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In his latest contribution to serious Harry Potter scholarship, John Granger takes on the challenge of analyzing the influence of the "great books" upon the wildly popular series. Rather than a tedious "this looks like that" listing, Granger takes the reader on a delightful journey through the many remarkable literary genres that are woven into Harry's adventures. Using the four layers of meaning (surface, moral, allegorical, and anagogical/mythical), Granger delves into a lively, readable analysis that never gets bogged down in literary jargon, but always remains insightful and thought-provoking. The influences he covers range from the fairly obvious ( Dickens, and all those sympathetic orphans! Austen, and all those surprise endings!) to the more obscure but equally relevant (Sayers's detective novels, Gothic stories whose influence actually puts Harry in a role usually given to heroines).
Summary is used sparingly but effectively. Even "literature geeks" who have read all these books and written papers on them will not find these sections tedious, and they may find handy reminders. Granger frequently unlocks useful insights with his characteristically friendly and accessible "voice." Readers familiar with Granger will not be surprised to see points on alchemy and on Rowling's unique twists on post-modernism, but those who have not read Granger's other works may now be tempted to go further into his work, like the Deathly Hallows Lectures, after getting hints of those topics here.
The text is well documented with readable apparatus, but an index would be nice. This is a valuable addition for any bookshelf of Potter studies, appealing both for novice readers and serious literature geeks. The text will not only help Potter readers to learn more about Rowling's world, but may very well be the key to lead them to read and enjoy the contents of the "compost heap" of literature that influenced Rowling; they may even find this book a safe path into the sometimes intimidating world of literary criticism. Don't worry about the Restricted section; the whole library is a wide-open wonderland with Harry and John Granger.
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Harry Potter. The name conjures up J.K. Rowling's wondrous world of magic that has captured the imaginations of millions on both the printed page and the silver screen with bestselling novels and blockbuster films. The true magic found in this children's fantasy series lies not only in its appeal to people of all ages but in its connection to the greater world of classic literature. Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures explores the literary landscape of themes and genres J.K. Rowling artfully wove throughout her novels-and the influential authors and stories that inspired her. From Jane Austen's Emma and Charles Dickens's class struggles, through the gothic romances of Dracula and Frankenstein and the detective mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers, to the dramatic alchemy of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and William Shakespeare, Rowling cast a powerful spell with the great books of English literature that transformed the story of a young wizard into a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.
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