Offensive words and phrases have been edited out of new Puffin editions of Roald Dahl's children books like 'Matilda' and 'James and the Giant Peach.'
acquired the Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the rights to the author’s characters and stories, and which had already begun reviewing Dahl’s work alongside Puffin before the Netflix sale. Dahl’s books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, with translations in 63 languages.
“We want to ensure that Roald Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today,” the Roald Dahl Story Co. said in a statement. “When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text.
Roald Dahl Story Co. spokesman Rick Behari added in an email that “the overall changes are small both in terms of actual edits which have been made and also in terms of the overall percentage of texts which has been changed.”, has its unsettling moments and has long been subject to update, revision and apology by other creatives laboring to bring his art to mass audiences.
In the first edition of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” published in 1964, the Oompa-Loompas helping Willy Wonka werewhom Wonka had “smuggled” out of Africa in crates to live and work in his factory. Facing pressure from Black actors and groups such as the NAACP after America’s Civil Rights era, the 1971 film made the Oompa-Loompas orange-skinned with green hair. In a 1973 revision of the book, Dahl recast the Oompa-Loompas as white and fantastical instead of Black and African.
In 2020, the actor Anne Hathaway apologized for her depiction of Grand High Witch in Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of “
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