These changes come after similar recent treatment of books by Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming, who created James Bond. And Christie’s narration and sections of dialogue uttered by unsympathetic characters have also been cut, according to the newspaper. The word “local” replaces “native”Ī line in Christie’s debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles which has Poirot commenting on a character being “a Jew” has gone. The Telegraph states that digital versions of new editions of the books written between 19 (the year of Christie’s death) include text stripped of “descriptions, insults or references to ethnicity, particularly for characters Christie’s protagonists encounter outside the UK.”įor example, in the book Death on the Nile – published in 1937 and recently remade for the big screen by Kenneth Branagh – references to “Nubian people” have been removed, as have several references to non-British characters’ physiques. 'Murder Is Easy': BBC Greenlights First Agatha Christie Project In Post-Sarah Phelps Era Ricky Gervais Pokes Fun At 'Fragile' And 'Easily Offended' People In Debate Over Revising Roald Dahl's Classic Books James Bond Books Edited To Avoid Offense To Modern Audiences - Report The bestselling novelist in the world, Christie created enduring popular sleuths Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and the Daily Telegraph reports that new editions of both these series have had original passages amended or removed by publisher Harper Collins. Agatha Christie is the latest bestselling novelist to get the rewriting treatment for 2023 readers, according to a British newspaper.

Poirot by Agatha Christie