Claim: they are editing Roald Dahl's books to make them politically correct.
Claim: they are editing Roald Dahl's books to make them politically correct.
Time to collect old books.
The reason why Roald Dahl’s books are so popular with children is that the main characters are not self-righteous prigs who edit what they say, and indeed, the authorial voice is also at their level; Roald Dahl is not assuming any kind of moral superiority over the child.
Now the publishers are editing his books to make them more politically correct.
The sympathetic characters are attractive because of their political incorrectness. For instance the grandmother in Roald Dahl’s Witches speaks to the boy on his level, with plain, impolite, insulting and entirely-free-from-self-editing speech, this is precisely the point of her character and the reason why the boy has such a great rapport with her.
But the publishers are editing those bits out:
For God’s sake, a boy has absolutely no interest in nineteenth century estates with Jane Austen. Puffin, what have you been puffin’ on?
It will be complete justice when children stop reading these books because the publishers have ruined them.
It is a complete travesty and an insult to Roald Dahl to do these edits.
They are blandifying Roald Dahl’s wonderful writing with their ridiculous political correctness. How is a tractor being black racist? How stupid, those idiot publishers, they are dunces, they are complete morons, you would have to use a microscope to see their insignificant pea-brains! (heheh)
On the twitter thread what I can’t believe is that there is anyone defending this stupidity. But there are people defending it, saying “I can’t see the problem.” Well, they need their heads examined.
Thirty years ago I started collecting books, for I foresaw at the time that the authorities would eventually start changing them or editing facts and truth out of history.
At one time more recently I thought that the internet had made this unnecessary, for there are so many copies of books and information online.
I will be redoubling my efforts now.
Addendum:
These screenshots are from an article in the UK Telegraph. The changes are listed at the bottom of the article, and are staggeringly extensive.
The publisher and the estate of Roald Dahl must be punished for this: do not buy these editions. Make them suffer. This is not right.
This just shows how far down the road of self-righteous priggery our societies have gone.
I hate to LIKE this, because I am enraged they are changing the authors worrds....they have done it to Nancy Drew, and I think they are starting on the Little House Seriies.
Raoul DAhl is probably spinning in his grave.
I will be buying old books too.