Modern Reprints - the changes in the books

[JazzDeath__]

Updates

* In modern reprints, the names of the children have been changed:
o Jo is changed to Joe, because the character is a boy and this is the more commonly used spelling of the name for males;
o Bessie is changed to Beth, because the former name is seldom used as a nickname for Elizabeth;
o Fanny is changed to Frannie, because the former name is slang for vulva in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand (see Wiktionary entry) and "bottom" in the USA. Cousin Dick, who appears in "The Magic Faraway Tree", has been changed to "Rick" as "Dick" is British slang for penis.
* In modern reprints, the character of Dame Slap has been re-named to Dame Snap and she no longer practises corporal punishment but instead reprimands her students by yelling at them very loudly.

What are people's thoughts on this?

Reading The Magic Faraway Tree books as a child I never got offended/upset by names or characters in the book and I think it's absolutely ridiculous that anyone would go as far as to change the name 'Bessie' to 'Beth' because of politically correct rubbish.

The books were written from the late 30's to the early 50's so of course it's going to have perfectly normal things from that era in it.

I'm glad I got to read the unmodified versions of it.

[Lucky Star]

Absolutely. Most people on here prefer the original text to the politically correct versions on sale now. Many of the changes are clumsy and spoil the atmosphere of the books. There is also a school of thought however which holds that it is better to have the books on sale, and still selling well, in slightly revised versions than to have them disappear altogether.

I tend to agree with that while, as you say, being very glad that I myself got to read the unadulterated versions. I only buy old books myself nowadays so that I can be sure that I am getting the text that the author actually wrote.

[Nearby]

I also buy the older books, because I prefer to read them as they were written, and not how some PC motivated jobsworth, who would see potential offence in a bowl of soup, thinks they should be presented to the public.

Fact of the matter is, the words Dick and Fanny can't possibly corrupt young minds. If they don't know the slang, then they won't get the connection. If they know, and have a quiet giggle, it's not as if they're learning anything new.

Okay, removing the word 'nigger' from the texts I can understand, if not necessarily agree with. But for some people to get all bent out of shape because of some innocent names (that are still used today). Pathetic. Utterly pathetic.

The books were written in and about a different time, where corporal punishment was the norm, when there was very much a class system in place, and to be 'gay' meant you were happy. I understood this when I read them as a child 20 years ago, and so can kids today.

[auscatherine]

The other difficulty is when you are reading children a mix of original and updated books from the same series and have to explain why Bessie has suddenly become Beth etc. The Dame Slap/Snap thing is most annoying as it ruins the plot in my view. She is meant to be a villain not just a woman with a sharp tongue!