Tom Hanks criticizes publisher for altering P.G. Wodehouse’s stories: “I’ll choose what offends me.”
Tom Hanks Rebukes Publishers for Editing Classic Works
Actor Tom Hanks, who is currently promoting his novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, recently criticized his own publisher Penguin Random House for editing classic P.G. Wodehouse works. According to The Telegraph, Penguin Random House edited a number of Wodehouse’s works because they deemed the prose “unacceptable.” Not only did they edit his works, but they also added trigger warnings at the beginning of his books.
Editing Classic Books
Penguin Random House was not the only publisher to edit classic books. Puffin also edited a number of Roald Dahl novels, changing the descriptions of characters and adding their own lines to the novel. HarperCollins reportedly edited a number of Agatha Christie works that featured terms deemed offensive. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. also edited depictions of black people in Fleming’s novels.
Hanks’ Opinion
Hanks reacted to this trend, telling the BBC, “I’m of the opinion that we’re all grown-ups here. Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities as opposed to having somebody decide what we may or may not be offended by.” He added, “Let me decide what I am offended by and what I’m not offended by. I would be against reading any book from any era that says ‘abridged due to modern sensitivities.'”
What do you make of Hanks’ comments about these publishers editing classic works?
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