Great Works of English Literature: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Welche Bücher haben die englischsprachige Literatur geprägt? Die Rubrik „Great Works of English Literature“ stellt einige der bekanntesten Werke vor. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On begeben wir uns mit dem Zauberschüler Harry Potter nach Hogwarts, auf eine Reise durch sieben Bände voller Magie und Spannung, die bis heute Millionen von Leser:innen verzaubern.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

The seven-book series about a young wizard and his magical adventures cast a spell over millions of readers.

By Franziska Lange

1                 The year 1997 was the beginning of a magical success story. A British single mother with no money, J.K. Rowling received lots and lots of rejection letters from publishing houses for her first book – until Bloomsbury gave her a chance.

2                 And so, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone got published. It was the first of seven books about a young wizard at a school of magic that would go on to bewitch readers of all ages, earn millions, and become a cultural phenomenon.

3                 Each of the seven novels takes place over one school year. Readers follow Harry as he learns how to cast spells, brew potions, fly on broomsticks, and care for magical creatures. However, Harry also has to learn how to do something else: fight against some very dark magic.

4                 But let’s start at the beginning. When we meet Harry in the first book, he doesn’t know he’s a wizard yet. He lost his parents as a baby and has been living with his aunt, uncle, and cousin – the terrible Dursleys who make his life miserable – in a (fictional) part of London ever since.

5                 On his eleventh birthday, however, a man called Hagrid arrives and tells him that he is a wizard.

6                 Harry also learns that his parents didn’t die in a car accident, as his aunt and uncle told him, but were killed by a dark wizard called Lord Voldemort.

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Vocabulary

0–1             series Reihe — wizard Zauberer — to cast a spell over s.o. jdn. verzaubern; h.: jdn. in seinen Bann ziehen — rejection letter Ablehnungsschreiben — publishing house Verlag

2                 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone dt. Titel.: H. P. und der Stein der Weisen — to bewitch s.o. jdn. verhexen; h.: jdn. bezaubern — phenomenon Phänomen

3                 to brew s.th. etw. brauen — potion Zaubertrank — broomstick Besen — magical creature magisches Geschöpf

4–6             to make s.o.’s life miserable jdm. das Leben schwer machen — fictional fiktiv; frei erfunden

Foto: Unsplash/Madalyn Cox