James Bond books won't remove 'every word with potential to offend'
Changes to Fleming's 007 books have been made in line with "guidance from the author himself", according to his estate.
Ian Fleming’s estate has issued a statement clarifying that not “every word with the potential to offend” will be removed from the James Bond novels ahead of their re-release this year.
Last week, it was announced that Fleming’s 007 books have been revised with a number of racial references removed and a disclaimer that the books might use terms reflecting attitudes “considered offensive by modern readers” following a sensitivity review.
The edited novels will be published in April 2023 to mark 70 years since Casino Royale, the first book in the series, was published.
In a statement posted to the official Ian Fleming website on Tuesday (28th February), his estate wrote that revisions to the original texts were made in line with “guidance from the author himself”, citing Fleming’s historical support of such changes.
The estate noted that Fleming had “approved and apparently favoured” the original US version of Live and Let Die, to which Al Hart, the editor, had made a number of alterations ahead of its publication in 1955.
“Some of these corrected minor factual errors. Others deleted or changed passages or words Hart felt were racially troubling, even then,” the statement explained.
“Fleming approved all the changes and the version of Live and Let Die in America was therefore different from the British edition, and from his letters, it seems Fleming preferred the US version.”
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The estate went on to say it was Fleming’s approval of these changes that led them to commission a review of his novels by a sensitivity reader ahead of republishing the novels in 2023.
“With that decision [to republish], came a discussion. As the author’s literary estate and now publishers, what responsibility did we have, if any, to review the original texts?” the statement continued.
After “consulting with a number of external parties”, the estate added that it “decided that rather than making changes in line with their advice, it was instead most appropriate to look for guidance from the author himself”.
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“The original US version of Live and Let Die, approved and apparently favoured by Ian, had removed some racial terms which were problematic even in mid-1950s America, and would certainly be considered deeply offensive now by the vast majority of readers,” the statement continued.
“We took that as our starting point, but felt strongly that it was not our role to comb out every word or phrase that has had the potential to offend. We thus decided to apply the sensibilities of the original US edition of Live and Let Die consistently, across all the texts.”
The alterations are “very small in number”, according to the estate, with some books – including Casino Royale – remaining “completely unaltered".
“We are certain Ian Fleming would approve these edits, just as he approved the changes to the US edition of Live and Let Die,” the statement concluded.
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