Edited Version, but an ideal workaround 👍

Not long ago, there was an uproar online when it was revealed that new editions of Roald Dahl's children's books were going to be released with certain words or phrases edited out -- such as "ugly", "fat", "mad", "dwarf", and several others that many today consider to be offensive. In addition to that, in the case of this book in particular, rewriting sections to balance out the Gender Equality (eg; "people" instead of "men", "royalty" instead of "kings", not making the female characters appear shy or weak, even keeping identities of side characters ambiguous).

I'm all for providing quality family entertainment without causing offence; but as many had pointed out, those books (and many others) had been written in a different time, and to edit them so extensively seemed quite drastic, hence the mass of complaints that were raised. A case of trying to please everyone and no one.

HOWEVER...at least Penguin / Audible have had the sense to separate the "edited" books (The Roald Dahl Series) from the Originals (The Roald Dahl Classic Collection). The former can be used by those who like the revised editions, whilst the latter (which had been recorded several years before) can be retained for those who prefer them as they are word-for-word. Whether this was in response to the backlash or whether Penguin had had that plan all along, who can say.

But I say it's a satisfying compromise. Listening to the revised versions might seem jarring on first hearing, but overall, these changes don't affect the story's main structure. The beginning, middle and end are just as they are, and Adrian Lester puts on a Fantastic performance of his own as the Storyteller.

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