Why was it considered necessary to change Fannie to Frannie in the Faraway Tree books?

[deaconblue]

I've just started reading the first book to ds. He is 4, he would have no idea that Fannie is a rude word, just seems over the top for her name to be changed to Frannie in modern editions.

In case she escaped form one book and met up with Titty from Swallows and Amazons?

It was Fanny, actually.

What about her cousin, Dick?

Dick is now Rick... and Jo is Joe as gender-ambiguity is obviously out now too.

It came along with editing out comments about horrible swarthy skin and changing 'nasty, common voice' to 'nasty, mean voice' etc.

And now they've "updated" the Famous Five too, so make sure you buy the right version of those in future!

And Elizabeth Allen (Naughtiest Girl) gets £2 spending money a week instead of half a crown.

If the word fanny was funny in 1980 when I read the book, and yet I somehow managed to survive the experience without trauma, I don't see why children today shouldn't cope. No one was called Fanny in 1981...well, not to their face

Frannie is a horrible name.

It is hilarious that we worry about these things whilst the same children are singing along to "Do me baby with your massive disco donger", which they have heard on every radio station, MTV and in cafes etc.

How glad I am that I insisted my mum store all my old Enid Blytons. My children will relish in the joy of Aunt Fanny, Dick and Anne the 11 year old housewife all washed down with some cold meat and lashings of ginger beer!

OOOh Am now tempted to dig em out of loft for a bit of nostalgia

I've just finished reading this series to DCs and notice the children say 'Wow!'. What has this replaced?

I'm so glad I kept all my old Blytons now!

I was rather at my old edition of Doctor Dolittle though. We had to stop reading that one!!

"Wow" - possibly 'Gosh' or "Golly".

PC gone wrong some things are just timeless and should be left alone, where did you buy them as i have search amazon and could not find them.

And Bessie is Beth. I was furious when I got a copy for DD. Luckily Tesco were selling a version at the time that slipped through the censorship net and Amazon got their poxy copy back.

As students we used to play at being Enid Blyton and Arthur Ransome characters, going on Adventures. Fanny and Titty, Dick and Roger .