WOKE OR UNWOKE

Roald Dahl Publisher Will Release Unedited Texts After Uproar

You know you’re in trouble when the queen gets involved.

Roald Dahl’s publisher announced on Friday that it would release a “classic collection” of the British author’s works after an outcry against hundreds of changes to his original texts. Penguin sparked fury earlier this month when the Daily Telegraph revealed that sensitivity readers had been brought in to edit the works for new editions which removed potentially offensive words and descriptions of characters’ mental health, weight, or gender. Even Queen Camilla appeared to comment on the row on Thursday, saying authors should be “unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression.” In a statement, Penguin said it will release the classic texts alongside the edited versions, which had been “designed for children who may be navigating written content independently for the first time.” “Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer,” the statement read. “We’ve listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation,” Francesca Dow, MD of Penguin Random House children’s division, added.