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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final of the Harry Potter novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was released on July 21, 2007, ending the series that began in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This book chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and leads to the long-awaited final confrontation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

Deathly Hallows is published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the United States by Scholastic, in Canada by Raincoast Books, and in Australia and New Zealand by Allen & Unwin. Released globally in ninety-three countries, Deathly Hallows broke sales records as the fastest-selling book ever, selling more than 11 million copies in the first twenty-four hours following its release. The previous record, nine million in its first day, had been held by Half-Blood Prince.[1] The Deathly Hallows has also been translated into numerous languages, including Ukrainian,[2] Swedish,[3] Polish[4] and Hindi.[5]

Pre-release history

Choice of title

Shortly before releasing the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had considered three titles for the book.[6][7] The final title, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released to the public on December 21, 2006 via a special Christmas-themed hangman puzzle on Rowling's website, confirmed shortly afterwards by the book's publishers.[8] Asked during a live chat as to the other titles she had been considering, Rowling mentioned Harry Potter and the Elder Wand and Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest.[6]

Marketing campaigns

File:Hpdeathlyhallowsscholastic fullcover.gif
Jacket art of Scholastic (US) edition.
Scholastic's seven questions
In the build-up to the book's release, American publisher Scholastic released seven questions that fans would find answered in the final book:[9]
  1. Who will live? Who will die?
  2. Is Snape good or evil?
  3. Will Hogwarts reopen?
  4. Who ends up with whom?
  5. Where are the Horcruxes?
  6. Will Voldemort be defeated?
  7. What are the Deathly Hallows?

The launch was celebrated by an all-night book signing and reading at the Natural History Museum in London, which Rowling attended along with 1700 guests chosen by ballot.[10] Rowling toured the USA in October 2007, where another event was held at Carnegie Hall in New York with tickets allocated by sweepstake.[11]

Scholastic Inc., the American publisher of the Harry Potter series, launched a multi-million dollar "THERE WILL SOON BE 7" marketing campaign with a 'Knight Bus' travelling to forty libraries across the United States, online fan discussions and competitions, collectible bookmarks, tattoos, and the staged release of seven Deathly Hallows questions most debated by fans.[12]

Scholastic also hosted "Harry Potter Place"—a magical and interactive street celebration at Scholastic headquarters in New York City, where the first U.S. signed edition of Deathly Hallows was unveiled on July 20 2007. The festivities included 20 feet (6 m) high Whomping Willow, face-painting, wand-making, fire-eaters, magicians, jugglers and stilt-walkers.[13]

J. K. Rowling arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of the missing British child Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when Deathly Hallows was launched on July 21, 2007 and said that she hoped that the posters would be displayed prominently in shops all over the world.[14]

Rowling on finishing the book

Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in January 2007, and left a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her room which read: "J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11 January 2007".[15] In a statement on her website, she said, "I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric." She compared her mixed feelings to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of David Copperfield, "a two-years' imaginative task." "To which," she added, "I can only sigh, try seventeen years, Charles..." She ended her message, "Deathly Hallows is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."[16]

When asked before publication about the forthcoming book, Rowling stated that she could not change the ending even if she wanted to. "These books have been plotted for such a long time, and for six books now, that they're all leading a certain direction. So, I really can't."[17] She also commented that the final volume related closely to the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, "almost as though they are two halves of the same novel."[18] She has said that the last chapter of the book was written "in something like 1990", as part of her earliest work on the series.[19]

Spoiler embargo

Rowling made a public request that anyone with information about the content of the last book should keep it to themselves, in order to avoid spoiling the experience for other readers.[20] To this end, Bloomsbury invested GB£10 million in an attempt to keep the book's contents secure until the July 21 release date.[21] Arthur Levine, U.S. editor of the Harry Potter series, denied distributing any copies of Deathly Hallows in advance for press review, but two U.S. papers published early reviews anyway.[22][23]

Online leaks and early delivery

In the week before its release, a number of texts purporting to be genuine leaks appeared in various forms. On July 16, a set of photographs representing all 759 pages of the U.S. edition was leaked and was fully transcribed prior to the official release date.[24][25][26][27] The photographs later appeared on websites and peer-to-peer networks, leading Scholastic to seek a subpoena in order to identify one source.[28] This represented the most serious security breach in the Harry Potter series' history.[29] Rowling and her lawyer admitted that there were genuine online leaks.[30] Reviews published in both The Baltimore Sun and The New York Times on July 18, 2007 corroborated many of the plot elements from this leak, and about one day prior to release, The New York Times confirmed that the main circulating leak was real.[29]

Scholastic announced that approximately one ten-thousandth (0.0001) of the U.S. supply had been shipped early  — interpreted to mean about 1,200 copies. One reader in Maryland received a copy of the book in the mail from DeepDiscount.com four days before it was launched, which evoked incredulous responses on the part of both Scholastic and DeepDiscount. Scholastic initially reported that they were satisfied it had been a "human error" and would not discuss possible penalties.[31] However, the following day Scholastic announced that it would be launching legal action against DeepDiscount.com and its distributor, Levy Home Entertainment.[32] Scholastic has filed for damages in Chicago's Circuit Court of Cook County, claiming[33] that DeepDiscount engaged in a "complete and flagrant violation of the agreements that they knew were part of the carefully constructed release of this eagerly awaited book." Some of the early release books soon appeared on eBay, in one case being sold to Publishers Weekly for US$250 from an initial price of US$18.[34]

Price wars and other controversies

ASDA,[35] plus several other UK supermarkets, had already taken pre-orders for the book at a heavily discounted price. ASDA then sparked a further price war two days before the book's launch by announcing they would sell it for just GB£5 a copy (about US$10). Other retail chains also offered the book at discounted prices.[36] In Malaysia, a similar price war brought about controversy regarding sales of the book.[37] Four of the biggest bookstore chains in Malaysia, mph Bookstores, Popular Bookstores, Times and Harris, decided to pull Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows off their shelves as a protest against Tesco and Carrefour hypermarkets. The retail price of the book in Malaysia is MYR 109.90 (about GB£16), while the hypermarkets Tesco and Carrefour sell the book at MYR 69.90 (about GB£10). The move by the bookstores was seen as an attempt to pressure the distributor Penguin Books to remove the books from the hypermarkets. However, as of July 24, 2007, the price war has ended, with the four bookstores involved resuming selling the books in their stores with discount. Penguin Books has also confirmed that Tesco and Carrefour are selling the book at a loss, urging them to practice good business sense and fair trade.[38] The book's early Saturday morning release in Israel was criticised for violating the Sabbath. Trade and Industry Minister Eli Yishai commented that "It is forbidden, according to Jewish values and Jewish culture, that a thing like this should take place at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Let them do it on another day."[39] Yishai indicated that he would issue indictments and fines based on the Hours of Work and Rest Law.[40]

Epigraph

All the books in the Harry Potter series have dedications, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the only one to include an epigraph. It contains two quotes relating to death and friendship. The first quotation is an English translation from Ancient Greek of a passage from The Libation Bearers, by the 5th century BC playwright Aeschylus.[41] The second quotation is from More Fruits of Solitude (1682) by William Penn, the Quaker author and founder of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[42] On the page, the unusual layout of the epigraph resembles the shape of Harry's scar. The dedication resembles his scar even more closely, and reads, "The dedication of this book is split seven ways: to Neil, to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne, and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end".

Plot

The final summer

While in the Malfoy Manor, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters plan to ambush Harry Potter when he leaves the Dursley home with the Order of the Phoenix for the final time. Voldemort takes Lucius Malfoy's wand, in the hope that it will be able to kill Harry.

Meanwhile, Harry disposes of things he would not need, as he does not plan to go back to study at Hogwarts - notably, his Quiddich robes. Indeed, Harry would not have this year an occasion to play Quiddich; however, on three key occasions - getting hold of the Hufflepuf Cup and the Ravensclaw Diadem, and during the final fight with Voldemort - the "unerring skill of the Seeker" would be vitally useful to him in snatching an object out of the air.

Members of the Order of Phoenix are ambushed by Death Eaters as they attempt to escort Harry from the Dursleys' to a safe house by broomstick using decoys. Harry's wand, seemingly of its own accord, countercurses Voldemort when Harry is attacked, allowing him to narrowly escape. Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed, and George Weasley loses an ear.

The trio go to the Burrow where Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrives to give Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger bequests from Albus Dumbledore's will. Ron receives the Deluminator, Hermione is left a children's book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's Sword and a Snitch, bearing the mysterious phrase "I open at the close". The Ministry claimed the sword to be “an important historical artifact”, however, and kept it.

The search begins

At Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception, a Patronus arrives, announcing that the Ministry of Magic has fallen under Voldemort's control. As the wedding dissolves into chaos, Death Eaters approach, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione disapparate to Tottenham Court Road, where they hide in an empty cafe to plan their next move. However, the Death Eaters find them there and they narrowly escape. They eventually find and take refuge in 12 Grimmauld Place.

While at Grimmauld Place, Harry deduces that Sirius Black's brother Regulus was the "R.A.B" who removed the Locket Horcrux from the sea cave.Template:HP6 Hermione recalls seeing a locket whilst cleaning the house, and they discover that the house-elf Kreacher had stolen the locket from the items to be thrown out. Kreacher tells them that he had placed the Locket Horcrux in the cave as ordered by Voldemort, and Regulus later died after retrieving it and deceiving Voldemort. With the help of Kreacher and Mundungus Fletcher they learn that the locket is now in Dolores Umbridge's possession. The trio successfully infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and recover the locket. However, Grimmauld Place is compromised when they return, forcing them to flee to the countryside.

The trio begin to travel the country, looking for Horcruxes and the means to destroy them. Overhearing a discussion between Griphook the goblin, Dean Thomas, Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, and Gornuk (another goblin), the trio learn that the Sword of Gryffindor that is held at Hogwarts is a fake. Harry decides to find the real sword that can destroy the Horcruxes; some time after this Ron and Harry argue over his lack of a plan, after which Ron abandons the group. Harry and Hermione search for the sword in Godric's Hollow, as well as Harry's old house. While looking at the house, Harry and Hermione are beckoned by Bathilda Bagshot into her home. Knowing something is not right, Harry follows her upstairs, where she transforms into Nagini. Voldemort himself appears almost immediately after. Hermione casts a Blasting Curse that ricochets around the room, facilitating their escape, but also irreparably damaging Harry's wand.

Hermione apparates Harry to the Forest of Dean. While on watch a silver doe-shaped Patronus leads Harry to an icy pond containing the real Sword of Gryffindor. As Harry dives into the freezing water to retrieve it, the locket Horcrux starts strangling him. Ron, who was guided back to the pair by the deluminator Dumbledore gave him, saves him. Ron recovers the sword and destroys the locket with it. Ron warns that Voldemort's name is now Tabooed: speaking it reveals the speaker's location to Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

The Deathly Hallows

The mysterious recurring symbol is revealed to represent the legendary Deathly Hallows.

The trio learn from Xenophilius Lovegood that the symbol they have encountered represents the three Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak. Xenophilius tells them about the Deathly Hallows and the story of the Three Brothers who each took respective "gifts" from Death. When pressed about Luna's absence, Lovegood admits that Death Eaters abducted her. Hoping for Luna's return, he has alerted Death Eaters of the trio's whereabouts, but the trio escape. Shortly after this escape, Harry figures out that the Invisibility Cloak is one of the Deathly Hallows.

Soon after, Harry accidentally uses the name of Voldemort, and the trio are captured by a gang of Voldemort's followers and taken to Malfoy Manor, where they join the imprisoned Luna, Dean, Ollivander, and Griphook. Finding Gryffindor's Sword among the trio's possessions, Bellatrix Lestrange fears they have broken into her Gringotts vault, and tortures Hermione for information. Help arrives in the form of Dobby, who apparates into the cellar and rescues Luna, Dean and Ollivander. This attracts the attention of Lucius Malfoy, who summons Wormtail to the cellar to check on the prisoners. As he enters the cellar, Harry and Ron attack Wormtail.Template:HP4 Harry reminds Wormtail of his life debt after Harry saved his life.Template:HP3 Wormtail hesitates and is subsequently strangled to death by his own silver hand for his betrayal. Harry and Ron rush upstairs to rescue Hermione; Ron disarms Bellatrix and Harry takes Draco Malfoy's wand. Dobby reappears, and they disapparate to Bill and Fleur Weasley's cottage; Dobby is struck by a knife during the escape, and dies afterwards. Voldemort, having been alerted to Harry being captured, arrives at Malfoy Manor almost immediately after Harry escapes and tortures the remaining Death Eaters. He then leaves them, goes to Hogwarts, and takes the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb.

At the cottage, Ollivander confirms the Elder Wand's existence and says that a wand can transfer allegiance if its owner is defeated or disarmed. Ollivander adds a caveat: although the Elder Wand is unbeatable, its master is not. Bellatrix's behaviour convinces the trio that another Horcrux is hidden in the Lestrange vault. Aided by Griphook, they penetrate Gringotts' defences and retrieve Hufflepuff's Cup, although they lose the sword to Griphook in the process. The trio escape Gringotts on the back of a guard dragon. Voldemort is then informed of the theft of the cup, and realises that his Horcruxes are being destroyed; through his mental connection to Harry, he unintentionally reveals that another Horcrux is hidden at Hogwarts.

The Battle of Hogwarts

First act

In Hogsmeade, Aberforth Dumbledore is able to smuggle the trio out of Hogsmeade and into Hogwarts. Harry alerts everyone in Hogwarts of Voldemort's imminent arrival. Luna Lovegood suggests that the fifth Horcrux could be Ravenclaw's lost diadem. Harry recalls seeing the diadem in the Room of Requirement when he hid his Potions book there the previous year. Meanwhile, Hermione destroys the Cup Horcrux with a basilisk fang. Various allies of Hogwarts gather together in Hogwarts, where the final battle commences. In the Room of Requirement, Ron mentions that the house elves are still in the kitchens and in danger, whereupon Hermione runs over to Ron and kisses him.

While the trio are in the Room of Requirement, they are attacked by Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe mishandles the powerful Fiendfyre spell, killing himself and destroying the diadem, but the others escape unharmed.

During the battle, several of the Weasley brothers are dueling members of the Ministry of Magic. Percy and Fred are dueling the corrupted Minister Pius Thicknesse, when an explosion rocks the corridor, shattering one wall and killing Fred instantly.

Harry catches a glimpse of Voldemort's mind again, and it leads the trio to the Shrieking Shack. Here they witness Voldemort kill Snape, believing it will make him the Elder Wand's master. As Snape dies, he gives Harry his memories that prove Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore, motivated by his lifelong love for Harry's mother Lily. After being cursed by Gaunt's Ring Horcrux, a doomed Dumbledore had ordered Snape to kill him at a strategic time, sparing Draco from carrying out Voldemort's order to murder him. The memories also reveal that Harry himself is a Horcrux; he must die in order to destroy Voldemort.

Resigned to death, Harry approaches Voldemort's camp in the Forbidden Forest, and meets Neville Longbottom, whom he asks to kill Nagini if he gets the chance. Along the way, he realises that the snitch held the Resurrection Stone inside it, and is able to get it out. Whereupon he summons the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black and the recently killed Remus Lupin, who accompany him to Voldemort's camp. Voldemort then casts the Avada Kedavra curse at Harry.

Awakening in an ethereal place that looks to him like King's Cross station, Harry is unsure whether he is alive or dead. Dumbledore appears and explains that Voldemort's Horcrux within Harry has been destroyed. He says that just as Voldemort cannot die while his soul fragments remain, Voldemort cannot kill Harry because he used Harry's blood in his resurrection.[HP4] Voldemort's killing curse instead destroyed the unknown fragment of Voldemort's own soul that lay inside of Harry. Harry glimpses a representation of Voldemort's true self: a weeping, deformed child that Dumbledore describes as "beyond any of our help."

Second act and final confrontation

Harry revives, but feigns death. Voldemort orders Narcissa Malfoy to check Harry. Doing so, she realises that Harry is alive, and she asks him if her son Draco is still alive, to which he replies Yes. Narcissa, no longer caring about anything but her son, lies to Voldemort, telling him that Harry is dead. Harry is carried to Hogwarts as Voldemort's trophy by the captured Hagrid and displayed to agonised supporters gathered in the school hall. When Neville Longbottom defies Voldemort, the Sorting Hat is thrust onto his head and set aflame.

A sudden disturbance is brought about by Grawp, the centaurs and the giants. Neville then pulls off the Sorting Hat, draws Gryffindor's Sword from it and decapitates Nagini with a single stroke, destroying the final Horcrux. Harry moves around under his Invisibility Cloak and lends aid throughout the ensuing battle, as his supporters rally to defy Voldemort and the Death Eaters one last time. Reinforcements arrive in the form of many of the creatures from Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Bellatrix Lestrange engages Hermione, Luna and Ginny in a fight in the Great Hall, but after seeing a killing curse miss Ginny by inches, an enraged Molly Weasley takes over and defeats Bellatrix. Knowing that he is the Elder Wand's true master, Harry finally confronts Voldemort, informing him that when Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, [HP6] he unknowingly became the Elder Wand's master; this allegiance was then transferred to Harry when he won Draco's wand at Malfoy Manor. Voldemort then casts another Killing Curse at Harry, but the spell rebounds off Harry's disarming spell, killing Voldemort, and leaving Harry victorious.

Among the fatalities are Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, and Bellatrix Lestrange. After the battle, it was decided that the Elder Wand should be returned to Dumbledore's tomb, where its power will be extinguished if Harry dies undefeated, that the Stone be left and forgotten in the Forbidden Forest, and the Cloak would continue to be a family heirloom. Before returning the Elder Wand to the tomb, Harry uses it to repair his own wand.

Epilogue

Nineteen years later, Harry and Ginny Weasley are married and have three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Ron married Hermione and has two children, Rose and Hugo. The families meet at King's Cross station, where a nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy and his wife are also there with their son, Scorpius. Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Bill and Fleur's daughter) in a train carriage. Neville Longbottom is now a Hogwarts Herbology professor and remains friends with the two families. The book ends with these final words: "The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well."

Rowling's commentary and supplement

In an interview,[43] online chat,[6][44] the Wizard of the Month section of her website, and during her 2007 U.S. Open Book Tour, Rowling revealed additional character information that she chose not to include in the book. The first bits of information were about the trio and their families, starting with Harry.

She said that Harry became an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and was later appointed head of the department. He also kept Sirius's motorcycle, which Arthur Weasley repaired for him, but he can no longer speak Parseltongue after the destruction of Voldemort's soul fragment within him. She also said that Ginny Weasley played for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team for a time, then leaving to establish a family with Harry, and later became the lead Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet. Ron Weasley worked at George's store for a time, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and then joined Harry as an Auror. Hermione found her parents in Australia, and removed the memory modification charm she had put on them for safety. Initially, she worked for the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, greatly improving life for house elves. She later moved to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and assisted in eradicating oppressive, pro-pureblood laws. She was also the only member of the trio to go back and complete her seventh year at Hogwarts. Rowling then went on to explain that Dumbledore's relationship with Gellert Grindelwald extended beyond mere friendship; indeed, Rowling has revealed that "Dumbledore is gay, actually",[45] and harboured romantic feelings for Grindelwald.[46] Next, Rowling revealed the fate of Voldemort. After his death, he was forced to exist in the stunted form Harry witnessed in the King's Cross limbo, as his crimes were too severe for him to become a ghost.

Rowling also explained the fates of several secondary characters, starting with the Weasleys. George Weasley continued his successful joke shop. George married fellow Quidditch player Angelina Johnson and had two children: a son named Fred, in memory of his late twin brother, and a daughter, Roxanne. Next, Rowling proceeded to explain Luna Lovegood's future, saying that she searched the world for odd and unique creatures. She eventually married Rolf, a grandson of the famed naturalist Newt Scamander,[44] writer of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. They have twins called Lorcan and Lysander. Her father's publication, The Quibbler, has returned to its usual condition of "advanced lunacy" and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.

Rowling then gave briefer histories on some more of the minor characters, as follows. Draco Malfoy's wife, Astoria (or Asteria), was the younger sister of his Slytherin classmate Daphne Greengrass. Percy Weasley married a woman named Audrey and had two daughters, named Molly and Lucy. Firenze was welcomed back into his herd, who finally acknowledged the virtue of his pro-human leanings. Dolores Umbridge was arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned for crimes against Muggle-borns. Cho Chang went on to marry a Muggle.[47] Neville Longbottom became professor of Herbology at Hogwarts and married Hannah Abbott, who became the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron.[48] Bill and Fleur Weasley had a total of three children, a younger son named Louis, and two daughters, named Dominique and Victoire.

Rowling also revealed further transformations in the wider wizarding world as follows. Kingsley Shacklebolt became the permanent Minister of Magic, with Percy Weasley working under him as a high official. Among the reforms introduced by Shacklebolt, Azkaban no longer used Dementors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were also instrumental in reforming the Ministry.[6] At Hogwarts, Slytherin House became more diluted and no longer held the title as the pure-blood bastion it once was, although its dark reputation lingered.[6] Voldemort's jinx on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was broken with his death, and there was a permanent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher stated. Harry also is said to come to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class to lecture several times a year.[43] Lastly, Rowling says that a portrait of Snape, who briefly served as Hogwarts Headmaster, had not appeared in the headmaster's office, as he had abandoned his post. Harry then ensures the addition of Snape's portrait, and publicly revealed Snape's true allegiance.[6]

Critical reception

The Baltimore Sun's critic, Mary Carole McCauley, praised the series as "a classic bildungsroman, or coming-of-age tale." She noted that "[b]ook seven... lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished the earlier novels. Even the writing is more prosaic", but then observed that given the book's darker subject matter, "how could it be otherwise?"[49]

Reviewer Alice Fordham from The Times writes that "Rowling’s genius is not just her total realisation of a fantasy world, but the quieter skill of creating characters that bounce off the page, real and flawed and brave and lovable." Fordham concludes, "We have been a long way together, and neither Rowling nor Harry let us down in the end."[50]

By contrast, Jenny Sawyer of the Christian Science Monitor says that while "There is much to love about the Harry Potter series, from its brilliantly realised magical world to its multilayered narrative," however, "A story is about someone who changes. And, puberty aside, Harry doesn't change much. As envisioned by Rowling, he walks the path of good so unwaveringly that his final victory over Voldemort feels, not just inevitable, but hollow."[51]

Stephen King criticised the reactions of some reviewers to the books, including McCauley, for jumping too quickly to surface conclusions of the work.[52] He felt this was inevitable, because of the extreme secrecy before launch which did not allow reviewers time to read and consider the book, but meant that many early reviews lacked depth. Rather than finding the writing style disappointing, he felt it had matured and improved. He acknowledged that the subject matter of the books had become more adult, and that Rowling had clearly been writing with the adult audience firmly in mind since the middle of the series. He compared the works in this respect to Huckleberry Finn and Alice in Wonderland which achieved success and have become established classics, in part by appealing to the adult audience as well as children.

In the August 12, 2007 New York Times, Christopher Hitchens compared the series to World War Two-era English boarding school stories, and while he wrote that "Rowling has won imperishable renown" for the series as a whole, he also opined that her "repeated tactic of deus ex machina has a deplorable effect on both the plot and the dialogue", that the mid-book camping chapters are "abysmally long" and that Voldemort "becomes more tiresome than an Ian Fleming villain."[53]

Speed-reading world champion Anne Jones read the book's 199,900 words in 47 minutes and 1 second. She said, "Without being too critical, the plot does seem to be a bit complicated, but I would not change a word. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is a real page-turner."[54]

Time magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, ranking it at #8, and praising Rowling for proving that books can still be a global mass medium. Opining that the book is "dense with Rowling's ruling themes: love and death", Grossman compared the novel to the earlier books in the series thus: "This isn't the most elegant of the Potter volumes, but it feels like an ending, the final iteration of Rowling's abiding thematic concern: the overwhelming importance of continuing to love in the face of death."[55][56]

Translations

Main article: Harry Potter in translation

Because of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' worldwide fame, it has been translated into many national languages. The first translation to be released was the Ukrainian translation, on September 25, 2007 (as Гаррі Поттер і смертельні реліквії).[2] The Swedish title of the book was revealed by Rowling as Harry Potter and the Relics of Death, following a pre-release question from the Swedish publisher about the difficulty of translating the two words "Deathly Hallows" without having read the book.[3] The first Polish translation was released on January 26, 2008[4] with a new title: Harry Potter i Insygnia Śmierci - Harry Potter and the Insignia of Death.[57] The Hindi translation "Harry Potter aur Maut ke Tohfe" (हैरी पॉटर और मौत के तोहफे) was released by Manjul Publication in India on June 27, 2008.[5]

Film adaptations

A two-part film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is planned, with David Yates, who directed the preceding two films, directing both parts. Part I is slated for release on November 19, 2010, and Part II in May 2011. [58][59] The script was delayed as Steve Kloves was not able to start working on it until the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike had ended.[60] Filming begins in February 2009 and will last for a year.[61] Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will reprise their roles as Harry, Ron and Hermione,[62] while Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Helen McCrory, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, and Julie Walters have confirmed they will reprise their roles as Bellatrix Lestrange, Mad-Eye Moody, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Narcissa Malfoy, Rubeus Hagrid, Lucius Malfoy, and Molly Weasley respectively.[63][64][65][66][67][68][69] Imelda Staunton wishes to reprise the role of Dolores Umbridge.

John Williams, who composed the scores to the first three films, has expressed interest in returning to score the films.[70]

Editions

File:Harry Potter Deathly Hallows stack.JPG
Stack of the Scholastic version displayed at Comic Con 2007.
Bloomsbury (United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, etc.)
  • ISBN 0-7475-9105-9 Hardcover
  • ISBN 0-7475-9106-7 Hardcover (adult edition)
  • ISBN 0-7475-9107-5 Hardcover (special edition)
  • ISBN 0-7475-9583-6 Paperback
  • ISBN 0-7475-9582-8 Paperback (adult edition)
Scholastic (United States, etc.)
  • ISBN 0-545-01022-5 Hardcover
  • ISBN 0-545-02937-6 Deluxe Hardcover; Raincoast (Canada, etc. - Same as Bloomsbury editions)
  • ISBN 1551929767 Hardcover
  • ISBN 1551929783 Hardcover (adult edition)

References

  1. ^ "Harry Potter finale sales hit 11m". BBC. July 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Ukrainian Potter comes first". Kyiv Post. July 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Släppdatum för sjunde Harry Potter-boken klar!". Tiden. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  4. ^ a b "Translated Edition of Deathly Hallows Hits Stores in Poland". Leaky Cauldron website. January 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b "Harry Potter aur Maut Ke Tohfe - Hindi Version of the Deathly Hallows". Indore City Portal. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Webchat with J.K. Rowling, [[30 July]] [[2007]]". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2007-07-31. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) Cite error: The named reference "webchat" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "J.K.Rowling Official Site". News Archive. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  8. ^ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Bloomsbury Publishing. 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  9. ^ "Harry Potter: Shrieking Shack Poll". Scholastic. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  10. ^ "Harry Potter". Scholastic. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  11. ^ "The Open Book Tour, October 2007". J.K.Rowling Official Site. July 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Scholastic announces record breaking 12 million first printing in United States of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Scholastic. March 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Scholastic to Host 'Harry Potter Place'". Scholastic. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  14. ^ "Rowling in Madeleine poster plea". BBC News. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Cornwell, Tim (2007-02-03). "Finish or bust  — J.K. Rowling's unlikely message in an Edinburgh hotel room". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  16. ^ "Rowling reacts to Potter's end". USA Today. Associated Press. 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "One-on-one interview with J.K. Rowling" (reprint). ITV. 2005-07-17. Retrieved 2007-06-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Rowling, J. K. (2004-03-15). "Progress on Book Six". J. K. Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  19. ^ ""Rowling to kill two in final book"". BBC News. 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ J K Rowling (14 May 2007). "J.K.Rowling Official Site". Retrieved 2007-05-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "10 million pounds to guard 7th Harry Potter book". Rediff News. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Editor Says 'Deathly Hallows' Is Unleakable". MTV Overdrive (video). 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ There was speculation that some shops would break the embargo and distribute copies of the book early, as the penalty imposed for previous instalments—that the distributor would not be supplied with any further copies of the series—would no longer be a deterrent."Potter embargo 'could be broken'". BBC News. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Harry Potter Fans Transcribe Book from Photos". TorrentFreak. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "New Potter book leaked online". Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax newspapers. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows leaked to BitTorrent". TorrentFreak. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Harry Potter Spoiler Count". Los Angeles Times. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Did the Times Betray Harry Potter Fans?". New York Times. 30 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ a b Ben Fenton (17 July 2007). "Web abuzz over Potter leak claims". Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  30. ^ Jack Malvern (2007-07-19). "Harry Potter and the great web leak". Retrieved July 19, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ "The spell is broken". The Baltimore Sun. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "Press release from Scholastic". PR Newswire (from Scholastic). 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Distributor mails final Potter book early". MSNBC Interactive. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ "I Was an eBay Voldemort". National Review Online. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ In the UK, supermarket chain Asda claimed that the retail price of the book (GB£17.99, equivalent to about US$37 at the time of release) was "holding children to ransom". The publisher responded by threatening to withdraw Asda's supply of the book, claiming a previously unpaid debt."Potter book firm clashes with supermarket over price". Times Newspapers. 2007-07-17. Asda issued an apology and settled the debt, and its supply of the book was restored. http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2128891,00.html
  36. ^ At these prices the book is a loss leader, but attracting large numbers of customers to their stores. This caused uproar from traditional UK booksellers who argued they had no hope of competing in those conditions. http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah6148.shtml Access Hollywood. Independent shops protested loudest, but even Waterstone's, the UK's largest dedicated chain bookstore, could not compete with the supermarket price. Some small bookstores hit back by buying their stock from the supermarkets rather than their wholesalers. Asda tried to counter this by imposing a limit of two copies per customer to prevent bulk buying. Philip Wicks, a spokesman for the UK Booksellers Association, said, "It is a war we can't even participate in. We think it's a crying shame that the supermarkets have decided to treat it as a loss-leader, like a can of baked beans." Michael Norris, an analyst at Simba Information, said: "You are not only lowering the price of the book. At this point, you are lowering the value of reading." British retailer sells final Potter book for $10, setting dangerous precedent for U.S. market
  37. ^ "Harry Potter and the ugly price war". The Star Malaysia. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Bookstores end 'Harry Potter' boycott". The Star Malaysia. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ "Plans for Sabbath sales of Harry Potter draw threats of legal action in Israel". International Herald Tribune. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ "Yishai warns stores over Harry Potter book launch on Shabbat". Haaretz. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ The Libation Bearers is the second in a trilogy of tragedies called The Oresteia. See Oresteia#The Libation Bearers. The quotation's wording depends on the translation used  — Rowling used the Robert Fagles translation published by Penguin Classics.
  42. ^ More Fruits of Solitude is the second part of the work Fruits of Solitude (1682), a collection of aphorisms published by William Penn. The full Penn quote used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last four lines of the aphorism titled Union of Friends.
  43. ^ a b Brown, Jen (2007-07-25). "Finished Potter? Rowling tells what happened next". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-07-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ a b "Rowling Answers Fans' Final Questions". MSN Entertainment. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  45. ^ "Rowling says Dumbledore is Gay". Newsweek. October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ "JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay". BBC News. 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2007-10-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ Larson, Susan (2007-10-18). "New Orleans students give Rowling a rousing welcome". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ Weingarten, Tara, Rowling Says Dumbledore Is Gay, retrieved 2007-10-19
  49. ^ McCauley, Mary Carole (18 July 2007). "An inevitable ending to Harry Potter series". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ Fordham, Alice (21 July 2007). "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The Times. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ Sawyer, Jenny (25 July 2007). "Missing from 'Harry Potter"  – a real moral struggle". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ Stephen King. "J K Rowling's Ministry of Magic". entertainment weekly. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  53. ^ Hitchens, Christopher. "The Boy Who Lived". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  54. ^ Mike Collett-White (July 21, 2007). "Deathly Hallows finished in 47min by reviewer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-12-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ^ Grossman, Lev; "The 10 Best Fiction Books"; Time magazine; December 24, 2007; Pages 44–45.
  56. ^ Grossman, Lev (December 24, 2007). "Top 10 Fiction Books". time.com. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ "Harry Potter i insygnia śmierci". LibraryThing. December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  58. ^ "Official: Two Parts for Deathly Hallows Movie". The LA Times. March 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  59. ^ "Release Date Set for Harry Potter 7: Part I". ComingSoon.net. April 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  60. ^ "About Those Harry Potter Rumours". Empire. January 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  61. ^ Olly Richards (2008-03-14). "Potter Producer Talks Deathly Hallows". Empire. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  62. ^ "Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson to Reprise Roles in the Final Two Installments of Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter Film Franchise" (Press release). Warner Bros. 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2007-03-23. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  63. ^ Steve Daly (2007-07-12). "Helena Bonham Carter Gets Wicked". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  64. ^ Horowitz, Josh (2008-01-19). "Colin Farrell Opens Up About His Love Of Little People And Profanity". MTV. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  65. ^ Morris, Clint (2008-01-18). "Spall talks his Harry Potter future". MovieHole.
  66. ^ "Harry Potter Film Star Talks To Sky News". Sky News. 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-10-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  67. ^ "Helen McCrory to reprise Narcissa Malfoy role in Deathly Hallows". Daily Mail. 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  68. ^ "Isaacs Conjures Lucius Malfoy's Return to Harry Potter - ComingSoon.net". Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  69. ^ Rifkind, Hugo (2008-07-03). "Julie Walters: why I'm such a super trouper". The Times. Retrieved 2008-07-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  70. ^ "Williams Might be Back for Last 'Potter' Film". JWFAN. 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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