The work of the British writer Agatha Christie will undergo a process of “adaptation” to the sensibility of the time which, like the recent corrections made on Roald Dahl’s books or the adventures of James Bond, will consist of the removal of ethnic references, slurs and what could be considered offensive language in the texts that collect the mysteries of inspector Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
The announcement that the novels of the so-called “mystery lady” are being rewritten to avoid hurting the sensibilities of some of the readers was made by the British newspaper The Telegraphprecisely the same one who broke the news that the works of Roald Dahlauthor of works such as Matilda o Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryand those of Ian Flemingauthor behind the adventures of James Bond, were altered by their publishers.
In both cases, the changes occurred after the texts were read by a team of “sensitivity readers”, a role played by those in charge of suggesting whether the representation of any group in a book may be offensive or not very inclusive. Similar suggestions have now fallen on Christie’s texts, which are being rewritten by her publisher, HarperCollinsto adapt them to “modern sensibilities”.
According to The Telegraphfrom the works of Christie, who died in 1976, passages and even characters have been removed like that of a British tourist venting her frustration on a group of kids who bother her, as well as references to some people’s teeth and physiques.
The correction was made on the 1937 novel death on the nilein which Mrs. Allerton’s character complains that a group of children are bothering her, saying that “they come and look, and look, and their eyes are just disgusting, and so are their noses… and I don’t think they I really like children.”
Reference to noses is deemed inappropriate for offending an ethnic group, so that passage has been eliminated, which was reduced to “I don’t think I like children very much.” Some words were also changed, and, for example, the term “oriental” was eliminated and also that of “native”, which has been replaced by “local”. Changes have been authorized by the company Agatha Christie Limiteddirected by the great-grandson of the author James Prichard, who manages the rights of his works for literature and cinema.
It is not the first time that the work of the author of Murder on the Orient Express y death on the nile intervened: last year, the editors of the new Spanish edition of the classic known until now as ten blacks They decided to change the title to “And no one was left alive”, trying to avoid any suspicion that could sow doubts about the expiration of the old racial, sexual and class paradigms that wove a civilizational story that is under discussion today.
With regard to the most recent examples of “adequacy”, in the case of James Bond texts, some references to black people were modified or eliminated to avoid racist interpretations, as well as other words or descriptions considered shocking. In Dahl’s case, editors included hundreds of changes to their stories in language related to weight, mental health, violence or gender, removing words like “fat” or “ugly.”
Dahl’s case produced widespread rejection, even forcing the publisher in question (Puffin UK) to make the supposedly Solomonic announcement that along with the new “revised” versions there will also be reissues without modifications.
(Taken from Page 12)