James Bond books reissued to edit outdated, racist language

The classic novels by Ian Fleming, who created the character of 007 agent James Bond, are being reissued to remove outdated and racist language.

According to The Telegraph, Ian Fleming Publications will re-release all 14 of the original author's books in April. The series began with Casino Royale in 1953. Edits are set to include changes to words and phrases deemed offensive by the company's "sensitivity readers."

In a statement, the publisher further claimed they would "follow Ian‘s lead" by first making "changes to Live and Let Die that he himself authorised."

“Following Ian’s approach, we looked at the instances of several racial terms across the books and removed a number of individual words or else swapped them for terms that are more accepted today but in keeping with the period in which the books were written,” they shared.

The removal of the n-word, which was either replaced with a non-racist word or removed entirely, was a significant change to the original text.

London: Jonathan Cape, 1953-66.

Unfavourable references to homosexuality as well as misogynistic language were also changed. These became common tropes for the film counterpart of the British secret agent.

To prevent further discrimination by the text, the new books will include a disclaimer that states: “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.”

The James Bond books are not the first to receive a reissue. For example, it was revealed that Roald Dahl‘s children‘s books will undergo a revision to remove offensive language.

The Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson seemed to affirm Bond's controversial reputation by admitting that his late wife Natasha Richardson had forbidden him to take on the role in the '90s.

"Come on, there’s all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed,” he explained. “I’m sure a lot of her decision-making was based on that!”