David Colbert - The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to my publishers in New York and London, and my agents, who introduced the book to them: Susan Allison, Lara Robbins, Kimberly Lionetti, Leslie Gelbman, Michael OMara, and his colleagues, Al Zuckerman, Sophie Gorell Barnes, Maja Nikolic, Clare Hulton, Amanda Li, Samantha Mackintosh, Jacqui McDonough, Elaine McQuade, Adele Minchin, Leah Thaxton, Julia Bruce, Nigel Hazle, Julie Howson, Shannon Park, Penny Worms, and John Fordham.

Id like to extend a special thanks to the publishers and translators of the books international editions, whose insights have contributed greatly to this revision.

Thanks also to my parents and sisters, editors all, for their expert advice. Lena Taboris aid was essential. Dr. Christine D. Myers, Nora Freeberg, Andra Swan, Evan Michael Williams, and Gili Bar-Hillel offered sharp insights. Special thanks to Martin Berke, Laurie Brown, Max and Emily de La Bruyre, Linda Dudajek, and Debbie Malicoat of R. R. Donnelley; Natasha Tabori Fried, Katie Kerr, Lyuba Konopasek, Miles Kronby, Arif Lalani, Laura Poole of Archer Editorial Services, Edward Samuels, Stacy Schiff, Ben Shykind, John Ward of Ward & Olivo, Terry Wybel and Continental Sales, and Bristol Books in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The editor and publishers gratefully acknowledge the following for permission to reproduce copyright material in The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter.

The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., London

Latin for all Occasions by Henry Beard, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., London

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, 1949 by Bollingen Foundation

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. Copyright The Intervivos Trust for the Le Guin children

Reprinted by permission of the publishers and Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from Aelian: On the Characteristics of Animals, Loeb Classical Library Vol. I, Books 1-5, translated by A. F. Schofield, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1958-1959. The Loeb Classical Library is a registered trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

The Playing Fields of Hogwarts, The New York Times, October 10, 1999. Copyright Pico Iyer. Reprinted by permission of Pico Iyer. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (New York, Facts on File, 1999). Copyright 1999 Rosemary Ellen Guiley, reprinted by permission of Facts on File Inc.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but in a few cases this has proved impossible. The editor and publishers would be happy to deal with any inquiries retrospectively.

Afterword

EVERY WRITER BEGINS AS A READER. AFTER DIGGING INTO her stories, one sees that J. K. Rowling must have been a terrific reader before she became a terrific writer. Just as impressive as her knowledge of myths and legends is her ability to make each one seem original and fresh.

In the bibliography of this book, as well as in the notes for each entry, youll find suggestions of interesting books for further reading. The best place to start would certainly be a collection of Greek and Roman myths. If you want to dig deeper, an outstanding reference with many detailed reading suggestions is The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute and John Grant. If youre particularly interested in magical creatures, youll like Carol Roses encyclopedias, Giants, Monsters and Dragons and Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins. For information about wizards, good sources are Rosemary Ellen Guileys The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft and Thomas Ogdens Wizards and Sorcerers. You might also want to find the wonderful Dictionary of Imaginary Places, by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. Many books explain people and creatures, but this may be the only one that brings together fantastic worlds. For a serious discussion of attitudes toward death, which Rowling identifies as one of the more important themes in the book, and the motivating force for the important characters, read Ernest Beckers The Denial of Death. Also listed below are some Internet sites of special interest to anyone who wants to know more about Harry Potter.

About the Author

David Colberts many books include The Magical Worlds of Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials, The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings, the Eyewitness history series, and the 10 Days series of biographies.

Bibliography

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death (New York: Free Press, 1973).

Borges, Jorge Luis, with Margarita Guerrero. The Book of Imaginary Beings (New York: Dutton, 1969).

Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (New York: Harper, 1952).

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968).

Clute, John, and John Grant. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (New York: St. Martins, 1999).

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpepers Complete Herbal (New York: W. Foulsham, 1923)

Culpeper, Nicholas. The English Physician [The English Physitian] (London: Peter Cole, 1652). Hypertext edition courtesy of Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven. info.med.yale.edu/library/historical/culpeper/culpeper.htm

Foster, Robert. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (New York: Ballantine, 1979).

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits (New York: Facts on File, 2000).

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft (New York: Facts on File, 1999).

Helms, Randel. Tolkiens World (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974).

Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea (Berkeley, California: Parnassus Press, 1968).

Lepper, John Heron. Famous Secret Societies (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., 1932).

Nigg, Joseph. The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Nigg, Joseph. Wonder Beasts: Tales and Lore of the Phoenix, the Griffin, the Unicorn and the Dragon (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995).

South, Malcolm. Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: a Source Book and Research Guide (New York: Greenwood, 1987).

Ogden, Tom. Wizards and Sorcerers: from Abracadabra to Zoroaster (New York: Facts on File: 1977).

Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2000).

Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia (New York: Norton, 1998).

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965). White, T. H. The Sword in the Stone (New York: Putnam, 1939).

Willis, Roy. Dictionary of World Myth (London: Duncan Baird, 1995).

Van Den Broek, R., The Myth of the Phoenix (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972).

Internet resources of interest:

Steve Vander Arks Harry Potter Lexicon: www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon

The Leaky Cauldron: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

Accio Quote!, a great archive of Rowling articles and interviews: www.accio-quote.org/index.html

Did Alchemists Really Search for a Magic Stone?

JUST WHAT WERE ALCHEMISTS TRYING TO do? Did they accomplish anything, or did all their work disappear in a cloud of smoke?

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