A new edition of the famous British spy’s adventures is due out soon. The novels have been rewritten by redacting certain passages deemed offensive.
Before being successful films, the adventures of James Bond are available in books. These novels by author Ian Fleming will be reissued on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the release of Casino Royalethe first book in the 007 series. The British publisher has decided to redact passages deemed offensive by a peer review. “A number of updates have been made to this edition, while remaining as close as possible to the original text”may read the reader as a warning.
Racist passages removed
The word “nigger” was removed from all the adventures of the most famous spy and entire passages were rewritten. In Live and Let DieJames Bond goes to Harlem and discovers a strip club where he sees black spectators “panting and growling like pigs”, writes the novelist. We will now read, in the English version, that 007 “senses an electrical voltage in the room”. On the other hand, derogatory references to Asians or homosexuals remain.
Died in 1964, Ian Fleming, during his lifetime, had authorized his publisher to modify scenes to please the American public. Sex scenes and comments deemed racist were then removed or watered down. The company responsible for its works today therefore believes that it is continuing this work of adaptation at the time. On the other hand, there are no such questions today about the films of the most famous spy.
Will this “update” cause the same outcry as the rewrite of Roald Dahl’s books. The heirs of the successful author have indeed undertaken to smooth the language of all the children’s novels by the author of James and the Giant Peach, Matilda or Charlie and the chocolate factory, adored by several generations, but which has been denounced in particular for anti-Semitic remarks.
The number of modified terms here is vast, touching on issues considered sensitive: race and ethnicity, gender, weight, physical appearance, mental health, violence, etc. Character “enormously big“thus became”enormous“, When “A crazy thing” became “something weirdHowever, in the face of controversy involving the Queen Consort herself, British publisher Puffin UK announced on Friday that it will continue to publish the original versions in a special collection.