Censorship or rewriting ?

I am against all forms of censorship in literature.

We should learn from the past, not culture wash

There's far too much sanitising happening. Those who may find some words in his stories offensive don't need to read them and/or share them with their children.

Ronald Dahl must be turning in his grave, that’s all I can say. Augustus Gloop is no longer allowed to be fat!

What about Mrs Twit, I wonder? She with the ‘pale brown teeth and a puckered-up mouth like dog’s bottom’? Has she been airbrushed, so to speak?

just wondering what grans think
Extreme blasphemy was let rip 😡

…like a dog’s bottom, of course.

I once read that Dahl said that quaint description came to him because his little dog was often on his desk while he was writing, so he spent a lot of time confronted by ‘Kipper’s arse’.

Roald, not Ronald! Effing autocorrect!!

I think Dahl was of his time.
Leave it alone and encourage children to read in context - and discuss. Also, read other things.
Read something new - and probably better.

Absolutely, GrannyGravy13! I couldn’t agree more. Dahl appeals to children because of his absurd sense of fun - books like Revolting Rhymes are loved by children, parents and teachers. He’s a great author for reluctant readers, too.

Whatever next? I suppose pantomime scripts will have to be rewritten, too, for fear of giving offence or frightening children. If we are concerned about anything in children's lives we should look at some of the ghastly games available on X-boxes, etc.

I consider it censorship. If the parent or carer doesn’t like it, they are adults and can remove the books from the children. It doesn’t matter if it’s Dahl, Hemingway or Steinbeck…

Who are these people who have nothing better to do? Why do they think that books which have been enjoyed by many over the years must now be sanitised? Must our eyes never see a word which some random nerd deems offensive?

My kids loved Roald Dahl books I think they pretty much read all of them. When they were very young I read the Minpins as a bedtime story, my older one was completely captivated by The Witches and it was always one of his go to books to read again and we all loved his Revolting Rhymes, just so funny. I found his material far superior to David Walliams books which my granddaughter seemed to like at one time. I know Roald Dahl has had certain accusations levied at him, I'm scratching my head trying to think of what would need to be censored in his books though, like the Potter books they captured the imagination of many a child and children need that if they are to become lifetime readers and not be turned off at the first hurdle by books that they find dull and don't fire up their imagination. Some of the suggested reads, not all, they brought home from school did just that, turned them off.

My childhood beloved books, The Blytons suffered from the same fate and whilst I think it was absolutely justifiable to take the N word out of the title of one of the Christie books, I think it should be remembered the most writers were of their time and often their class and that is reflected in their writing.

There were always some aspects of Dahl that were "off" and we discussed it with our children.
Sometimes even books we don't like much are a learning thing.

I’d like to know that too GMS.Who has made these decisions?

It was the publishers Puffin and The Roald Dahl Estate who decided to edit the books.
It’s been met entirely by criticism, so I expect it will be overturned

amp.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/20/roald-dahl-books-rewrites-criticism-language-altered

David Walliams has similar language in his 'novels'. I don't see his work being edited. Children aren't daft. As long as it's use is put into context for them, then I call it censorship.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned, then Last Exit to Brooklyn in the sixties causing protests about censorship. Freedom was won. Now we are back to censorship. Kids love the kind of language in Dahl’s work. It’’s daring to be bold. Oh well back to Janet and John. Oh no we won’t be allowed that either.

It is censorship, and I don't think anyone has the right to alter an author's final published work.
Self- censorship can, and is , applied which is why Penguin is altering the language, because adults who buy the books are less impressed by Dahl's use of language.
I loved his earlier work but began to lose faith with the advent of the increasingly crude Revolting Rhymes, and the stereotypical Matilda and personally chose not to use either with classes I taught.
But I would never alter or ban them. I suspect sales are falling.

I don't see how that can be done without changing the very essence of the characters in his books. The characters will just become dull and unmemorable.

Some people love Dahl some hate him. I've usually found children engage with his stories at a certain age and then move on.
A child I taught, asked to recall something about the year he spent in my class, remembered "When Mrs X did the funny voices in "George's Marvellous Medicine"!" So something stuck!

I don't approve of censorship. If I was allowed a personal choice I'd ban David Walliams (but I know that's just personal prejudice!!!)

I loathe censorship but I might also make an exception for DW. The portrayal of women in his books is generally quite unpleasant.

This is just so ridiculous that I think the world is going mad.
For goodness sake!

My son absolutely loved these books because they were a bit naughty (his take on them) and they were pretty much all he'd read at the time.. I really don't like the way so many things are being sanitized and censored nowadays.

Leave it alone, if any questions come up answer them.
I don’t agree with censorship at all unless it is something written purely to insite