Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Dahl’s novels have attracted controversy over dated content, which some readers accuse of being problematic and offensive. In February 2023, Puffin Books announced that a team of sensitivity readers had been working with Dahl’s collection over the last three years, and that—as a result of their suggestions—revised versions of a number of his novels, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda (1988), James and the Giant Peach (1961), The Witches (1983), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), have been published.

These changes continue to attract controversy. Dahl is known to have given his publishers strict instructions not to change a single word of his works; he told his friend, painter Francis Bacon, “I’ve warned my publishers that if they later on so much as change a single comma in one of my books, they will never see another word from me. Never! Ever!” Dahl joked that if these changes were made after his death, he would need to “send along the enormous crocodile to gobble them up,” alluding to the main character from one of Dahl’s short stories, “The Enormous Crocodile” (Sawer, Patrick. “Roald Dahl Warned ‘Politically Correct’ Publishers—’Change One Word and Deal with My Crocodile.’” The Telegraph, 2023).

News publications globally have expressed and received opinions that these changes are pandering to the overly sensitive, and that no changes should be made. Even the Queen of England, who was famously impartial on all political matters, allegedly weighed in on the controversy when she said to writers at an event celebrating her online book club: “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” (Ward, Victoria. “Queen Appears to Criticise Roald Dahl Changes.” The Telegraph, 2023). In this quote, Queen Elizabeth seemed to be condemning the changes to Dahl’s books, which had received significant publicity at the time of her comments.

Other parties welcome the changes, believing that the redactions and revisions make the works more relevant for a modern audience of young readers. Supporters of the changes point out that Dahl agreed to make changes to his novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1973, nine years after its initial publication in 1964, to rewrite the Oompa-Loompas as mythical creatures, rather than enslaved pygmy Africans smuggled to the factory in crates. Those in favor of the 2023 revised versions suggest that the changes reflect changing standards, just as standards regarding racism changed between 1964 and 1973.