Harry Potter and History, livre ebook

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.
  Acknowledgments: Writing Magical History xi

  Harry Potter’s Timeline xiii

  Introduction: A Half-Blood World? 1
  Nancy R. Reagin

  PART ONE “The Burrow Is Just Outside Ottery St. Catchpole”: When Muggles and Wizards Lived Side by Side 7

  1 Magic for Daily Use and Profi t: Mandrakes, Charms, Bezoars, and Love Potions in the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds 9
  Birgit Wiedl

  2 Severus Snape and the Standard Book of Spells: Ancient Tongues in the Wizarding World 39
  M. G. DuPree

  3 Beastly Books and Quick-Quills: Harry Potter and the Making of Medieval Manuscripts 55
  Alexandra Gillespie

  4 Nicolas Flamel: The Alchemist Who Lived 73
  Don Keck DuPree

  5 Why the Statute of Secrecy? Real Historical Oppression of Witches and Wizards 91
  Birgit Wiedl

  PART TWO After the Statute of Secrecy: Parallel Worlds 125

  6 Was Voldemort a Nazi? Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism 127
  Nancy R. Reagin

  7 “Magic Is Might”: How the Wizarding Government Gained Its Power 153
  Janice Liedl

  8 Were the Malfoys Aristocrats? The Decline and Fall of the Pure-Blooded 173
  Laura Loiacono and Grace Loiacono

  9 School Ties, House Points, and Quidditch: Hogwarts as a British Boarding School 193
  Susan Hall

  10 Of Marranos and Mudbloods: Harry Potter and the Spanish Inquisition 219
  Ruth Abrams

  PART THREE Women and Witches, Werewolves and Muggle-Borns: Magical Hierarchies 243

  11 Witches vs. Women: What Muggles Could Learn from Wizarding History 245
  Janice Liedl

  12 Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter’s World 269
  Susan Hall

  13 Hairy Snout, Human Heart? Werewolves in Harry Potter’s World and in European History 293
  Eveline Brugger

  Hermione Raised Her Hand Again: Wizards Writing History 309
  Anne Rubenstein

  The Hogwarts Faculty 323

  Index: Notable Magical Words of Our Time 327