just “face”, and “eight crazy little idiots” is now read as “eight crazy little boys”.

The changes also resulted in the inclusion of a gender-neutral language.

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The Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were once described by Dahl as “little people”, but are now known in the rewritten books as “little people”.

Similarly, in “James and the Giant Peach”, the Cloud People are now the Cloud People.

Dahl, who died in 1990, is pictured on December 11, 1971. (Photo by Ronald Dumont/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

At the bottom of the copyright page of Dahl’s most recent written editions, it says: “The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can take you to different worlds and introduce you to the most wonderful characters. This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to make sure it can still be used by everyone today.”

Several changes were made to Dahl’s original text, but the Roald Dahl Story Company defends the decision, concluding that “it is not unusual to revise the language” used in past works and that the changes were “small and carefully considered”.

“We want the wonderful stories and characters of Roald Dahl to continue to appeal to all children today,” said a spokesman for Fox News Digital. “When publishing new pressings of books written many years ago, it is not uncommon to revise the language used along with updating other details, including the book cover and page layout. Our guiding principle has always been to keep the storylines, the characters, and to be irreverent and edgy. – the sharp spirit of the original text. Any changes made were small and carefully considered.”

“As part of our language review process, we have partnered with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusivity and accessibility for children’s literature,” the spokesperson added. “The current review began in 2020, before Dahl was acquired by Netflix. It was co-led by Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company.”

Puffin, along with Roald Dahl, have made changes in coordination with Inclusive Minds, which a spokesperson describes as “a collective for people passionate about the inclusion and accessibility of children’s literature.”

Dahl, who died in 1990, has come under scrutiny in recent years for alleged anti-Semitic comments he made before his death.

Roald Dahl signing autographs at the Dun Laoghaire shopping center on October 22, 1988. (Independent news and media)

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In December 2020, Dahl’s family released a statement three decades after his death, apologizing for the “pain” caused by his books.

“The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologize for the continued and understandable pain caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements.” the family’s brief statement reads. “These biased remarks are incomprehensible to us and are in stark contrast to the man we knew and to the values ​​behind Roald Dahl’s stories that have positively influenced young people for generations.”

He concludes: “We hope that Roald Dahl, both at his best and at his worst, can help remind us of the enduring influence of words.”