The controversy came after Puffin books announced that the latest editions of some of Roald Dahl\u2019s classics will have sections re-written to remove potentially offensive language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs May, whose bookshop doesn\u2019t stock Dahl\u2019s work, thinks editing the classic books is a positive step, saying: \u201cThese books are very very old and reflect the views of the time and society in which they were written rather than those of a modern society and so it is right that they are altered to keep pace with what life is like now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bookseller also believes the continuous reading of the originals will still hold value to wider society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf adults want to read the originals to their children, then hopefully it might inspire conversations about certain things that aren\u2019t okay about why you wouldn\u2019t talk about people in a particular way when referring to what they look like or what they do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Books set to be altered by Puffin include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and Fantastic Mr Fox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the edits include The Cloud-Men in James and the Giant Peach, which will now be known as Cloud-People, Mrs Twit will no longer be called \u2018ugly\u2019, and any use of the word \u2018fat\u2019 in all the books listed to be edited will be removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement of the changes sparked outrage among some prominent members of the fiction scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best-selling author Michael Schellenberger went to Twitter to express his opinions saying the editing is \u201ctotalitarian censorship\u201d and should be \u201cbroadly condemned by authors and publishers\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The publisher of the books of the late Roald Dahl has made hundreds of changes to them, supposedly to make them more palatable to \u201csensitive\u201d audiences. This is totalitarian censorship and should be broadly condemned by authors & publishers. https:\/\/t.co\/ysXBzdgrDR<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) February 18, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n ShefNews spoke to a dozen Sheffield-based bookstores, with all saying they would sell the new revisions of Dahl\u2019s books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2023\/02\/1675341145661.jpg\")