Harry Potter and History

Wiley Pop Culture and History

by Nancy R. Reagin (Editor)

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.

Genres: Harry Potter, Nonfiction, History, Books About Books, Literary Criticism, European History, Fandom

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting book, and I learned a few things, like where the term “hocus pocus” comes from, and learned more about things such as Nicolas Flemmel (you can visit his house!), and the compare/contrast with Nazis and Death Eaters.

There's also good background on how Hogwarts both does and doesn't reflect the British educational system, and I learned some really fascinating examinations of not just which languages spells and nouns in the books come from, but what the language choices mean in a historical-socio-economic-political sense.

But, overall, the book was a bit scattered in its focus. This probably comes from the fact it is a bunch of essays, all by different scholars, but I think an editor’s job is to make sure there is an overlaying comprehension to a collection such as this, which Reagin sadly fall short in supplying.

The essayists themselves couldn’t decided if they were writing a book about the history of real people and places, or if they were analyzing a series of books about fictional people and places; even within the essays themselves, the fact/fiction approach shifts.

Also, being scholars, there is any overlaying dryness to the essays – for the most part, I’ve gotten more enjoyment from essays by fans online, especially at the Harry Potter Lexicon.

For a fun yet thoughtful examination of the world of Harry Potter, I especially recommend:

Thoughts on Socks

Is Dobby a Communist?

The Curious Incident of the Flobberworm in the Night-time

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I learned from this book:

Grindelwald is just as much of a Nazi as Voldemort.
It's better to be a witch in the Wizarding world than a woman in the Muggle world.
The British method of schooling is SO messed up.
The Ministry of Magic, were it a Muggle government, would be one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
Class conflict fuels everything. EVERYTHING.
Fenrir Greyback's lycanthropism is akin to pedophilia, whereas Lupin's is akin to HIV.
While the Harry Potter series is first and foremost fantasy, J.K. Rowling certainly did her homework.

This book was a ton of fun to read and even semi-intellectual. A great addition to my Harry Potter collection.

[Erin Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a huge spiel to write about with this book. To be honest, I didn't read every single page, I skimmed through it to parts that I thought sounded more interesting to others.

I love history, I really do, but sometimes it can drag on a bit. Even with this book comparing history to the history that is Harry Potter, it sounded like it did go on a bit. There were some great parts in it though. I loved the comparisons to Voldemort and the Death Eaters being German Natzi's.

What I liked the most was pulling apart the different spells and their meanings and what languages they actually descend from. I knew that a lot of it was latin, but learning about the other unknown parts was really interesting.

I think this book is a real treat, an interesting read for a mega history buff, but even for a super huge Harry Potter fan like myself, I found I couldn't sit and read every single page, word for word. But from the parts I did read, it would be worth it for anyone who loves history and Harry Potter.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of fascinating (to a greater or lesser degree) essays relating the world of Harry Potter to the history of the Muggle world. Some of the subjects covered include the history of books ("Beastly Books and Quick-Quills"), real-world parallels to Death Eater ideology ("Was Voldemort a Nazi?" and "Of Marranos and Mudbloods"), the development of the English parliamentary system compared to the wizarding world's Ministry of Magic ("Magic is Might") and the actual practice of history, including how Harry, Ron, and Hermione solve the mysteries with which they are challenged by discovering the secrets of the past ("Hermione Raised Her Hand Again"). Most of these essays are very accessible and even tongue-in-cheek in places, assuming the reality of the wizarding world in a Potter version of Sherlockian "Higher Criticism."

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I love critical essays that center around the Harry Potter books. However, this one was not very well written. It seemed to me like all of the essays were written by college students... that kind of style. It was also difficult to follow at times because all of the essayists would use "Muggles" like they were witches and wizards writing about our world. That was a bit distracting. I also feel like I didn't learn a lot of new information about the series and its relationship to history. Perhaps it's because I've already read a lot of critical essays about Harry Potter, or perhaps it's because I'm a person of average intelligence who is already aware of major historical events. In any case, I think this would be a great collection of critical essays for someone who is just starting to delve deeper into the world of Harry Potter... if not, I'd almost say "don't bother."

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I WANTED to like this book, but I'm just not a fan. Didn't even make myself finish reading it once I gave it a couple shots. Life's too short to waste time on things you don't need or enjoy.

[Måns Sunesson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting premise, however, the execution is not as good. The pacing is very uneven, with some topics rushed through, and some drawn out too long. Still worth a read if you're interested in Harry Potter and/or real life history.

[Lizzie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Reagin has compiled a book of essays about the historical significance of several aspects of Rowling's magical world. Authors research, for example, the latin base of many of the spells used in the Harry Potter books, the history of alchemy, similarities between Death Eaters and Nazis, and Marxism/class conflict in the series. Some are fascinating, some are boring. Something I found distracting, however, was that authors used the word "muggle" in reference to people like you and me and wrote as if they were part of the wizarding world and were educating other actual witches and wizards. For example, they reference "Muggle fairy tales" or "the Muggle king of England" or "Muggle technology." I found that utterly bizarre and a little too strange for my tastes. Writing essays about Harry Potter is nerdy enough but pretending you are actually a wizard writing an essay is just odd.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays were a stretch in terms of making relevant connections to the HP series, and a couple of times the authors seemed tripped up on small HP details. At least one of the essays seemed confused on whether we were pretending the HP world was real for this work and comparing "magic" and "muggle" history. It was overall good fun. I enjoy looking at things like history and philosophy through a pop culture lens.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I esp enjoyed the chapter regarding the various origins for the magic spells used in the wizard ing world: yes, "avada kedavra" and "abracadabra" are related! Maybe b/c this book was written like a critical anthology --many writers addressing topics on a literary work-- is why I enjoyed it so much; it reminded me of my long-ago days as an English major in college. This is a must-read for Harry Potter fans!

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course, this is an interesting work, but it's not difficult to draw parallels between history and fiction. Try hard enough, and you'll find echoes of profound history in Green Eggs and Ham. The main issue I have with this curious work is that the various authors give J.K Rowling a little more heft than probably what's deserved. Sure, she's smart and clever but hardly the towering figure of allegorical nous this makes her out to be.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty interesting and not really what I expected. It was actually pretty scholarly and not silly like I thought it might be. My favorite chapter was that on the ancient languages behind the spells in the Harry Potter series. I am such a NERD for etymology, so I really enjoyed learning more about the history behind the spells in the series.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the comparisons between the world of Harry Potter and the muggle world. It is obvious that many writers get inspiration from real word events, and HP is no different. I learned more about British and world history by reading this book. I especially liked the essays on the inquisition and history as we know and write it.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I hoped it would be, although to be fair I should have known that going in, since I tend to find history pretty boring. That being said, some segments of this book were very interesting (although others were pretty boring, I must say). Not terrible, but very dense. I feel like if you're not particularly intrigued by history, this book will be a labor to get through.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this on my TBR for a few years and decided to read it for the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter. I have been on a Harry Potter kick for most of the year. I did a "reread" by listening to the audiobooks and Harry Potter: A History of Magic. I also went to the exhibit at The New York Historical Society. And I started listening to the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.

I have stated before that reading non-fiction and reading history is not my cup of tea (I prefer watching shows about history), but I have read Twilight and History, also edited by Nancy R. Reagin, and I liked that.

Before I get into all the cool new things I learned from these essays I have a bone to pick with Susan Hall in her essay "Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter's World." On page 288 she compares the Gaunt family with the Durbeyfield family from Tess of the D'Urbervilles. While I totally agree with the comparisons between the two families she COMPLETELY describes the plot of Tess of the D'Urbervilles INACCURATELY! Tess is not "seduced" by Alec D'Urberville. She was raped. She doesn't hang for the murder of her "lover". He raped her! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, SUSAN HALL!?

Also, on the same page is another inaccuracy she made when she said the Weasleys spend money they don't have on extravagant trips. They won that trip to Egypt! Did you even read the books?

Now that I got that off my chest, and sorry for the use of the F word but I feel in this issue it was justified, onto the rest of the review which is positive.

There were topics that I already had learned about from Harry Potter: A History of Magic, such as potions and witch-hunts, but this collection goes more into topics of class conflict, politics & government, women's civil rights, aristocracy, boarding schools, and werewolves.

I learned more about the Spanish Inquisition in this book than I did when I was in school.

One essay also goes into why most spells are in Latin and goes into the origins of the Unforgivable Curses and the term "hocus pocus." Which I found fascinating.

A few other cool things I learned:
- There really were secret magic schools!
- There was an Emperor who was not of nobel birth named Severus.
- Lupin's werewolf affliction is an analogy for HIV/AIDS.

Some of the essays dragged on a bit and I found myself skimming sometimes. At one point I put the book down completely to listen to The Shining. The good thing about that is that there is no plot to this book to remember. You can easily pick it up and pick whichever essay you feel like reading about.

It's a good read for anyone who is really interested in history and is a die hard Harry Potter fan.

4 out of 5 O.W.L.S.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Potter and History is a collection of essays about Harry Potter and history. Pretty straight-forward. It was the first Harry Potter-related non-fiction book that I had read in a long time, and I was excited for it. I love almost anything that discusses Harry Potter, and I also love history. I had to give this book a shot.

And despite having some flaws, I had an enjoyable time reading Harry Potter and History. It was an interesting decision to write each essay as if the Harry Potter universe were real. Each writer uses "Muggle" as if it were a real term used to distinguish us normal people from the wizards and witches of Harry's world. Historical events from the wizarding world were also mentioned alongside real world events as if both had happened. I could see the potential for that getting confusing in a book like this, but it tends to be obvious what's real and what isn't. No one's going to think the formation of Quidditch teams is an actual historical event.

There were several points where I noticed that "facts" from the Harry Potter books weren't exactly accurate, and that got a little frustrating. You'd think that information from the books would be checked in a book entirely about Harry Potter. As far as the historical facts go, there was nothing I noticed as being wrong, but I'm not a historian (and didn't fact check the majority of the book). There are sources listed for each essay though.

I also can't avoid mentioning (because I'm sure there are people who would want to know this before picking up the book) that one essay in the book tries to make the point that werewolves in the Harry Potter series are a metaphor for pedophiles in the real world, which is not the first metaphor I would choose when there are others that (I think) work better. While the writer does a good job of explaining what makes them see it, I don't agree with that interpretation. I also don't remember how that part of the book was supposed to be connected to "history".

Still, much of the book was a fun read. I liked getting to read about stories of the past that I'd never heard before, including details about past magical practices. I particularly enjoyed reading about how perceptions of witchcraft changed over time and what signs of witchcraft were accepted at different times. (Apparently, it was once thought that witches being able to fly was ridiculous. If they thought they had, they were believed to be hallucinating, but this changed later when the idea of witches flying around on brooms at night became common. I find that interesting as it might seem "backwards" to us that they'd dismiss flying as impossible only to come to believe in it later.)

There are people out there who would enjoy this book, though I wouldn't go into it with incredibly high expectations. It's entertaining to read if you have an interest in Harry Potter and history. If you're looking for something like that, it might be worth checking out.

http://hmweasley-blog.blogspot.com/20...

[RumBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this the way I did not for the content, but because I found several mistakes. A book like this needs to be edited better than this one was.

This was a collection of essays on how various Harry Potter topics related to historical events. Some of the items discussed were how Hogwarts relates to other British boarding schools, the persecution of witches and wizards, especially in Medieval times and printing and the creation of books versus containing writing on scrolls.

I will say, the authors did a remarkable job researching. At the end of each essay was a list of sources and they were varied and multiple. Much investigation went into these essays. The writing was, for the most part, quite good as well. Only in a couple of cases did it become dull and uninteresting.

My one issue was I noticed several mistakes. One of the most glaring was in the timeline in the front where the editor compared real history to Harry Potter's timeline. At one point the editor lists Dumbledore as being born in 1888 and then clearly states he finished Hogwarts, and met Grindlewald, in 1899. That would make him 11. Student do not finish Hogwarts when they are 11, they finish when they are 17, and Deathly Hallows clearly states Dumbledore was at Hogwarts as a student for 7 years. Mistakes like that, in a book like this, do not lend it credibility.

An interesting work for anyone who likes Harry Potter, history, or both.

[Don LeClair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays relating the culture and history from the Harry Potter stories to "muggle" history. I genuine loved the beginning because the understated and wry humor that infused the story. By the time we get to sections about comparing Death Eaters to Nazis, and the economic basis of the wizarding world, the humor had pretty much dissipated.

This is not to say that it was uninteresting, but it was less fun. Once can't help but be impressed by the detailed knowledge of exactly who said and did what and when through all of the Harry Potter books. Most of the authors were historians and educators, so I guess this should not be surprising.

I would recommend this book for anyone who seriously enjoyed the Harry Potter books and is interested in some unusual in-depth perspectives on the similarities and differences between the wizarding world and us muggles.

The real credit goes to J K Rowling who skillfully created and told the story of a new world, and did it with enough thought and creativity to enable people to invest so much into analyzing what she created. Thank you!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read several academic books about Harry Potter, I do have to say this was my favorite. It was a little more dense than my poor overworked brain could handle at times (hence the long reading time), but I learned a lot of fun things, and will definitely return to it in the future. Of course there were the occasional stretches to make Harry Potter references work, and not all of the essays were super engaging, but it was a good, well-rounded take on Harry Potter through an academic and historical lens.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting read but the author really goes on and on about history and makes a billion comparisons. I really do love the series theres never really a dull moment. JK is a very good writer because I have seen so many knockoffs like Charlie Bone where the author is trying to stretch the plot more than she should.

[Bridget McKelvie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is almost like a collection of essays about different topics. Some were dry and the connection to Harry Potter felt weak. As someone who was reading it for the Harry Potter connections, there were chapters I skipped finishing because except for an odd mention, they were not about the series at all.

[Mari]

ironic that Ruth Abrams, in trying to highlight the racism/prejudice jews experienced at the hands of christians in spanish inquisition, seems to show her own ill feelings in downplaying the role of Muslims. She strives to hardly mention them, and when she does, she minimizes them if she isn't putting them in negative light. She says they had a 'weak' rule.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads very much like a social studies textbook used for the a first year college required class. It makes history a bit more fun. I can sum up most of it as history sucks for most of humanity especially women. Wizards may be slightly better as two of the Hogwarts founders were woman.

[Jodi · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring. You must be a Harry Potter media superfan to enjoy this.

[Eleni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting material on the killing curse Avada Kedavra, Nicolas Flamel, the history of the church's persecution of witches, boarding schools, and werewolves.

[Brad Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! My only complaint is that the book was too short!

[Kara Whipple · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Writing style left something to be desired, but the information was great. My nerd heart loved it

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[PD · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book of this type I have read: placing a fictional world in historical context of our non-fictional world. I enjoyed it.

Some parts are 4 stars and other parts are 2 stars.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a dnf. I lost interest around the third chapter. Just not a book for me.