Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ And More

Changes have been made to the language in several beloved children’s books by late author Roald Dahl, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Witches and The Fabulous Mr. Fox, to make them more inclusive, but some authors and critics have labeled the edits a form of censorship—here’s what to know about the revisions.

On Friday, The Telegraph reported that “hundreds” of words in Dahl’s books had been changed; the character Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now described as “enormous,” instead of “enormously fat,” as he was in the original 1964 version, and in The Twits, Mrs. Twit is simply “beastly” instead of “ugly and beastly,” as Dahl wrote in 1980.

The Roald Dahl Story Company said it worked with publisher Puffin Books and the group Inclusive Minds to make the “small and carefully considered” changes, and said it did so to make sure “Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today.”