Harry Potter and History

by Nancy R. Reagin (Editor)

Overview

A guide to the history behind the world of Harry Potter--just in time for the last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part II)

Harry Potter lives in a world that is both magical and historical. Hogwarts pupils ride an old-fashioned steam train to school, notes are taken on parchment with quill pens, and Muggle legends come to life in the form of werewolves, witches, and magical spells. This book is the first to explore the real history in which Harry's world is rooted.

Did you know that bezoars and mandrakes were fashionable luxury items for centuries? Find out how Europeans first developed the potions, spells, and charms taught at Hogwarts, from Avada Kedavra to love charms. Learn how the European prosecution of witches led to the Statute of Secrecy, meet the real Nicholas Flamel, see how the Malfoys stack up against Muggle English aristocrats, and compare the history of the wizarding world to real-life history.

• Gives you the historical backdrop to Harry Potter's world
• Covers topics ranging from how real British boarding schools compare to Hogwarts to how parchment, quills, and scrolls used in the wizarding world were made
• Includes a timeline comparing the history of the wizarding world to Muggle "real" history

Filled with fascinating facts and background, Harry Potter and History is an essential companion for every Harry Potter fan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118003268
Publisher:	Trade Paper Press
Publication date:	04/18/2011
Series:	Wiley Pop Culture and History Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,032,466
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Nancy R. Reagin is a professor of history and women's and gender studies at Pace University, who has published several books in modern European history. She's also an active fan who has worked on fan archives and websites, and she has helped build fan organizations. She is appalled by Professor Binns's teaching methods and would enjoy using pensieves, Veritaserum, and Time-Turners in her own research.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments: Writing Magical History xi

Harry Potter’s Timeline xiii

Introduction: A Half-Blood World? 1
Nancy R. Reagin

PART ONE “The Burrow Is Just Outside Ottery St. Catchpole”: When Muggles and Wizards Lived Side by Side 7

1 Magic for Daily Use and Profi t: Mandrakes, Charms, Bezoars, and Love Potions in the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds 9
Birgit Wiedl

2 Severus Snape and the Standard Book of Spells: Ancient Tongues in the Wizarding World 39
M. G. DuPree

3 Beastly Books and Quick-Quills: Harry Potter and the Making of Medieval Manuscripts 55
Alexandra Gillespie

4 Nicolas Flamel: The Alchemist Who Lived 73
Don Keck DuPree

5 Why the Statute of Secrecy? Real Historical Oppression of Witches and Wizards 91
Birgit Wiedl

PART TWO After the Statute of Secrecy: Parallel Worlds 125

6 Was Voldemort a Nazi? Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism 127
Nancy R. Reagin

7 “Magic Is Might”: How the Wizarding Government Gained Its Power 153
Janice Liedl

8 Were the Malfoys Aristocrats? The Decline and Fall of the Pure-Blooded 173
Laura Loiacono and Grace Loiacono

9 School Ties, House Points, and Quidditch: Hogwarts as a British Boarding School 193
Susan Hall

10 Of Marranos and Mudbloods: Harry Potter and the Spanish Inquisition 219
Ruth Abrams

PART THREE Women and Witches, Werewolves and Muggle-Borns: Magical Hierarchies 243

11 Witches vs. Women: What Muggles Could Learn from Wizarding History 245
Janice Liedl

12 Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter’s World 269
Susan Hall

13 Hairy Snout, Human Heart? Werewolves in Harry Potter’s World and in European History 293
Eveline Brugger

Hermione Raised Her Hand Again: Wizards Writing History 309
Anne Rubenstein

The Hogwarts Faculty 323

Index: Notable Magical Words of Our Time 327