Roald Dahl's children's books revised for inclusivity, sparking censorship debate
Puffin Books, in agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Company, has revised ten of Roald Dahl's children's books to remove potentially offensive language related to weight, gender, race, and mental health. Changes include replacing 'fat' with 'enormous' in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, changing 'mother and father' to 'parents', and altering Matilda's reading from Rudyard Kipling to Jane Austen. The revisions, made with Inclusive Minds, have drawn criticism from figures like Salman Rushdie and Suzanne Nossel of PEN America, who call it censorship. The publisher notes the changes are part of regular language updates and are indicated in the colophon. This follows previous revisions by Dahl himself to address racist portrayals of the Oompa-Loompas. The controversy highlights ongoing debates about cancel culture and literary editing.
Key facts
- Puffin Books revised ten of Roald Dahl's children's books.
- Changes were made in agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Company.
- Words like 'fat', 'ugly', and 'mad' were removed or altered.
- Augustus Gloop is now 'enormous' instead of 'enormously fat'.
- Oompa-Loompas are now 'small people' instead of 'small men'.
- Matilda now reads Jane Austen instead of Rudyard Kipling.
- Salman Rushdie called the revisions 'absurd censorship'.
- Suzanne Nossel of PEN America warned of a 'dangerous new weapon'.
- Inclusive Minds collaborated on the revisions.
- The publisher added a note in the colophon about language updates.
- Dahl himself previously revised the Oompa-Loompas' description.
- The revisions began in 2020, thirty years after Dahl's death.
Entities
Artists
- Roald Dahl
- Salman Rushdie
- Suzanne Nossel
Institutions
- Puffin Books
- Roald Dahl Story Company
- Inclusive Minds
- PEN America
- The Telegraph