TLDR: I don't really care for censorship and would like to know if darn near every classic work has been censored or is just the few I have ran into. I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but hopefully this the right place. Basically, all I want to know is if there is a comprehensive list somewhere that tells me if a literary work has been censored or sanitized. I love reading, it is my favorite thing in the world to do, I mainly read fantasy novels, but I decided I wanted to venture out of my comfort zone and try some different genres. I researched a bit about Stephen King and his horror books and decided to start with "Carrie", since it was his first work. I can't remember how I found out, but some basic research told me some racist words were changed in an area of the book which I thought was odd, since it is a product of its time. Though disappointed, that his work was changed at all, I became worried that his entire catalogue would be affected, I then found out it was really just this one line in Carrie and nothing else in any of his works have been censored in such a way. After that, I wanted to broaden more of my horizons with more classical works and books that are considered "all-time greats". I then found out that books like Lord of the Flies have also censored words, and many children's books such as Roald Dahls books have been heavily sanitized too, like fat being changed to enormous. At this point what I am asking is how do I know a book I am buying is closest to what the author intended and hasn't been proofread for my safety first? I want to read The Canterbury Tales, War and Peace, The Idiot, Ulysses, Blood Meridian, The Sound and the Fury, The Count of Monte Cristo and Don Quixote. Have those been altered significantly? Are most of these books I want to read censorship free? Are most of the older books not found in schools less susceptible to censorship? I also understand the ones I have mentioned are books typically in schools, but let's say I want to read The Great Gatsby, has that been altered as well since it just so happens to be read by high school students? Or is it just a Lord of the Flies and children's book issue and not really found much elsewhere and these are the exception? Thank you for taking your time to read this post and thank you for any posts in advance! Have a wonderful day!
No, most classic literature is not altered that way, and it's extremely rare to see it happen to works whose authors are dead (although not unheard of in the case of meddling estates such as Agatha Christie's).
But if the author is still alive and voluntarily makes the change, as in King's case, I disagree that it constitutes censorship. If a writer makes the considered decision that an earlier form of their writing was flawed, and that those flaws detract from their artistic intent, it's entirely reasonable for them to release a revised edition that supports their intended effect. It seems comparable to the other reasons to release a revised edition: to correct errors, address plot holes, or update dated or incorrect terminology.
For example—and we're talking high literature here, truly—the authors of the Animorphs revised the series to make the pop culture references more timeless, so the books will continue to be accessible to future generations of kids. Yes, they were a time capsule into the 90s in their original form, and I think they should still be available in that form for people to study, although I don't think it's necessary for that form to be easy to access. Because the authors' artistic intent is not to distract the teen readers with aging jokes and callbacks to 90s icons, it's to make the characters feel genuine and relatable. If the 90s pop culture references aren't doing that anymore—if they're in fact sabotaging that goal—the change is a justifiable one, artistically speaking.
In my opinion, King's changes to Carrie are similar. They seem artistically justified by the author's judgment of his own intent that, say, the Christie estate's meddling does not.
Thoughtful comment. This in no way meant to be antagonistic - I personally do not think an artist has any right to modify their own work after publication or distribution. It would be like commissioning a painting from a famous artist, then the artist comes over to your house and decides to change it (which I read Degas actually did if I remember correctly, much to the irritation of his patron-friends). You'd be outraged. Or consider the controversy over George Lucas editing his original Star Wars movies. Once it is introduced to the public it is sacrosanct. I have no problem, however, with the introduction of edited works provided they are clearly labeled as such.
Very well worded, I also agree with you. That makes me definitely feel better to pick up more classics since it seems to be more on the rarer side. Thank you for your reply!
You’ll see it more in books for children because that creates an additional need for discussion on what was acceptable at the time verses now. In an academic setting like school that is not always an option.
Makes sense, thank you for your reply.
In terms of the books you listed, not quite censorship but I know there are quite a few different manuscript versions of Ulysses. Mine is the 1922 text and there are some spelling mistakes in it.
The Sound and the Fury has some slight edits in the original published edition. There is a corrected text version that is supposed to restore it closer to Faulkner’s manuscript
Awesome! I did not know that, thank you for your reply!
No worries! From what I’ve heard, the Faulkner edits are mostly punctuation and maybe a word here or there. I’ve heard the biggest omission is in Absalom, Absalom! where a sentence is missing from the first chapter.
Any reason for that? Censorship? Lost to time? That's strange
No idea but it pisses me off lol. I think it was more Absalom, Absalom! is famously difficult and a misguided editor thought they were doing the world a favour. I unfortunately don’t have the corrected text and am unable to find the differences online.
Wow, thank you for this cursed knowledge haha, this gives my OCD its own case of OCD. Now I have to read it and when I do I'm going to need a physical version in one hand and some references or somethin on a tablet in the other.
Hahahaha I feel you on that. Luckily, the corrected text isn’t too hard to find I believe in America/Europe. 978-0679732181 I believe that’s the ISBN.
The version to avoid has the house on the cover and the red spine (original publication, edited version). The corrected version (closest to Faulkner’s original) has the title in handwritten font. Enjoy! It is one of the great achievements of English.
Heck yeah, thank you very much, I will dig into this one at some point this upcoming year! Appreciate the number as well!
it's not quite censorship if the government ain't the one doing it, but lots of publishers will rerelease stuff with changes if they think it'll help sales. the title changes on Agatha Christie's and then there were none is a prominent example if that's what you're after
I had to look that up, yeah, I imagine that might have held some sales back with a title that wild. Definitely not what I'm after, i just don't want missing content if that makes sense
in that case you're going to have to probably hunt down first editions or do homework on a Case by case basis. the obscenity trials for Ulysses were pretty interesting to read about
Those who edit and censor their own works or the works of others should burn at 451 F. If censored or redacted works are published for specific uses, such as in the classroom, then at the very least they should clearly be labeled as such. I think this is rare. Outright book banning seems to be the censorship method most often used in those situations. Both are an abomination. I'm not "anti-woke." In fact, I'm a student of history and I sympathize with most "woke" concerns. How can you tell if the work has been tampered with? I don't think there is any database or formal labeling requirement - it would just be the personal choice of the publisher. If you are concerned, probably some web searching will pull up any such editing/censorship efforts regarding a particular work.
I'll give a good example of how an author could change their work without compromising the original. In Arthur C. Clarke's famous 2001 series of books, the original has the main action taking place on Saturn. But when Kubrick's movie came out, they agreed to reset to Jupiter because Kubrick couldn't get the FX right to model Saturn's rings. So in 2010, the next novel in the series, Clarke changed the story to reset to Jupiter to reflect the revised story the movie script created. He puts in an introduction explaining the change to the book. But, the key thing, is that he did not alter the original. So the original 2001 is still published with the original story happening near Saturn. It's weird, true. But this is the best way for an author to handle it. Personally, I think Clarke should have ignored that or been more forceful in pushing back on Kubrick, but they had a collaboration going and Kubrick had a reputation for being one of the most demanding directors in film history, so it would probably have been almost impossible to change his mind if Kubrick thought it would compromise his artistic vision.