The owners of the digital versions of books by British author Roald Dahl have announced that they have been revised to be more considerate. The revised editions include multiple alterations to the language pertaining to race, gender, weight, violence, and mental health, according to the London Times.
"This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today," reads a statement on the copyright page of the latest editions of Dahl's books, per The Telegraph. "Any changes made have been small and carefully considered," a representative for the Roald Dahl Story Company told Insider in a statement.
Dahl was an acclaimed author of both children’s literature and adult fiction. He is best known for books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and The Witches.
Dahl was born in Wales and raised in England, and his works have been translated into over 50 languages, delighting readers all over the world. His books have been adapted for the stage and screen multiple times, and his legacy lives on in the hearts of readers who have been inspired by his imaginative stories.
And now, the ideological left is ruining them.
Puffin Books, the publisher of the books, carried out the modifications to the eBooks. One of the changes made was the removal of the phrase "fearfully ugly" to describe Mrs. Twit, and Augustus Gloop is no longer referred to as "fat."
Matthew Dennison, who wrote a biography on Dahl, has criticized the publisher for "coercing readers into adopting a new belief system that Dahl himself had no involvement in."
“For me there’s an irony to the current automatic updating of Dahl’s ebooks,” Dennison said to The Times. “Time and again, in his writing for adults as well as children, Dahl championed the bullied against the bullies.
“Yet here we have a kind of cultural assertiveness that strong-arms readers into accepting without alternative – though, happily, not without demur – a new orthodoxy in which Dahl himself has played no part," Dennison continued.
“This particular revisionism sits oddly with Dahl’s irrepressibly anarchic outlook, his distinctive combination of mischief and wonder, and, of course, ignores the fact that words, central to a writer’s armory, are a matter of choice in order to manipulate meaning and conjure effect," he added.
Puffin Books stated that it had "taken into account the discussion" and promised to release uncensored editions of Dahl's books, according to Reclaim the Net.
“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,” said the managing director of Puffin’s owner Penguin Random House Children’s Books, Francesca Dow.
“As a children’s publisher, our role is to share the magic of stories with children with the greatest thought and care. Roald Dahl’s fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility.
“We also recognize the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print. By making both Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are offering readers the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl’s magical, marvelous stories.”
The ideological left is trying to destroy Western civilization and culture and they are making progress every day because good men and women who know better are allowing it to happen.
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