The senseless re-editing of Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was, in many respects, a horrible man. He was a narcissist, a bully, a liar, an anti-Semite, a tax-dodger, a faithless husband and – if his daughter’s account is to be believed – a cruel and thoughtless father.

None of which has anything whatever to do, it scarcely needs saying, with the content of his books. But for once it’s the contents of the books, rather than the adult prejudices of the author, that are drawing heat. 

Puffin books, as the Telegraph reported at the weekend, has quietly reissued edited versions of Dahl’s canon: ‘This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.’ Many dozens of small changes have been made by sensitivity readers to remove sexism, racism, ableism, fat-shaming and violence, and the resulting brouhaha has hit the culture wars right in the sweet spot.