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Here’s why Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novels are being edited

In recent times, it has become common to censor literature to fit into current times. Following children’s author Roald Dahl, the Queen of mystery novels, Agatha Christie, is now being put under the lens. Her books are being edited to remove material that modern readers may find offensive, while the publisher is trying to make them relevant to modern readers, some literature lovers think it’s a bad idea.

According to a report in the Telegraph, HarperCollins has edited some portions of Agatha Christie’s books and completely removed some from its new digital editions. The changes have been made to the writer’s inner monologue in which she refers to some characters in a certain way.

One example can be found in her debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in which the detective Hercule Poirot describes another character as ‘a Jew, of course’. The reference has been completely taken out from the new version.

In Christie’s short story collection Miss Marple’s Final Cases and Two Other Stories, the word ‘native’ has been replaced with ‘local’.

In the same book, a passage has been edited where a servant is being called ‘black’ and ‘grinning’. The revised version has removed the reference to his race, and changed his action to simply ‘nodding’.

Her 1937 novel ‘Death on the Nile,’ which carries references to ‘Nubian people’, has also been edited to remove these references throughout.

HarperCollins reportedly released the new versions in 2020 and more of them are set to come out soon. The publisher and Agatha Christie Ltd. haven’t commented on the matter yet.

However, some book lovers see the changes as a form of censorship. When Roald Dahl’s books were censored, it led to a lot of criticism. To counter this, publisher Puffin said that it would release two versions of his books, an amended version and a classic version, so people can choose which ones they want to read.

Agatha Christie published her novels from 1920 to 1976, the year she died. Her books are loved by mystery lovers, with detective Hercule Poirot solving crimes in most of her books.

Her books Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were recently adapted into movies and starred actors like Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Kenneth Branagh and Gal Gadot.

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