After a backlash from many who disagreed with the decision to rewrite Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books removing any language that might be deemed offensive, it’s been announced that the books will continue to be sold unedited as ‘classics’.
Penguin, under the Puffin label, has said that a classic collection will be released that will ‘keep the author’s text in print’. One of the greatest children’s authors of all time has always been a controversial figure.
Some of his creations have been suggested as not quite politically correct and the author has also made some questionable statements in his lifetime.
Roald Dahl died back in 1990 and recently it was announced that his books would be republished in a newly edited version with some of the language that hasn’t aged well changed.
This included themes such as weight, violence, mental health, race, and gender, and the news was greeted with a backlash of negative comments.
Fellow children’s author Philip Pullman who wrote the His Dark Materials series told BBC Radio 4 that Dahl’s books should “never fade away”.
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Even Prime Minster Rishi Sunak spoke about the controversial move saying quoting Dahl suggesting that no one should ‘gobblefunk’ with the original text.
Penguin’s managing director Francesca Dow 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.”
Penguin said they “we recognise the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print”.
Puffin said the release of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, which features 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.
The classic Roald Dahl titles due to be published without any edits are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox, George’s Marvellous Medicine, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, The Twits, The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me, The Enormous Crocodile, Esio Trot, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Danny the Champion of the World.
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Feature Image Credit: IMDB
