Roald Dahl
British author of children's literature whose works were controversially expurgated by Puffin Books in 2023.
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author celebrated for his popular children's literature, short stories, poetry, and screenwriting, who also served as a fighter ace during the Second World War. His books have sold over 300 million copies globally, earning him a reputation as one of the 20th century's greatest storytellers for children. Born in Cardiff, Wales, to affluent Norwegian immigrants, Dahl grew up speaking Norwegian at home with his parents and sisters. His father, a wealthy shipbroker, died of pneumonia in 1920, shortly after Dahl's sister Astri succumbed to appendicitis. His mother chose to remain in Wales so her children could attend English schools. Dahl attended The Cathedral School in Llandaff, where at age eight he and friends were caned for placing a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at a local shop—a prank that later inspired scenes in his book *Matilda*. He then endured an unhappy period at St Peter's boarding school in Weston-super-Mare, followed by Repton School in Derbyshire, where he disliked the hazing and ritual cruelty. During the Second World War, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot and intelligence officer, eventually reaching the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s, producing works for both children and adults. His children's books, including *James and the Giant Peach*, *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, *Matilda*, *The Witches*, *Fantastic Mr Fox*, *The BFG*, *The Twits*, *George's Marvellous Medicine*, and *Danny, the Champion of the World*, are known for their unsentimental, macabre, and darkly comic tone, often featuring villainous adult enemies and championing kindhearted child characters. His short stories for adults, collected in *Tales of the Unexpected* and *The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More*, are noted for their unexpected endings. Dahl received the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and was named Children's Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 1990. In 2008, *The Times* ranked him 16th on its list of the 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945, and in 2021, *Forbes* listed him as the top-earning dead celebrity.
- died
- 23 November 1990
- nationality
- British (born in Wales to Norwegian parents)
- known_for
- Children's books including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG
Lore & Background
Roald Dahl was a British author of children's literature. During his lifetime, Dahl had urged his publishers not to 'so much as change a single comma in one of [his] books'. On 19 February 2023, Puffin Books announced it had hired sensitivity readers over the span of three years to assess Dahl's works, rereleasing his work with multiple changes regarding Dahl's depiction of race, sex and character. A report from British newspaper The Telegraph determined that Puffin Books altered hundreds of passages in Dahl's work, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Witches. Facing backlash from readers and authors, on 23 February Puffin Books announced that Dahl's original publications would be released alongside the expurgated versions as 'The Roald Dahl Classic Collection', but did not retract the revisions. Various authors, politicians, and organisations have commented on the controversy. It was later announced that the works of Enid Blyton (author of The Famous Five) and Ian Fleming (author of James Bond) would be expurgated as well, and it was reported that R. L. Stine's Goosebumps had already been expurgated without the author's knowledge.
Reader's Guide
Roald Dahl's significance is tied to the 2023 controversy over Puffin Books' expurgation of his works. On 19 February 2023, Puffin Books announced it would alter language in many of Dahl's books to expurgate what they deemed derogatory words and passages. The process took approximately three years, conducted in association with Inclusive Minds. The Telegraph found hundreds of removed or altered words and passages. Changes focused on race and ethnicity (e.g., a character 'hopping about like a dervish' in Fantastic Mr Fox became 'like a frog'), sex and gender (the word 'queer' was regularly removed, masculine pronouns changed in certain circumstances, and the character of 'Small Fox' in Fantastic Mr Fox was changed from male to female), appearance and disabilities (the word 'fat' was regularly removed, references to 'crazy' and 'mad' removed), and violence (comic references to violence sometimes removed, mentions of guns and knives often removed). Following backlash, on 23 February Puffin Books announced The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, consisting of Dahl's original texts, while the expurgated versions continue to be sold. Dahl's publishers in the United States, France, and the Netherlands announced they had declined to incorporate the changes altogether.
Did You Know?
- In 1973, Dahl rewrote the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, making them white in skin colour.
- In a 1990 interview with The Independent, Dahl said he had become antisemitic, 'in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism'.
- The Telegraph determined that Puffin Books altered hundreds of passages in Dahl's work, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Witches.
- In Fantastic Mr Fox, the line 'hopping about like a dervish' was changed to 'like a frog'.
- Puffin Books' process of expurgation took approximately three years and was conducted in association with Inclusive Minds.
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