Roald Dahl

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Lore & Background

Roald Dahl was a British author of children's literature. During his lifetime, Dahl had urged his publishers not to 'so much as change a single comma in one of [his] books'. On 19 February 2023, Puffin Books announced it had hired sensitivity readers over the span of three years to assess Dahl's works, rereleasing his work with multiple changes regarding Dahl's depiction of race, sex and character. A report from British newspaper The Telegraph determined that Puffin Books altered hundreds of passages in Dahl's work, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Witches. Facing backlash from readers and authors, on 23 February Puffin Books announced that Dahl's original publications would be released alongside the expurgated versions as 'The Roald Dahl Classic Collection', but did not retract the revisions. Various authors, politicians, and organisations have commented on the controversy. It was later announced that the works of Enid Blyton (author of The Famous Five) and Ian Fleming (author of James Bond) would be expurgated as well, and it was reported that R. L. Stine's Goosebumps had already been expurgated without the author's knowledge.

Reader's Guide

Roald Dahl's significance is tied to the 2023 controversy over Puffin Books' expurgation of his works. On 19 February 2023, Puffin Books announced it would alter language in many of Dahl's books to expurgate what they deemed derogatory words and passages. The process took approximately three years, conducted in association with Inclusive Minds. The Telegraph found hundreds of removed or altered words and passages. Changes focused on race and ethnicity (e.g., a character 'hopping about like a dervish' in Fantastic Mr Fox became 'like a frog'), sex and gender (the word 'queer' was regularly removed, masculine pronouns changed in certain circumstances, and the character of 'Small Fox' in Fantastic Mr Fox was changed from male to female), appearance and disabilities (the word 'fat' was regularly removed, references to 'crazy' and 'mad' removed), and violence (comic references to violence sometimes removed, mentions of guns and knives often removed). Following backlash, on 23 February Puffin Books announced The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, consisting of Dahl's original texts, while the expurgated versions continue to be sold. Dahl's publishers in the United States, France, and the Netherlands announced they had declined to incorporate the changes altogether.

Did You Know?

• In 1973, Dahl rewrote the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, making them white in skin colour.
• In a 1990 interview with The Independent, Dahl said he had become antisemitic, 'in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism'.
• In 2020, Dahl's family apologised for his antisemitic comments.
• The Telegraph determined that Puffin Books altered hundreds of passages in Dahl's work, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Witches.
• On 23 February 2023, Puffin Books announced The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, consisting of Dahl's original texts, but did not retract the revisions.