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Further implications
In the contest between revised and original versions of classic children's texts the reading consumer is the determining factor. These are essentially marketing decisions and where publishers believe that consumers favour one version over another or that there is a market for both, they will produce accordingly.
However, for a publisher to be influenced, readers need to speak loudly, with their cash as well as their voices. Variations in publisher behaviour and what motivates it can be observed in the treatments of the works of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl.Enid Blyton wrote full-time from about 1924. She was prolific. From the early 1920s until about 1965, she wrote more than 600 children's books
Blyton died in 1968. The revision of her work appears to have begun almost immediately after her death and to have intensified from the 1980s. EnidBlyton.net advises that readers seeking unaltered editions should 'stick with pre-1980 second-hand paperbacks... If you want to get into collecting in a big way, go for pre-1968 hard back books, which are likely to contain all the original text. Also, these old copies will contain the original illustrations...' (EnidBlyton.net is a reader-based website that is primarily the work of eight Blyton enthusiasts from England, Australia, India, Pakistan, and the United States.
The nature of reader reactions to modified texts can be seen in the comments made by EnidBlyton.net about current revised editions. In response to the question, 'Should I buy brand new books, or old second-hand copies?' the website advises, 'In some ways nothing beats a brand-new paperback with colourful modern covers and that fresh, newly printed smell, and the knowledge that you're the first person to read that particular copy... But bear in mind that we're now in a "politically correct" era, and modern publishers have decided that some of Enid Blyton's phrases from the 1940s and 1950s are "inappropriate" in this day and age. Phrases like "George was as black as a nigger with soot," while not particularly unusual or upsetting fifty years ago, have been altered to something more acceptable, like "George was black with soot" - hardly a dramatic change, but a change nonetheless.'
EnidBlyton.net recognises two basic categories of Blyton book buyer. Firstly, there are general contemporary buyers - these are the parents of young readers and those readers themselves. For these buyers, the new editions are the most appropriate choice. Secondly, there are more specialist buyers - collectors, and others with a strong or academic interest in the original texts. These readers will want the original versions. The website explains, 'The new editions are perfectly readable for the new generation, and even for those adults who are revisiting their childhood. Most changes will go unnoticed unless you compare an old edition side by side with a new paperback.' However, contemporary reader acceptance of changes to Blyton's books has its limits. Readers of all sorts appear to have rejected many of the publisher's attempts to modernise Blyton's language. In 2010, Blyton's publisher, Hachette, announced that it would be revising 21 Famous Five books. Changes made included replacing the word 'tinker' with 'traveller', 'mother and father' with 'mum and dad' and 'awful swotter' with 'bookworm'. These revisions were a response to the apparently diminishing appeal of Blyton's books. In 2010, Neilsen BookScan had revealed that Blyton's worldwide book sales had fallen by 17.8 percent between January and October that year.
In 2016, however, the publisher decided to undo these modernisations. Anne McNeil, publishing director of Hodder Children's Books (a subsidiary of Hatchett), stated, 'The feedback we have had six years on shows that the love for The Famous Five remains intact, and changing mother to mummy, pullover to jumper, was not required.'
The 'feedback' to which McNeil was referring was sales figures. Again, it was market forces that drove the rethink as Hodder acknowledged that the updated versions were 'very unpopular' and were being outsold by unmodernised Blyton stories. Buyer behaviour regarding Enid Blyton books suggests that readers accept and may even actively approve of many of the changes made over the years, including the removal of racist anachronisms; however, they expect these books to retain what Hodder is now referring to as 'period...charm'. McNeil has stated, ', 'In new editions, we do not change language simply for the sake of modernising it. We retain old-fashioned terms such as "bathing-suit" and references to pre-decimal currency. The books' period setting is part of their charm and is enjoyed by readers of all ages.' This decision is a clear indication of the company acknowledging the purchasing behaviour of consumers.
It is a little early to predict the direction in which book buyers' purchasing power will take the debate surrounding revisions to Roald Dahl's books. In the case of Enid Blyton, book buyers' acceptance of revised editions of her work has meant that original versions are no longer being published and will ultimately become difficult for anyone but specialist collectors to locate and purchase. In Britain, libraries are now holding earlier editions of Blyton's stories in reserve and only making them available with warnings that they contain some views and values not in accord with current attitudes. As stocks are replaced, it is the newest revised editions that libraries will purchase.
In Dahl's case, publishers have undertaken to continue producing both revised and unmodified versions of his books. This was a reaction to widespread protest at the removal of the originals from publishing schedules. The new publication of these unrevised Dahl's stories is due to occur at the end of this year. It will then be up to readers to vote with their credit cards. If there is a genuine interest in having Dahl's original books continue to be published exactly as he wrote them, then those with this interest will need to buy them. Otherwise, the original texts will follow in the path of Enid Blyton's original work.