Once a book's published and up on the shelf, the author's finished her job. Right?
"Not always," says Anne Fine. "Over a dozen of my own books for young children have just been reprinted in lovely bright new editions, and I've been astonished at the sorts of changes I suddenly decided I wanted to make." The Stone Menagerie is one of the books which she has revised for this new edition, and in an article intended for her child readers she explains why:
This is, for me, the most interesting of all because, although so many people tell me it's their favourite of all my novels for this age group, I know that's because they like Ally. They identify with his problem, and they find his growing relationship with the exotic Flora and her amiable if sarcastic companion Riley inspiring because it so feeds his confidence and makes him able to become more of the person he would like to be.
But all that stuff about the hospital, and the way in which Ally's poor sick Aunt Chloe responded so positively just to a bit of fresh air and two kind people worries me horribly now. I think I was too far under the influence of a few new (and now largely discredited) ideas about mental illness. I was simplistic. And I think I was a little too casual about one or two other things in that book. I look at a few passages and know that I quite sincerely wouldn't put something written in that form in front of my readers of that age now.
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Anne Fine writes books for all ages: here's more about her books for younger children and middle children. She writes books for adults, too.
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