Harry Potter and History

by Reagin, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9780470574720
• ISBN10: 0470574720
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-24
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

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

Author Biography

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	p. xi
Harry Potter's Timeline	p. xiii
Introduction: A Half-Blood World?	p. 1
ôThe Burrow Is Just Outside Ottery St. Catchpoleö: When Muggles and Wizards Lived Side by Side	p. 7
Magic for Daily Use and Profit: Mandrakes, Charms, Bezoars, and Love Potions in the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds	p. 9
Severus Snape and the Standard Book of Spells: Ancient Tongues in the Wizarding World	p. 39
Beastly Books and Quick-Quills: Harry Potter and the Making of Medieval Manuscripts	p. 55
Nicolas Flamel: The Alchemist Who Lived	p. 73
Why the Statute of Secrecy? Real Historical Oppression of Witches and Wizards	p. 91
After the Statute of Secrecy: Parallel Worlds	p. 125
Was Voldemort a Nazi? Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism	p. 127
ôMagic is Mightö: How the Wizarding Government Gained Its Power	p. 153
Were the Malfoys Aristocrats? The Decline and Fall of the Pure-Blooded	p. 173
School Ties, House Points, and Quidditch: Hogwarts as a British Boarding School	p. 193
Of Marranos and Mudbloods: Harry Potter and the Spanish Inquisition	p. 219
Women and Witches, Werewolves and Muggle-Borns: Magical Hierarchies	p. 243
Witches vs. Women: What Muggles Could Learn from Wizarding History	p. 245
Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter's World	p. 269
Hairy Snout, Human Heart? Werewolves in Harry Potter's World and in European History	p. 293
Hermione Raised Her Hand Again: Wizards Writing History	p. 309
The Hogwarts Faculty	p. 323
Index: Notable Magical Words of Our Time	p. 327
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