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I'm going to disagree. I think that it may be a good idea. Have you ever watched a teenager or someone who isn't a "die hard" reader try to read any of the classics? It's an instant way to turn that person off, not only to the book in question, but to classics in general, and even to the whole idea of reading. I'm not suggesting that these new modern versions should replace the originals, but if they get people to read the stories, then isn't that a good thing? Perhaps they'll then be inclined to go back and read the originals?
Or think of it this way: We don't expect people to read Tolstoy in Russian if they don't speak Russian; we don't expect people to read Dumas in French if they don't speak French. A modern audience, especially a younger modern audience, doesn't speak Victorian or Georgian English either. I guess we have to ask whether the books are being read, at least in part, for their content and not just for their writing style.
Again, please don't think that I'm suggesting that the originals be dumped or replaced; but I think it would be far better for people to have an entree to books that they might otherwise pass by than for those books to begin to pick up more and more dust on library shelves.
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