Agatha, Edited: Mystery Author Agatha Christie's Work Is Being Reworked to Remove Objectionable Content

When enigma writer Agatha Christie passed distant successful 1976, she near down an awesome assemblage of work. There are good implicit 2 cardinal copies of her books successful print, arsenic good arsenic a slew of movies adapting them.

Now, immoderate of her bestselling books are being edited to region objectionable contented and to amended bespeak modern standards.

The Telegraph was the archetypal to study that respective Christie novels featuring her astir well-known detectives—Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple—are being revised by steadfast HarperCollins to destruct descriptions that would beryllium interpreted arsenic racially insensitive oregon xenophobic. This includes mentions of characters being “Oriental,” “a Jew,” oregon idiosyncratic described arsenic “Black.” Minorities characterized arsenic having “white teeth,” “an Indian temper,” oregon having torsos “like achromatic marble” person besides been scrubbed.

HarperCollins has already re-released immoderate of the works, which are believed to see the full Miss Marple postulation and prime Poirot novels. Others are owed to beryllium issued successful the future.

Christie’s enactment was archetypal expurgated successful her lifetime: When the Anti-Defamation League wrote to her steadfast complaining astir her depiction of Jewish people, Christie’s cause gave American editors broad support to region immoderate mentions they deemed offensive.

Nor is Christie the archetypal writer to person their contented posthumously reconsidered. James Bond writer Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl person some had books revised to region violative descriptions. In galore cases, publishers oregon authors’ estates employment the services of sensitivity readers, who reappraisal catalog titles for outdated references. The controversy implicit the practice, which immoderate decry arsenic censorship, led Dahl's publisher, Penguin Random House, to announce the unedited titles would stay available.

Born successful 1890, Christie wrote her first novel, The Mysterious Affair astatine Styles, connected a situation from her sister, Midge. The publication was published successful 1920 and launched her vocation arsenic a enigma novelist. The past movie to beryllium based connected her work, Kenneth Branagh’s Death connected the Nile, was released successful 2022.

[h/t The Telegraph]