 Cover art of the 2001 edition | |
| Author | David Colbert |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Guide to the Harry Potter universe |
| Publisher | Lumina Press[1][2] |
Publication date | March 21, 2001[3] |
| Media type | Paperback |
| ISBN | 0-9708442-0-4 |
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts[4] is a guide to the fictional Harry Potter universe, written by David Colbert.[5] It explores the references to history, legends, and literature in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Colbert conceived the idea for The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter while quizzing his nephew and nieces about the mythological references in the novels. He later wrote the book while teaching a seminar on self-publishing to graduate students at the University of North Carolina. The book was published in March 2001, without approval from Rowling, and has since received positive reviews from critics. An updated version of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter was published in 2004 by Berkley Books.
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How to build a fictional world - Kate Messner
Transcription
In J.R.R.'s world, Gandalf is one of five wizards sent by the Valar to guide the inhabitants of Middle Earth in their struggles against the dark force of Sauron. Gandalf's body was mortal, subject to the physical rules of Middle Earth, but his spirit was immortal, as seen when he died as Gandalf the Grey and resurrected as Gandalf the White. According to the Wachowski's script, an awakened human only has to link up and hack the neon binary code of the Matrix to learn how to fly a helicopter in a matter of seconds. Or if you are the One, or one of the Ones, you don't even need a helicopter, you just need a cool pair of shades. Cheshire cats can juggle their own heads. iPads are rudimentary. No Quidditch match ends until the Golden Snitch is caught. And the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is most certainly 42. Just like real life, fictional worlds operate consistently within a spectrum of physical and societal rules. That's what makes these intricate worlds believable, comprehensible, and worth exploring. In real life, the Law of Gravity holds seven book sets of "Harry Potter" to millions of bookshelves around the world. We know this to be true, but we also know that ever since J.K. typed the words wizard, wand, and "Wingardium Leviosa," that Law of Gravity has ceased to exist on the trillions of pages resting between those bookends. Authors of science fiction and fantasy literally build worlds. They make rules, maps, lineages, languages, cultures, universes, alternate universes within universes, and from those worlds sprout story, after story, after story. When it's done well, readers can understand fictional worlds and their rules just as well as the characters that live in them do and sometimes, just as well or even better than the reader understands the world outside of the book. But how? How can human-made squiggles on a page reflect lights into our eyes that send signals to our brains that we logically and emotionally decode as complex narratives that move us to fight, cry, sing, and think, that are strong enough not only to hold up a world that is completely invented by the author, but also to change the reader's perspective on the real world that resumes only when the final squiggle is reached? I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that question, yet fantastical, fictional worlds are created everyday in our minds, on computers, even on napkins at the restaurant down the street. The truth is your imagination and a willingness to, figuratively, live in your own world are all you need to get started writing a novel. I didn't dream up Hogwarts or the Star Wars' Cantina, but I have written some science thrillers for kids and young adults. Here are some questions and methods I've used to help build the worlds in which those books take place. I start with a basic place and time. Whether that's a fantasy world or a futuristic setting in the real world, it's important to know where you are and whether you're working in the past, present, or future. I like to create a timeline showing how the world came to be. What past events have shaped the way it is now? Then I brainstorm answers to questions that draw out the details of my fictional world. What rules are in place here? This covers everything from laws of gravity (or not) to the rules of society and the punishments for individuals who break them. What kind of government does this world have? Who has power, and who doesn't? What do people believe in here? And what does this society value most? Then it's time to think about day-to-day life. What's the weather like in this world? Where do the inhabitants live and work and go to school? What do they eat and how do they play? How do they treat their young and their old? What relationships do they have with the animals and plants of the world? And what do those animals and plants look like? What kind of technology exists? Transportation? Communication? Access to information? There's so much to think about! So, spend some time living in those tasks and the answers to those questions, and you're well on your way to building your own fictional world. Once you know your world as well as you hope your reader will, set your characters free in it and see what happens. And ask yourself, "How does this world you created shape the individuals who live in it? And what kind of conflict is likely to emerge?" Answer those questions, and you have your story. Good luck future world-builder!
Content
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter explores the references to history, legends, and literature in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels.[6] David Colbert, the author of the book, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Harry Potter novels "are [...] literary treasure hunts for [Rowling's] readers. What seem like funny-sounding names and places and excursions into fantasy all have a basis in either history, myth or legend."[7] He added, however, that he thinks Rowling has been able to turn these elements into her own, and concluded: "A couple of times, every generation, some writer gets it exactly right and really makes it their own, and J.K. Rowling has done that."[8]
The 220-pages-long book features 53 chapters.[6] Colbert writes about the connections between Rowling's novels and folklore, Greek mythology,[6] and the cultures of Ancient Egypt,[9] Ancient Rome,[10] and the Aztec.[9] For example, he explains that Rowling got the name for the character Draco Malfoy from the Latin word for dragon, draco.[6] One of the connections to folklore that Colbert find the most fascinating is the name of the evil wizard family The Malfoys. They are named after the Latin word for "evil-doer", maleficus, which was used in medieval times to describe witches.[7] In addition, there is a chapter in the book that explains the origins of the names of the spells featured in the Harry Potter series.
Colbert explains in the introduction of the book that one of the reasons he enjoys reading Rowling is because of these references that she hides in the novels.[11] He comments that he believes she may have inserted them into the books to encourage readers to learn more about mythology and folklore; "As [Rowling] said when somebody asked her in a chat about the source of one of the unforgivable curses [featured in the books], she said, 'Look it up, a little investigation is good for a person.'"[8]
Background
Colbert received the idea for The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter during the summer of 2000, when his young nephew and nieces spent their vacation at his home in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. During the first half of the children's vacation, Colbert noticed their excitement for the novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was about to be released in bookstores. When his nephew and nieces received the book, they read it for the remainder of their vacation with him.[7]
Colbert, a historian and former head writer on the television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, became interested in the books and bought the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, to see what the story was about. As he was reading, he began to notice mythological references in the book. He commented: "I almost laughed out loud when I came across the three-headed dog [Fluffy]. I instantly knew it was a reference to Cerberus, the threeheaded beast which Ancient Greeks believed guarded the gates to the Underworld."[12] Inspired by this, Colbert continued to search the book for more references and noticed that most characters' names are based on their personality and every magic creature is a reference to mythology and folklore.[12]
Excited about his discoveries,[8] Colbert began quizzing his nephew and nieces about the references featured in the books. He started by asking them if they knew who Fluffy was based on, and when revealing that the answer was Cerberus, they "gave him a blank stare". Soon, however, the children thought it was "cool that their hero, Harry, was encountering some of the creatures of mythology."[7] Colbert felt that knowing the origins of Rowling's character and creatures increased "the books' magic tenfold" and made the Harry Potter universe seem more lifelike. Feeling that he wanted to share this with others, Colbert spent a year researching the references in the novels and collected his discoveries for a guidebook to the magical world of Harry Potter.[12]
Publication and reception
Colbert wrote The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter while teaching a seminar on self-publishing to graduate students at the University of North Carolina.[5] He had it self-published in March 2001[5] and hired a company to take care of accounting, marketing, promotion, and selling.[13] Colbert has never met Rowling[7] and the book has not been approved by her or Warner Brothers (the owner of the film rights to the Harry Potter novels).[11] He was given permission to publish it as long as he noted on the cover that it had not been approved by Rowling.[14]
Colbert does an excellent job at giving insight into Rowling's books. His writing is educational but does not read like a school textbook. For many, such as me, reading about history can be as dreadful as memorizing the dictionary. Luckily, Colbert mixes his lessons with Harry Potter and that, of course, could never be a bore.
Candice Nguyen, The Oakland Tribune[15]
The book has been met with positive reactions from critics.[16] Margie Thomson of The New Zealand Herald commented that "it's interesting, although light, and should keep smart-alecky kids and the truly curious happy and occupied for some time."[11] The Sacramento Bee's Judy Green was also positive, saying that it "comes across as smart fun just begging for a trivia game. It's a great way to spend time with Harry while waiting for the next novel."[6] The Times' Sarah Johnson said "this irresistibly dippable book gently draws children into the joys of works of reference and is also a glorious tribute to Rowling's work."[17]
Despite the book not having been approved by Rowling, Marti Davis of The Knoxville News-Sentinel suspected that she "would definitely approve of the wonderfully researched book which traces many of the characters, creatures and terms used in Rowling's book to classic literature and ancient history."[18] The Birmingham Post's Jayne Howarth added that the book is "fun to dip in and out of while reading the Potter stories and it illustrates just how clever these pieces of literature are."[19]
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter has been praised for teaching children about literature and history. Theresa Tighe of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented that "grown-ups might like Colbert's book, too, because it painlessly exposes youngsters to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Ovid, Flaubert and more."[7] In addition, Candice Nguyen of The Oakland Tribune said "parents may actually appreciate this book more when they realize that their children are receiving subtle history lessons while they read Harry Potter books and actually enjoying it."[15] The Sunday Tasmanian noted that "understanding the derivatives of language, both made up and actual such as the French, can only enrich the vocabulary of children."[20]
Following the success of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, Colbert released the book The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings: The Amazing Myths, Legends and Facts Behind the Masterpiece—a guide to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels—in late 2002.[21][22] An updated version of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter was published in 2004 by Berkley Books, just before the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released.[23] Colbert wrote and published The Magical Worlds of Narnia in 2005, a guide to the fictional Narnia universe.[24]
References
- ^ Neilson, Becky (14 November 2002). "Welcome to Hogwarts - Join Harry Potter for Magical Adventures at the Wizarding Academy". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. p. E1.
- ^ Schorow, Stephanie (15 November 2002). "Books - Movie, schmovie - We want the book! - 10 things to do while you're waiting for the next Harry Potter adventure". Boston Herald.
- ^ Colbert, David (2001). The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter (Paperback). ISBN 0970844204.
- ^ Herbert, Rosemary (9 June 2002). "Editor's Choice". Boston Herald.
- ^ a b c Steelman, Ben (3 June 2001). "Book club hits it big". The Star-News. p. 6D.
- ^ a b c d e Green, Judy (24 June 2001). "Pair of paperbacks brighten summer". The Sacramento Bee. p. E4.
- ^ a b c d e f Tighe, Theresa (31 July 2001). "Mythology Behind the Magic - New Book Explains the History and Literature in J.K. Rowling's Series of Harry Potter Books". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. F1.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Sherry (31 July 2001). "Modern myths J.K. Rowling draws from Latin, legends for magic of 'Harry Potter'". Houston Chronicle. p. 1.
- ^ a b Scott, Kahli (8 July 2003). "The other realms of Potter". The Courier Mail. p. H02.
- ^ "Magic brew". The Hindu. 24 April 2004.
- ^ a b c Thomson, Margie (5 December 2001). "David Colbert: The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Eyden, Sally (3 November 2001). "The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter". The Express.
- ^ Grady, J. Thomas (4 November 2001). "The Writing Life; Your book is finished, now what?". The Star-News. pp. 1E, 5E.
- ^ Hoffman, Barbara (29 June 2001). "Buzz - J.K. OK". New York Post. p. 055.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Candice (14 July 2005). "Potter companion book packed with information". The Oakland Tribune.
- ^ Steelman, Ben (8 July 2001). "Colbert to hold book discussion". The Star-News. p. 8D.
- ^ Johnson, Sarah (21 November 2001). "Get yourself a goose for Christmas - Books". The Times.
- ^ Davis, Marti (23 December 2001). "'Mitford': A 'must read' for holidays". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. G6.
- ^ Howarth, Jayne (9 February 2002). "Shelf Life: Poignant lessons for lonely bully in the classroom". The Birmingham Post.
- ^ "Turning Potterisms into words". Sunday Tasmanian. 25 November 2001. p. T18.
- ^ O'Connor, Shaunagh (21 September 2002). "The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings by David Colbert Wakefield Press, rrp. $19.95". Herald Sun. p. W28.
- ^ "Books". The Toronto Star. 15 December 2002. p. D12.
- ^ Steelman, Ben (30 May 2004). "Book Marks - Distinguished prof plans lecture on urban blacks". Star-News. p. 4D.
- ^ Westmoore, Jean (9 November 2005). "A 'Lion' of a book". Buffalo News. p. N12.
This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 17:46