Jane Austen discussion
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Is the content of the books changed through the ages?
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If the language of a book has been changed, it will say so on or in the book somewhere. "Adapted by," or something like that. The only exceptions to this that I've found are children's books. For example, some of the language and content of the Nancy Drew books has been changed at least a few times now. Good luck!
Look for editions that say complete and unabridged.They seem to change children's books more often though, as if they don't think modern children are intelligent enough to understand them as we did, Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter have been tampered with.
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, some paperback publishers used to update spelling and punctuation, but I don’t think that’s much done these days. I don’t know of any reputable publisher that would publish an edition of a classic with words changed, unless they specify that it’s an edition for young people or something like that.
I know the Bobbsey Twins books have been modified because they carried a lot of racist baggage; I'm curious now about any Nancy Drew "upgrades".
The spellings have been corrected which is too bad but for a non-native English speaker, that's probably for the best. (chuse becomes choose)
My suggestion is that if one is able to read a book in the native language, try to do so. One can ask for help here and turn to a translation as a last resort.
Today I was thinking if I should buy my next book in english or in my native language (greek). I usually buy originally english books in english, and if it is another language, I buy it in greek. But something crossed my mind; even if I buy the book in english, will I be reading the book exactly in the way and words Jane Austen wrote it? Or as new editions are released, the content is slightly changed and adapted to the language of today? I have no idea about how that stuff works, so if you know anything about it, please write it in the comments!
Have a nice day :)