Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. The book is scheduled to be released globally in English-speaking countries at a minute past midnight (00:001), British Summer Time, on 21 July 2007 (23.00 UTC 20 July). In the United States and Canada, it is to be released for sale within each separate time zone at 00:01 local time, a few hours after other English-speaking countries.[1] Template:TOCnestright

The book reached the top spot on both the Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble bestseller lists just a few hours after the date of publication was announced on 1 February 2007.[2] Retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders are reporting that more orders have been placed for this book than for any other in history,[3] and American publisher Scholastic announced an unprecedented initial print run of 12 million copies.[4] The book is expected to be 608 pages in the British edition,[5] and has been confirmed to be 784 pages in the US edition.[6]

Background to the series

The Harry Potter series was originally published as a children's book by British publisher Bloomsbury, and American publisher Scholastic Press. It rapidly became a phenomenal success among children and adults. Each book chronicles one year at school for the characters concerned and follows a long tradition of children's series about life in schools.[7] Perhaps unlike some of the traditional series following this format, each new book has matured along with its original target audience (roughly keeping pace with the age of the principal characters), expanded in complexity and scope, and darkened in tone in comparison to previous volumes.[8] The books began as relatively slim volumes (223 pages Philosopher's Stone UK ed. 309 pages Sorcerer's Stone US ed.), but have grown as the series progressed (766 pages Order of the Phoenix UK ed. 870 pages Order of the Phoenix US ed).

The books contain significant elements of fantasy and magic, combined with a detective-novel approach to the story. Each volume involves a self-contained problem and task for the heroes to complete and adds to the background information about the fictional wizarding world. The books often provide seemingly innocuous pieces of information, the importance of which only becomes apparent in later volumes (one of many methods of foreshadowing used by Rowling, known as a Chekhov's gun). Rowling comprehensively plotted the entire series of seven books before the first was published, and although the overall plot remains unchanged, she has stated that it has undergone a number of revisions.

A number of books about the Harry Potter series have now become highly popular, with some 190 books written.[9] A book produced by the fan site MuggleNet reached position #2 on the New York Times children's paperback best seller list with over 335,000 copies in print.[10] Rowling has stated that she takes great pleasure from the interest of fans in the series: "I love [fan] theories more than I can possibly say. I take it as the highest compliment that people analyse the books so much and think about what might happen next so much. There are people who have got very close to the end of the final series."[11]

In a web update on 6 February 2007, she wrote,

While each of the previous Potter books has strong claims on my affections, 'Deathly Hallows' is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series.[12]

Book cover artwork release

UK editions

File:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows UK Full.jpg
UK Children's Cover
File:Potteradualtcover.jpg
UK Adult Cover

The UK children's cover depicts Harry, Ron and Hermione apparently falling into a large treasure of silver and gold; the trio appears frightened in the picture. Some creature's (presumably a house-elf) hand grips Harry's right shoulder, and wields a silver sword with a ruby mounted on the hilt with its other hand. The sword matches the description of Godric Gryffindor's sword in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The cover spine features a circle inscribed in a triangle with a vertical line bisecting the pair. The meaning of the symbol is uncertain. The front flap depicts Harry's Patronus (a stag) while the back flap shows a snake in a crystal ball.

The UK adult cover shows Salazar Slytherin's locket as described in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: golden with a large engraved serpentine S in green gems.

Bloomsbury has released the inside flaps and full jacket covers alongside their respective covers.:[13]

Inside Flap:

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety, and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him. In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.

Back Cover:

Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing – if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?

U.S. editions

File:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows US Full.jpg
The U.S. book cover
File:PotterDXcover.jpg
The Deluxe U.S. book cover

Scholastic has also released the American cover. The cover is a wraparound, meaning that it depicts a single panoramic image spanning over the entire front, back and spine of the book. David Saylor, art director at Scholastic, described the cover:[14]

The structures around Harry show evident destruction and in the shadows behind him, we see outlines of other people. On the back cover, spidery hands are outstretched toward Harry. Only when the book is opened does one see a powerful image of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his glowing red eyes peering out from his hood.

Mary GrandPré, the illustrator of the U.S. edition books, has not used a monochromatic colour scheme, as she did with Order of the Phoenix (blue hues) and Half-Blood Prince (green hues). Instead, she has reverted to the colour schemes of the first four books.

The U.S. Deluxe Edition features a different cover picture, with Harry and company flying on the back of a dragon above a small village that is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Choice of title

File:Hp dh hangman.JPG
The book's title revealed on J. K. Rowling's website.

Shortly before the release of the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had considered three different titles for the book.[15][16] 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.[17] The particular date has given rise to some interest, due to two prophecies included in Order of the Phoenix, that state "...at the solstice will come a new... and none will come after..."[18]

When asked "What does 'Deathly Hallows' mean?" J.K. Rowling responded, "Any clarification of the meaning of 'Hallows' would give away too much of the story – well, it would, wouldn't it? Being the title and all. So I'm afraid I'm not answering." She also declined to say what her other shortlisted title had been, at least until after publication. The phrase "Deathly Hallows" was trademarked under the name "Stone Connect (UK) Limited" on December 5, 2006, along with 5 other phrases.[19] It was later denied that any of the others had ever been contenders for the actual title.[20] The word "hallows" had already appeared in phrases registered by representatives of Warner Brothers before publication of Half-Blood Prince. "Hallows of Hogwarts" and "Hogwarts Hallows" were registered as trademarks by Seabottom Productions Ltd in 2003-2004, amongst a number of fake titles.[7][21]

Marketing campaigns

The launch will be celebrated by an all night book signing and reading at the Natural History Museum in London which Rowling will attend along with 1700 guests chosen by ballot.[22] Rowling intends to tour the USA in October, where another event will be held at Carnegie Hall in New York with tickets allocated by sweepstake.[23]

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.[4]

Scholastic will also host "Harry Potter Place" - a magical and interactive street celebration for kids and adults at Scholastic headquarters in New York City, where the first U.S. signed edition of Deathly Hallows will be unveiled on July 20.[24] The festivities will include a 20 foot high Whomping Willow, face-painting, wand-making, fire-eaters, magicians, jugglers and stilt-walkers.

Several bookstores have set up small kiosks displaying free-to-take bookmarks. The bookmarks show reasons why Severus Snape should be considered a friend or a foe on opposite sides along with the Deathly Hallows logo at the bottom.[25]

J. K. Rowling has arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of the missing Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when Deathly Hallows is launched on 21 July and said that she hoped that the posters would be displayed prominently in shops all over the world.[26]

What is known about the plot

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: "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11 January 2007".[27] She has stated that the final volume relates very closely to the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so much so that the two books are "almost as though they are two halves of the same novel."[28] Prior to completing the manuscript, Rowling stated that she could not change the ending of the book, 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."[11]

Unresolved plot elements from previous books

  • Harry will return to the home of his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys (whose cooperation has been requested by Albus Dumbledore), during the school holiday. The magical protection Dumbledore arranged, which requires Harry to have a home with them, is set to expire on his upcoming birthday, when he comes of age.Template:HBP
  • Bill Weasley has been bitten by a werewolf (Fenrir Greyback); however, Fenrir was not fully transformed (he was not bitten on the day of a full moon), and we have yet to see the full effect of the bite. So far it has been said that Bill has merely developed a taste for steak cooked very rare.
  • It is unclear what will happen to Hogwarts after the attack on the school at the end of Half-Blood Prince, but Harry has said he will leave school to continue his battle against Voldemort. If the school reopens, replacements will be required for Severus Snape (Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor and head of Slytherin house) and possibly Minerva McGonagall (Transfiguration instructor, head of Gryffindor house and deputy Headmistress) in the event that she becomes Headmistress.Template:HBP Template:HBP
  • Harry must destroy all of Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes before Voldemort can be defeated. Dumbledore believed there were a total of six, and that two so far have been destroyed (the Gaunt ring and Riddle's diary). It is possible that the locket has been destroyed as well, but this is not yet confirmed.
  • There is no explanation at the end of Half-Blood Prince as to the true identity of the mysterious "R.A.B.", who claimed to have stolen one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, a locket, with the intent to destroy it, while replacing it with a fake locket, later recovered by Harry and Dumbledore.Template:HBP Rowling said Regulus Black was "a fine guess" for R.A.B.'s identity in an interview.[29]
  • The true loyalty and motivations of Severus Snape have been unclear throughout the series. At different points in the series, Snape's actions have either conflicted with his stated intentions or with his previous actions. Because of the contradictions in his behavior, Snape remains a potential wild card. This is in contrast to the other main characters who have very clearly chosen allegiances.
  • It has not been explained why, when Dumbledore heard that Voldemort had used Harry's blood to resurrect himself, Harry sees a "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes. Template:GF Rowling has said that this is still "enormously significant".[30]
  • Since the first book, Harry has shown the ability to speak Parseltongue - the language of snakes. It is speculated at various points in the series that his acquisition of this skill was one of the many by-products of Lord Voldemort's attempt on his life when he was a child. However, the ability could also have been inherited. Given that Salazar Slytherin prized this ability in his top students, including Voldemort, it raises the question about a deeper relationship or similarity beteween Harry, his parents, and Voldemort.
  • No one was credited with performing the magic involved with the spectacular flaming raising of the white marble tomb of Dumbledore. Whether or not this is significant taken along with Scrimgeour's hasty assertion a few plot moments later that "He's gone... not even Dumbledore can return from the—" creates a slight opening to hopeful speculation. However, J.K. Rowling has repeatedly quashed theories that state Dumbledore is alive.

Hints from Rowling

  • Rowling drafted the last chapter of the book several years ago to give herself an ending to work towards. The chapter contains details of what happens to the surviving characters:

This is the thing that I was very dubious about showing you... this is the final chapter of book seven. This is really where I wrap everything up, it's the epilogue. And I basically say what happens to everyone after they leave school - those who survive - because there are deaths - more deaths coming. It was a way of saying to myself, 'Well, you will get it, you will get to book seven one day. And then you'll need this!' So I'd just like to remind all the children I know who come around my house and start sneaking into cupboards that it's not there anymore - I don't keep it at home anymore for very, very, very obvious reasons. So there it is.[31]

  • Rowling has stated that there will be no Quidditch matches in Deathly Hallows.[32]
  • J. K. Rowling said in 2001 that Harry might get another pet at some point.[33] Although Buckbeak may have filled this role (Harry obtained possession of the Hippogriff after the death of Sirius Black, albeit under Hagrid's care), she also hinted that Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, might have another role.[34]
  • We will learn something very important about Lily:

Now, the important thing about Harry's mother - the really, really significant thing - you're going to find out in two parts. You'll find out a lot more about her in book five, or you'll find out something very significant about her in book five, and you'll find out something incredibly important about her in book seven.

— – J. K. Rowling[35]
  • Rowling has long said that the fact that Harry has "his mother's eyes" is "very important."[36]
  • Severus Snape has been an important and enigmatic character throughout the books, as his true loyalty has always remained unclear. It is to be anticipated that as a surviving major character, his loyalty will be settled in the final confrontation of the book.[37][38]
Questioner: There’s an important kind of redemptive pattern to Snape.
Rowling: He, um, there’s so much I wish I could say to you, and I can't because it would ruin. I promise you, whoever asked that question, can I just say to you that I'm slightly stunned that you've said that and you'll find out why I'm so stunned if you read Book Seven. That's all I’m going to say.[35]
  • At the Edinburgh book festival, Rowling mentioned that something more would be revealed about Petunia Dursley. Nothing of note occurred in book 6, so this remains to be discovered.[39]

..there is a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye...She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet.

Rowling repeated this comment at the Radio City charity reading in August 2006.[40] She clarified by stating that Aunt Petunia will not perform magic.[41]
  • Rowling has said that some non-magical character will perform magic late in life under desperate circumstances.[42] However, Petunia will not be the one to perform magic (see above).
  • Also at Edinburgh, Rita Skeeter was mentioned: "She is loathsome . . . but I can't help admiring her toughness. . . . There is more to come on Rita."[39]
  • On Dolores Umbridge, "It's too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more before I finish."[32]
  • Rowling has said that Ginny Weasley is quite powerful, that we have seen a taste of that in the past, and we will see it again.[32]
  • Kreacher, the former Black Family house elf which passed to Harry's ownership with the death of Sirius Black, may make an appearance. Rowling told the filmmakers of Order of the Phoenix to include the character in the movie, because he is "very important", after they had omitted him in a draft of the script.[44][45]
  • Sirius Black's flying motorbike and the two-way mirror he gave Harry will return.[43] In fact, Rowling has mentioned in one of her FAQs that the two way mirror "will help more than you think." Rowling refused to comment whether Sirius himself might in some way reappear, but she has also said that there was a reason why he had to die.[46]
  • Rowling revealed in a 1999 interview that one of Harry's classmates will become a Hogwarts teacher, though not Harry himself and 'not who you think'. When asked, Rowling also ruled out Ron. This implies that Hogwarts will re-open at some point.[35]
  • In an interview after the completion of the Prisoner of Azkaban film, she commented that director Alfonso Cuarón had "put things in the film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books. So I really got goosebumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought people are going to look back on the film and think those were put in deliberately as clues."[49]
  • There are indications that at least two of the main characters will die. In a June 2006 interview about the previously-written ending, Rowling stated that:

One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die...A price has to be paid. We are dealing with pure evil...They go for the main characters...well, I do".[8]

  • When further questioned in June 2006 about authors who kill off their main characters, Rowling said "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, well, I'm going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels."[8]
  • Rowling clarified that "Dumbledore is definitely dead", when asked by Sir Salman Rushdie and others at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Rowling answered the same question three times, each time with increasing conviction.[50] However, on the set of the Order of the Phoenix film, she remarked; "Dumbledore's giving me a lot of trouble". When asked "But isn't he dead?" by Daniel Radcliffe, she explained; "Well, yeah, but it's more complex…."[51]
  • When asked what questions she should have been asked, she admitted that "the final book contains a couple of pieces of information that I don't think you could guess at", and declined to explain further.[40] On 13 September, 2006 she updated her website saying that when she was asked that question, her mind went blank. Since she couldn't make amends, she created a NAQ section of her website, in tribute to the girl who asked the question. In her NAQ section, she states:

Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

On 29 September 2006, she revealed that Severus Snape was not under the cloak the night of the Potters' death in the Rumours Section of her website.
  • Asked which five of her characters she would like to invite to dinner, she chose Harry, Hermione and Ron, but then hesitated before choosing her last characters, saying "See... I know who's actually dead," unsure whether she was permitted to invite those who are 'dead'.[40]
  • Responding to the news that Lord Voldemort was voted best villain at the Big Bad Read poll, Rowling commented:

I hope those of you who voted for him in the big bad read enjoy reading about him in book seven, where he finally gets the leg room for which he has been aching all those years in exile.[52]

  • During a July 2007 interview broadcast on the BBC One's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Rowling announced that "scar" was no longer the last word in the book. Although long reported and confirmed by Rowling to be the final word of book 7, Rowling went on record as saying that "Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word." She refused to say what the last word was.[53]
  • During an interview for the New York Times, Jim Dale claims there is a surprise ending. [54]

Hints from reviews

According to the Baltimore Sun, the novel spends most of its time around Harry, Ron, and Hermione's search for the remaining horcruxes necessary to defeat Voldemort, as well as three Deathly Hallows of the title, which are "magical objects that give the possessors the power to conquer death."[55] In fact, a turning point in the novel occurs over whether Harry should pursue the reamining horcruxes or instead search for the hallows.[56] During this time, Harry is given clues and about Voldemort's location and activities because of their psychic connection, formed when Harry received his lightning-bolt scar. Other characters, including Snape, Hagrid, and Lupin are not as visible during most of the story. The characters Mr. Ollivander and Dobby reappear in the seventh book, as well as Sirius Black's flying motorcycle and Dumbledore's pensieve.[56] The Sun also reveals that at the end of the series, Harry is finally given a family.[55]

Pre-release controversy

Anticipation

Rowling made a public request that anyone with advance information about the content of the last book should keep it to themselves, in order to avoid spoiling the experience for other readers.[57] To this end, Bloomsbury invested 10 million pounds in an attempt to keep the book's contents secure until the July 21 release date.[58] However, there was speculation that some shops would break the embargo and distribute copies of the book early, as the penalty imposed for previous installments — that the distributor would not be supplied with any further copies of the series — would no longer be a disincentive.[59]

Online leaks

In the week prior to its release, a number of texts purporting to be genuine leaks appeared in a number of forms. On July 16, a set of photographs, claimed to be all 759 pages of the US edition, was leaked to the Internet,[60][61] with one source reporting the leak came from the GameFAQs message boards,[62] and later appearing on websites and peer-to-peer networks, leading Scholastic to seek a subpoena in order to identify one source.[63] Scholastic described the content of the texts as "convincing" but refused to comment on their authenticity, noting only that several texts had conflicting content, with a similar reaction from the publishers.[64] If proven to be a genuine leak, it would be the most serious security breach in the Harry Potter series' history.[65] Reviews published in both The Baltimore Sun and The New York Times on July 18, 2007 corroborated many of the plot elements from the leak.[specify][66][67]

Rowling and her lawyer have admitted that there have been genuine online leaks, but they did not specify which ones they were or if the whole book was available. She has requested on her site that fans ignore the online leaks and that readers do not spoil the plot for those waiting on the release on Friday night. [68]

Early delivery

One reader in Maryland received a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 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 wouldn't discuss whether they would be penalized.[69] However, later the following day, Scholastic announced that approximately 1 ten-thousandth (0.01%) of the US supply had been shipped early, constituting around 1200 copies,[70] and that it would be launching legal action against DeepDiscount.com and its distributor, Levy Home Entertainment.[71] Scholastic has filed for damages in Chicago’s Circuit Court of Cook County, claiming[72] 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.”

ASDA

A shipment of 500,000 copies of the book to the UK's second-largest supermarket chain ASDA (a Wal-Mart subsidiary) was cancelled by the publishers. Bloomsbury cited a disagreement over "unsettled bills" as the reason, although ASDA asserted that it was due to its accusations of "blatant profiteering" in the publisher's decision to charge a price of £17.99 for a children's book — ASDA had chosen to charge a price just over a quarter of this[73] in its stores, in line with many booksellers, and claimed that Bloomsbury was "holding children to ransom". However, after ASDA apologised for its earlier comments, and paid the outstanding balance, Bloomsbury confirmed that it would restore the shipment.[74][75]

Sabbath controversy in Israel

The book's early Saturday morning release in Israel has been criticized 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."[76]

Early critical reception

Mary Carole McCauley of the Baltimore Sun, who received early access to the book, praised Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as a "classic bildungsroman, a coming-of-age tale about the maturation of the title character". She notes that "...book seven lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished Rowling's earliest books. Even the writing is more prosaic", but then observes that given the book's darker subject matter (death), "how could it be otherwise"? An editor's note prepended to the review claims that the paper acquired a hardcopy of the book "through legal and ordinary means".[77]

On July 18, Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times, who bought the book from a retail outlet in New York City, also posted online a positive review of the book, writing, "The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist...and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world."[78]

Kakutani drew criticism from Harry Potter fans when she proceeded to write a review in the New York Times giving away the book's plot. At least one fan website called for a letter-writing campaign to the New York Times. [79] A representative for Bloomsbury, the UK publisher of the Potter books, had this to say:

As the originating publisher, we're really disappointed with what happened in the US. We're relying on the support of retailers and the media in the rest of the world to allow readers to find out for themselves. We are asking people to wait.

There's only 40 hours to go.

JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, said:

I am staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry's final destination by themselves, in their own time.

I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry's last adventure for fans.

[80]

Arthur Levine, US editor of the Harry Potter series, denies printing any review copies for the press.[81]

After Deathly Hallows

As of 2007, Rowling has been working on the Harry Potter stories for 17 years.

  • In a 2000 interview through Scholastic, Rowling stated that there isn't a university after Hogwarts and that she did not plan on further Harry Potter books:[82]
Q: Do you think that you will write about Harry after he graduates from Hogwarts? Isn't there a University of Wizardry?
A: No, there's no University for Wizards. At the moment I'm only planning to write seven Harry Potter books. I won't say "never," but I have no plans to write an eighth book.
  • When asked about writing other books similar to Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, she has said that she might consider doing this with proceeds donated to charity, as was the case with those two books. Another suggestion is an encyclopedia-style tome containing information that never made it into the series, also for charity.[8][9]
  • Rowling jokingly posted on her website saying that if she was to make an eighth book, then it could be called: "Harry Potter and the Mid-Life Crisis."[citation needed]
  • Shortly before the release of book 5, in an interview for the BBC, she was asked about Harry's future by Jeremy Paxman:[83]
Jeremy Paxman: So you know what is going to become of all the major characters over the span of the series?
J.K. Rowling: Yeah...yeah.
Jeremy Paxman: Why stop when they grow up? Might be interesting to know what becomes of Harry as an adult.
J.K. Rowling: How do you know he'll still be alive?
Jeremy Paxman: Oh. At the end of book seven?
J.K. Rowling: It would be one way to kill off the merchandising.
  • Rowling issued the following statement on her website about finishing the final book:[12]

I always knew that Harry's story would end with the seventh book, but saying goodbye has been just as hard as I always knew it would be. Even while I'm mourning, though, I feel an incredible sense of achievement. I can hardly believe that I've finally written the ending I've been planning for so many years. I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric.

Some of you have expressed a (much more muted!) mixture of happiness and sadness at the prospect of the last book being published, and that has meant more than I can tell you. If it comes as any consolation, I think that there will be plenty to continue arguing and speculating about, even after Deathly Hallows comes out.

Editions

Bloomsbury (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, etc.)
  • ISBN 0747591059 Hardcover
  • ISBN 1551929767 Hardcover (adult edition)
  • ISBN 0747591075 Hardcover (special edition)
Raincoast (Canada, etc.)
  • ISBN 1551929767 Hardcover
  • ISBN 1551929783 Hardcover (adult edition)
Scholastic (United States, etc.)
  • ISBN 0545010225 Hardcover
  • ISBN 0545029376 Deluxe Hardcover

References

  1. ^ Rowling, J. K. (2007-02-01). "Publication Date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". J. K. Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  2. ^ "'HPDH' reaches no. 1 on U.S. Amazon & BN lists". HPANA. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  3. ^ Blais, Jacqueline (2007-05-03). "After final 'Harry Potter' book, can anyone fill the void?". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-05-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Scholastic Announces Record-Breaking 12.1 Million First Printing In United States Of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows". Scholastic. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  5. ^ "Deathly Hallows Cover Art and Summaries Released! Brit Page Count Confirmed!". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  6. ^ "Scholastic Makes Largest Ever Commitment to Forest Stewardship Council Certified Paper in a Single Book for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  7. ^ a b Langford, David (2006). The End of Harry Potter?. Gollanz. ISBN 0575078758.
  8. ^ a b c d "Transcript of JKR Interview on Richard & Judy". TLC interviews. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  9. ^ a b "A new chapter for HP and JK". The Telegraph. 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "new_chapter" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
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