![]() The Queen Consort told them: 'Let there be no squeaking like mice about your achievements, but only roaring like a pride of lions.' Her comments were greeted by laughter and cheers of 'hear, hear!' from the best-selling authors, including Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd, Ben Okri, Philippa Gregory and Charlie Mackesy. She told the authors: 'Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination.' The 73-year-old royal looked up with a mischievous smile and added: 'Enough said.' Yesterday Camilla spoke out at a reception with many of Britain's top writers amid anger that publishers have hired 'sensitivity gurus' to remove 'offensive' language in Dahl's books. She added: 'Roald Dahl once said: 'If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.' At Puffin, we'll keep pursuing that ambition for as long as we make books.' By making both Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are offering readers the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl's magical, marvellous stories.' ![]() 'We also recognise the importance of keeping Dahl's classic texts in print. Roald Dahl's fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility. ![]() 'As a children's publisher, our role is to share the magic of stories with children with the greatest thought and care. '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. Their mischievous spirit and his unique storytelling genius have delighted the imaginations of readers across many generations. Puffin said in a statement this afternoon that they will release two versions of each book - the original and the newer edited ones.įrancesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's, said: 'At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl's stories for more than 40 years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company. In The Witches, a paragraph describing them as bald under their wigs is followed shortly by a new line: 'There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.' Passages not written by Dahl, who died in 1990, have also been added by the publisher. Mrs Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been cut to 'ugliness' and Mrs Hoppy in Esio Trot is not an 'attractive middle-aged lady' but a 'kind middle-aged lady'. Just 20 per cent supported the edits.Ģ001 - Mrs Salt was a great fat creature with short legs, and she was blowing like a rhinocerosĢ022 - Mrs Salt was so out of breath, she was blowing like a rhinocerosĢ001 - Mrs Twit may have been ugly and she may have been beastly, but she was not stupidĢ022 - Mrs Twit may have been beastly, but she was not stupid.Ģ001 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.'Ģ022 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell them exactly what to do'.Ģ001 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! I'll be your slave for life.'Ģ022 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! You'll be my hero for life.'Ģ001 - Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf, looked up at Bean…Ģ001 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot an elephantĢ022 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot their prey It came as new polling for MailOnline by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found almost two out of three Britons (60 per cent) disagree with changing language in classic children's books and 63 per cent opposed recent changes to the books of Roald Dahl. ![]() Some have said that Puffin must still go further, and cancel the new censored versions completely. Today the publisher has announced the release of the Roald Dahl Classic Collection 'to keep the author's classic texts in print' claiming they had 'listened to the debate' following criticism of recent changing of his work to remove words such as 'fat'.īut these unedited versions will still sit alongside the newly released Roald Dahl books, which have been controversially rewritten - sparking outrage in Britain. Puffin has been under fire over changes to many of his most famous children's classics as critics including the Queen Consort demanded they do not put curbs on 'freedom of expression'. Roald Dahl's classic books will now be republished without 'woke' editing after a huge outcry that saw the King's wife Camilla wade in at a reception where she was cheered by Britain's best-selling authors.
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