Publisher Defends "Creepy" Charlie and Chocolate Factory Cover [View all]

[JI7]

Penguin has defended its decision to use an image of a doll-like young girl on the cover of a new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The cover was deemed "misleading" and "creepy". Author Giles Paley-Phillips said it looked "more like Lolita".

"This new image for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looks at the children at the centre of the story, and highlights the way Roald Dahl's writing manages to embrace both the light and the dark aspects of life," said a statement from Penguin

Reacting to the cover, Chocolat author Joanne Harris tweeted: '"I'm not sure why adults need a different cover anyway, but who was it who decided that "adult" meant "inappropriately sexualised"?

A spokeswoman for Penguin stressed that the new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was "intended for an adult audience", adding that the cover image was not intended to represent either of female children featured in the story.

The image is not intended to represent either Veruca Salt or Violet Beauregarde, publishers say

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28703254