Roald Dahl Children's Books Being Rewritten

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by graycyn

I've always cared. If I can, when watching old movies (which I do like to do occasionally, I try to find the B&W version. But if I can't, I don't stress over it.

I watch old movies. I remember trying to get all bent out of shape because they colorized It's a Wonderful Life. I discovered I liked the colorized version better.

But colorizing a movie is not changing its content.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rcentros

This brings up another issue. Amazon has (in the past) automatically exchanged the book I bought with later editions. If I depended on Amazon (and didn't remove DRM from my books) could I now expect my books to be drastically "re-engineered" by the "clean up" committees? In other words, if I bought the original version of Matilda, would they automatically replace it with the new Netflix version at some future date? I wouldn't be very happy about that.

You have full control of the setting that determines if Amazon automatically updates books you've previously purchased (last time I checked anyway). I do not believe those automatic updates are enabled by default. I could be wrong about newer accounts, though. I just know that the Automatic Update setting was not enabled when it first appeared in my preferences.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You have full control of the setting that determines if Amazon automatically updates books you've previously purchased (last time I checked anyway). I do not believe those automatic updates are enabled by default. I could be wrong about newer accounts, though. I just know that the Automatic Update setting was not enabled when it first appeared in my preferences.

You're probably right. I know some of my covers changed, but I probably had the automatic update turned on for a while. I'm almost certain I have it turned off now.

But I thought I read somewhere here (a few years back) that Amazon pulled some books out of people's libraries.

[Grimaud]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

European publishers refuse to change Roald Dahl’s books

Regarding the French publisher, a more correct way of presenting the situation would be to say "We already changed them decades ago, when we first translated them"



Source: https://twitter.com/Dorialexander/st...64240924434432

I was not able to find a copy of the article mentioned here to read the explanation of the French translator.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rcentros

But I thought I read somewhere here (a few years back) that Amazon pulled some books out of people's libraries.

There are many uncorroborated claims of this happening, but to my knowledge, it has not actually happened since the highly publicized "1984" fiasco.

[Pjama]

The publisher has now backtracked! They are keeping the original versions available as 'Classic' editions after all the furor. A big part of the lack of understanding regarding the affection these books are held in may be down to the fact that he is a much loved children's author in the UK, but elsewhere his work is mostly known via the movies that have been made of his work. I read a lot of them at school in the 70’s then my kids read them. Some of the ones in the box set I purchased were published after I left school, which is why I didn’t already have them all.

A big relief!

[Calenorn]

**ring-ring**

**ring-ring**

"It's Nancy Drew, on line one."

[Pjama]

And, I am not his biggest fan, it is just the principle of the thing. I also bought some Salman Rushdie books after he was attacked. A tiny drop in the ocean, I know, but better than shrugging and turning away.

I love watching black and white movies (particularly Laurel and Hardy) in their original form, hate seeing them colorized. Exception being in the 80's they showed tinted versions of black and white silent movies (on a mainstream channel in the UK! Imagine that!) and I watched the original Phantom of the Opera which had had some subtle color washes overlaid. That was not offensive to my eyes, and showed respect for the original.

A lot of people in the UK feel very strongly about what has been happening to the RD collection, nobody much outside the UK seems to get it. Is my conclusion from this thread.

All's well that ends well?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

**ring-ring**

**ring-ring**

"It's Nancy Drew, on line one."

I feel differently about Nancy Drew than I do Roald Dahl.

Nancy and the Hardy boys were always products created by a company and written by ghosts.

[issybird]

Wow, talk about a tempest in a teapot as far as we Yanks go! There were no plans to change the US editions of Dahl’s books.

A spokesperson for Dahl’s U.S. publisher Penguin Young Readers told PW that there are no plans for similar revisions in the U.S. “Roald Dahl books published by Penguin Young Readers and distributed in the U.S. are the editions that have existed for years and do not reflect the recent editorial changes made in U.K. editions.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/...ublishers.html

It reminds me of Brideshead Revisited. Waugh revised it post-publication, to its detriment in my opinion, but the US continued — and continues — to publish the superior original version. Which brings up a different issue but one I think is important: even if the author has every right to revise his work, once it’s published I think he should draw a line under it, short of minor corrections for fact, grammar, punctuation, diction. Unfortunately in these digital days it’s possible for a book to remain a work-in-progress forever. Authors even seem to use their first purchasers as a form of beta reader.

[4691mls]

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/11592...texts-in-print

"For readers who don't want tweaked versions of Matilda, The BFG, The Twits and other delightfully wicked Dahl tales, Penguin Random House Children's in the UK has announced The Roald Dahl Classic Collection. It's described as 17 titles that "will sit alongside the newly released Puffin Roald Dahl books for young readers, which are designed for children who may be navigating written content independently for the first time"

[arjaybe]

A good reminder, maybe, to hold fire until all the news is in?

[DiapDealer]

Where's the fun in that?

[olderTechnology]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

A good reminder, maybe, to hold fire until all the news is in?

Nope. It's the fiery response which caused them to backtrack.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by olderTechnology

Nope. It's the fiery response which caused them to backtrack.

Of course. This Mobileread thread-full of righteous indignation single-handedly saved the classic versions for UK readers everywhere.