Harry Potter: A History of Magic is the official book of the exhibition, a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling and the brilliant curators of the British Library. It promises to take readers on a fascinating journey through the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - from Alchemy and Potions classes through to Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Each chapter showcases a treasure trove of artefacts from the British Library and other collections around the world, beside exclusive manuscripts, sketches and illustrations from the Harry Potter archive. There's also a specially commissioned essay for each subject area by an expert, writer or cultural commentator, inspired by the contents of the exhibition - absorbing, insightful and unexpected contributions from Steve Backshall, the Reverend Richard Coles, Owen Davies, Julia Eccleshare, Roger Highfield, Steve Kloves, Lucy Mangan, Anna Pavord and Tim Peake, who offer a personal perspective on their magical theme. Readers will be able to pore over ancient spell books, amazing illuminated scrolls that reveal the secret of the Elixir of Life, vials of dragon's blood, mandrake roots, painted centaurs and a genuine witch's broomstick, in a book that shows J.K. Rowling's magical inventions alongside their cultural and historical forebears. This is the ultimate gift for Harry Potter fans, curious minds, big imaginations, bibliophiles and readers around the world who missed out on the chance to see the exhibition in person.
[The story of Harry Potter, a boy on the brink of his eleventh birthday at the beginning of a journey of self-discovery and adventure in a magical world, came to Joanne Rowling as she was stuck on a train from Manchester to London in 1990]***
(Bloomsbury, 20 October 2017, ebook, 256 pages, borrowed from my library)
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My only real gripe has nothing to do with the actual book but the way it was provided by my library. Unlike most ebooks I couldn't download it into my kindle app. The only option allowed was to read in on my web browser which isn't the best.
Nevertheless, Harry Potter: A History of Magic was a fun read. It didn't have as much Harry Potter content as I'd have like but went into the history of magical elements in quite a bit of detail. These were linked to events from the Harry Potter books though and offered insight in Rowling's inspiration. I'd have loved to see the exhibition. This is an enhanced e-book so it included a lot of images and diagrams to illustrate the points.
