Puffin to publish original versions of Roald Dahl books after censorship spat

Penguin Random House has announced that it will publish the original versions of Roald Dahl’s books alongside updated editions following an outcry over changes to the celebrated stories that were branded “absurd censorship”.

Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Random House, was accused of censoring the classic children’s books after its “Roald Dahl books for young readers” edition was edited to rewrite or remove language deemed offensive, such as descriptions of obesity.

“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 Francesca Dow, managing director of children’s books at Penguin Random House.

Puffin was found to have altered the work of the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach to avoid hurting readers’ sensibilities, particularly with reference to gender, obesity and mental health. The changes were first reported by the Daily Telegraph.

The author of The Satanic Verses and free-speech advocate Salman Rushdie attacked the news of the changes as “absurd censorship” in a Twitter post, adding that “Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed”.

Puffin said on Friday that “readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer”.

Dahl was one of the most acclaimed children’s authors of the 20th century. He sold 250mn copies of his books in his lifetime, but his legacy has been clouded by anti-Semitic comments, for which his family has apologised.

Netflix in 2021 acquired the rights to the works of Dahl and is planning further programming based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, among other works.

Puffin had previously defended its decision to edit the works, claiming that the changes were minimal “within the context of the wordcount of the wider books”. 

“It is not unusual for publishers to review and update language as the meaning and impact of words changes over time”, the publisher said in a statement. “Children as young as five or six read Roald Dahl books and, often, they are the first stories they will read independently. With that comes a significant responsibility.”

This is not the first time Dahl’s texts have been updated. The original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory depicted the ‘Oompa Loompa’ characters as enslaved African Pygmies who coveted cocoa beans, a description which was edited and removed in a subsequent edition while Dahl was alive. Puffin confirmed that the classic version would not include this.

Matthew Dennison, author of a biography of Dahl, said that Puffin’s announcement of a new edition of the unedited texts was “an unanticipated U-turn”.

“I don’t think that a child is alienated from a text by the idea that the [Big Friendly Giant] wore a ‘black’ rather than ‘dark’ cloak. This is well intentioned but quite muddled adult thinking,” he added.

A spokesperson for prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “It’s important that works of literature and works of fiction are preserved and not airbrushed.”