J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

J. K. Rowling's popular series of books about the boy wizard Harry Potter has captivated readers of all ages around the world. Selling more than 400 million copies, and adapted into highly successful feature films, the stories have attracted both critical acclaim and controversy.

In this collection of brand new essays, an international team of contributors examines the complete Harry Potter series from a variety of critical angles and approaches. There are discussions on topics ranging from fairytale, race and gender, through to food, medicine, queer theory and the occult. The volume also includes coverage of the films and the afterlife of the series with the opening of Rowling's 'Pottermore' website.

Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Harry Potter phenomenon, this exciting resource provides thoughtful new ways of exploring the issues and concepts found within Rowling's world.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Series Editor's Preface (p. vii)
• Notes on Contributors (p. viii)
• List of Abbreviations (p. xii)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• 1 Glorious Food? The Literary and Culinary Heritage of the Harry Potter Series (p. 8)
• 2 A Fairy-tale Crew? J. K. Rowling's Characters under Scrutiny (p. 22)
• 3 The Way of the Wizarding World: Harry Potter and the Magical Bildungsroman (p. 36)
• 4 Bewitching, Abject, Uncanny: Other Spaces in the Harry Potter Films (p. 48)
• 5 Free Will and Determinism: A "Compatibilist" Reading of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series (p. 74)
• 6 Dumbledore's Ethos of Love in Harry Potter (p. 82)
• 7 Harry Potter and the Origins of the Occult (p. 97)
• 8 Wizard's Justice and Elf Liberation: Politics and Political Activism in Harry Potter (p. 111)
• 9 What it Means to Be a Half-Blood: Integrity versus Fragmentation in Biracial Identity (p. 122)
• 10 Magic, Medicine, and Harry Potter (p. 135)
• 11 Harry Potter and the Myriad Mothers: The Maternal Figure as Lioness, Witch, and Wardrobe (p. 149)
• 12 "I Knew a Girl Once, whose Hair...": Dumbledore and the Closet (p. 163)
• 13 "Neither Can Live while the Other Survives": Harry Potter and the Extratextual (After)life of J. K. Rowling (p. 175)
• Further Reading (p. 194)
• Index (p. 200)