Less than a week after the works of Roald Dahl, it is the turn of the adventures of James Bond to be republished with their share of modifications. On the occasion of the publication of the new English edition of Ian Fleming’s saga for the 70th anniversary of Casino Royale – the first volume of James Bond – the novels by Ian Fleming have been corrected by “sensitivity readers”, at the request of the publisher. Their role: to reread the books and identify terms, situations or descriptions that could offend ethnic or sexual minorities and be the source of controversy.
According to an article in the British daily newspaper The Telegraph published on Saturday February 25, the proofreaders thus made modifications concerning racist passages evoking African and Afro-American characters. “A number of updates have been made in this edition, while remaining as close as possible to the original text and the period in which is set”, can we read in The Telegraph.
Racist terms removed from books
The word “nigger” – a racist term used pejoratively to describe black people – was used frequently in Fleming’s works, was removed and replaced with the words “black person” or “black man”. Other corrections have also been made, especially in some descriptions.
In the book Live and Let Die (1954), for example, the original version of the book mentioned James Bond and his talk about Africans in the gold and diamond markets. He initially said that “They’re pretty law-abiding guys, except when they’ve had too much to drink.” Sentence cut and become: “They’re pretty law-abiding guys.” Another scene from the book, which takes place in a strip club in Harlem, has also been changed. The phrase : “Bond could hear the audience gasping and grunting like pigs at the watering hole. He felt his own hands grab the tablecloth. His mouth was dry.” has been edited and replaced with: “Bond could feel the electrical tension in the room.”
In other books like Thunderbolt (1961), Quantum of solace (1960) et Goldfinger (1959), references to ethnicity were removed. The author Ian Fleming had already authorized, before his death in 1964, that changes be made in his prose. Editor Ian Fleming Publications explains in The Telegraph : “Following Ian’s approach, we have looked at several racial terms used in the books and either removed a number of words or swapped them for terms that are more accepted today, but bearing in mind the period in which the books have been written.”