Miss Marple and James Bond aren’t who you thought they were… at least not if you read a recent edition. Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming are on a growing list of authors whose books have quietly been “updated” by the publishing industry with the help of “sensitivity readers.”
Sensitivity readers scour texts — both new and previously published — to find phrases they deem triggering, problematic or incompatible with modern mores.
Their purpose? To protect readers from ideas they might find upsetting or to ensure authors share their so-called “lived experiences” in an authentic fashion. That can mean bringing on a black sensitivity reader, for example, to edit material written by someone of a different race.
