Illustration: Maybe the world’s most famous painting depicting a promise is “The Oath of the Horatii” by Jacques-Louis David. This neoclassical painting presents a scene from ancient Rome, where three brothers pledge to defend their city and honour in a battle against the neighbouring town of Alba. The painting is known for its dramatic composition, with the three brothers standing in a powerful, triangular formation, holding their swords and raising their hands in an oath of loyalty and determination. The painting is considered a masterpiece of the neoclassical style and is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Dear existing and future authors,
Penguin Random House’s children’s book division, Puffin Books, has started down a slippery slope of censorship and rewriting history: Removing politically incorrect language from classic children’s books to make them more “acceptable” to modern readers.
This affects Roald Dahl’s books, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda”. They have altered some passages about weight, mental health, gender, and race.
“The Roald Dahl Story Company”, which controls the book rights, reviewed the language to ensure the stories and characters “continue to be enjoyed by all children today”.
The review started in 2020 in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a hard-left collective working to make children’s literature more politically correct.
We sincerely thank all who have trusted our publishing house to showcase your work to a broader audience. The privilege of reviewing your manuscripts makes us immensely impressed with the quality and depth of your writing.
We hold your creative vision in the highest esteem and will not make any changes to your work, including the title of the book, without obtaining explicit permission from you. We respect your inherent right to self-expression and understand that your manuscript reflects your unique voice and perspective. We remain steadfastly committed to preserving its integrity, and will ensure that it is presented to the world exactly as you intended. We are also committed to historical authenticity and to keeping books and literary works in their original form.
Moreover, we recognise that “sensitivity readers” might become a standard practice in the publishing industry. However, we do not subscribe to this approach. We believe that your work should be evaluated solely on its literary merit and not influenced by the subjective opinions of political activists.
Thus, as the publisher of Legatum Publishing, I pledge never to use “sensitivity readers” in your work or any other work we publish.
Legatum Publishing is a member of the Norwegian Publishers Association (NPA) and offers our authors the Norwegian standard industry contracts, plus an additional clause where we legally promise not to change your work, alive or post-mortem.
We are grateful for the opportunity to work with both existing and future authors and be part of your literary journey. Thank you for entrusting our publishing house with your creative vision.
Legatum Publishing aims to publish books and other works that will encourage Europeans, and people of European ancestry, to discover more about the unique character of their heritage and history. It can be in the form of fiction, literary works, short stories or non-fiction. We will consider your text based on its merits. We ask that you use this form when you send us your manuscript.