The J. K. Rowling Encyclopedia

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series had a modest beginning but has gone on to sell a staggering 260 million copies worldwide. Her works have been translated into more than 60 languages and are among the most widely read and controversial novels of our era. This encyclopedia provides hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries about the people, places, events, and other influences on Rowling's life and work as well as necessary and useful information about her characters, settings,...
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J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series had a modest beginning but has gone on to sell a staggering 260 million copies worldwide. Her works have been translated into more than 60 languages and are among the most widely read and controversial novels of our era. This encyclopedia provides hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries about the people, places, events, and other influences on Rowling's life and work as well as necessary and useful information about her characters, settings, motifs, themes, spells, potions, curses, magical creatures, and so forth. In addition, the encyclopedia discusses the Harry Potter phenomenon in popular culture, through entries on films, merchandising, conventions, and other topics. The volume closes with appendices, a bibliography, and index.

Not since the Beatles in the 1960s has an export from Great Britain taken the world by storm as J. K. Rowling has with her popular Harry Potter series. From a modest beginning, the series has gone on to sell more than 260 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 60 languages. While readers young and old enjoy the books, Rowling's success has come with controversy. She is seen as both a champion for literacy, who encourages children to read 800 page novels full of Latin and mythological allusions; and as a shaman who turns young readers into mass consumers and children's literature into a highly marketable commodity. This encyclopedia is a detailed guide to her life and works.

The volume presents hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries on Rowling's characters, themes, settings, motifs, spells, potions, curses, and magical creatures; the people, places, and events that shaped her life; and films, merchandising, conventions, fan fiction, and other topics related to the presence of Harry Potter in popular culture. Among the entries are: BL Albus Dumbledore BL Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans BL Book Bannings and Burnings BL Critical Reception BL Hermione Granger BL Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry BL Illustration BL Mythology BL Quidditch BL Anne Volant Rowling BL J.R.R. Tolkien BL Translations BL Wands BL Wyedean Comprehensive School BL And many more. The volume also includes helpful lists, a bibliography, and an extensive index. Students and readers will find this a convenient resource for virtually anything they want to know about Rowling and her fascinating world.