The Papin publishing house announced that it will publish Roald Dahl’s books in the original version, after the storm that arose due to the intention to make changes of “sensitivity corrections” in works, such as “Charlie in the Chocolate Kingdom”. Papin said earlier this month that they plan to release a revised version of Dahl’s 16 books, written more than 40 years ago, with corrections made by “sensitivity readers” – whose job it is to spot “language that is considered offensive.” Among other things, it was decided to change the word “fat” to “huge” to describe Augustus Gloop in “Charlie in the Chocolate Kingdom”.
The announcement caused a huge indignation among writers and literary fans. “Roald Dahl was no angel, but this is absurd censorship,” said author Salman Rushdie, who publishes his books at Penguin, the owner of Puffin. “Paffin books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed”. On Thursday, Queen Consort Camilla also addressed the storm at a reception for the literature club. “Please stay true to your calling, don’t fold in the face of those who might curtail your freedom of expression or impose limitations on your imagination,” she said.
Following this, Papin announced that they would not make the proposed changes, and that the collection would be published according to the original writings. “We listened to the debate that took place last week and which reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books, and the questions that arose about how stories from another era can remain relevant for each new generation,” said Penguin Editor-in-Chief Francesca Dow.