Harry Potter and Beyond: On J. K. Rowling's Fantasies and Other Fictions

by Tison Pugh

Overview

Harry Potter and Beyond explores J. K. Rowling's beloved best-selling series and its virtuoso reimagining of British literary traditions. Weaving together elements of fantasy, the school-story novel, detective fiction, allegory, and bildungsroman, the Harry Potter novels evade simplistic categorization as children's or fantasy literature. Because the Potter series both breaks new ground and adheres to longstanding narrative formulas, readers can enhance their enjoyment of these epic adventures by better understanding their place in literary history.

Along with the seven foundational novels of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and Beyond assesses the extraordinary range of supplementary material concerning the young wizard and his allies, including the films of the books, the subsequent film series of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the theatrical spectacle Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and a range of other Potter-inspired narratives. Beyond the world of Potter, Pugh surveys Rowling's literary fiction The Casual Vacancy and her detective series featuring Cormoran Strike, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Through this comprehensive overview of Rowling's body of work, Pugh reveals the vast web of connections between yesteryear's stories and Rowling's vivid creations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643360874
Publisher:	University of South Carolina Press
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tison Pugh is Pegasus Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books in such fields as children's literature, medieval literature, and southern literature.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations ix

Introduction: J. K. Rowling, Children's Literature, and the Genres of Harry Potter 1

1 The Fantasy Foundations of the Harry Potter Novels 20

2 Hogwarts and the School Story Tradition 36

3 Harry Potter's Adolescence and the Bildungsroman Tradition 50

4 The Mysteries of Hogwarts 63

5 Rowling's Allegories of Good and Evil 72

6 The Evolving Harry Potter Canon 84

7 Out of the Wizarding World: The Casual Vacancy and the Robert Galbraith Murder Mysteries 107

Notes 125

Bibliography 135

Index 149

What People are Saying About This

Beverly Clark

In his eminently readable Harry Potter and Beyond, Tison Pugh offers keen insights into race, gender, queerness, and especially genre as he illuminates Rowling's fantasy fiction and also her mystery novels.

Kenneth Kidd

This engaging and well-researched book explains how J. K. Rowling builds on five key literary genres and does a brilliant job illuminating those genres, such that the book is both an overview of Harry Potter as literature and an introduction to literature by way of Harry Potter. Highly recommended.

Claudia Nelson

Contextualizing Rowling's works within and beyond the Harry Potter franchise in terms of genre, ideology, critical response, and artistic achievement, Tison Pugh's new book offers an informed, appreciative, and approachable assessment.

Editorial Reviews

an enlightening and enjoyable read, packing a wide range of scholarship into a short and readable format. It is an excellent introduction to the critical theory surrounding Potter as well as a worthwhile addition to the collection of a seasoned researcher.

MuggleNet

"Contextualizing Rowling's works within and beyond the Harry Potter franchise in terms of genre, ideology, critical response, and artistic achievement, Tison Pugh's new book offers an informed, appreciative, and approachable assessment." — Claudia Nelson, Texas A&M University


"In his eminently readable Harry Potter and Beyond, Tison Pugh offers keen insights into race, gender, queerness, and especially genre as he illuminates Rowling's fantasy fiction and also her mystery novels." — Beverly Clark, Wheaton College


"This engaging and well-researched book explains how J. K. Rowling builds on five key literary genres and does a brilliant job illuminating those genres, such that the book is both an overview of Harry Potter as literature and an introduction to literature by way of Harry Potter. Highly recommended." — Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida

From the Publisher

In this fresh and useful addition to the ever-growing critical canon on Rowling, Pugh encourages readers to explore Rowling's works through and across literary genres including school story, bildungsroman, mystery, and allegory—all elements Rowling imbues in her work... the book is both deeply critical and entertainingly readable... The multisection bibliography provides a must-read list for literary criticism, Harry Potter studies, and wider canonical literature. This work will be useful for those engaged in genre or author studies, young adult literature, or literary criticism more broadly.

Choice

One of the strengths of Pugh's Harry Potter and Beyond is clear in its title: Pugh not only considers Rowling's Harry Potter series in his monograph, but also examines the author's online presence, and her adult novels.

Children's Literature Association Quarterly