Ian Fleming’s James Bond books have been rewritten with “woke” audiences in mind, removing a number of “offensive” references ahead of 007’s 70th anniversary this spring, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
The changes come as books by Roald Dahl have also been scrubbed of potentially offensive language, including “fat” or “ugly” characters — and tweaked so as to make the Oompa Loompas of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” gender-neutral.
All of Fleming’s thrillers — from “Casino Royale” to “Octopussy” — will be re-released this spring after Ian Fleming Publications, the company that owns the literary rights to Fleming’s work, commissioned a review by “sensitivity readers.”
The new versions of the classic novels will include a disclaimer that reads: “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace.”
It adds: “A number of updates have been made in this edition while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.”