A post on Pottermore has announced that J.K Rowling is set to release some new eBooks based in the Harry Potter universe starting on June 27 of this year. The main seven-book Harry Potter series was completed back in 2007. However, JK Rowling has since released several other titles based in the same world, with this new ebook series being the latest.
Most recently the Hogwarts curriculum book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, has been adapted into its own spin-off series. While Fantastic Beasts offers us a glimpse in wizarding history, these upcoming books are set to explore a different side to Hogwarts. Here’s what we know so far.
There Will Be Four Fully-Illustrated Books In Total
Rowling’s Pottermore Publishing is releasing these upcoming ebooks, of which there will be four. The first two will be released on June 27 with the third and fourth books said to follow soon after.
All four ebooks have been illustrated by London-based artist Rohan Daniel Eason and will be available in English, French, Italian, and German. These ebooks are likely to be similar to titles such as Quidditch through the Ages, and Rowling considers them to be nonfiction.
The Series Is Inspired By The 2017 Library Display
The eBook shorts will be called Harry Potter: A Journey Through… and they’ll be adapted from the audiobook Harry Potter: A History of Magic. The audiobook and accompanying hardback book were in turn inspired by the British Library exhibition with the same name.
The exhibition contained rare books, manuscripts, and objects from the British Library’s collection. These were said to capture the traditions of magic that underpin the Harry Potter series. They included a 16th century Ripley Scroll which explained how to create a Philosopher’s Stone.
The Books Are Themed By Hogwarts Lessons
Each of the short books is inspired by a different lesson from Hogwarts. The first will take you through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts and the second though Potions and Herbology. These two titles will make up the first part of the series. The second half will comprise of book three, A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy, and book four, A Journey Through Care of Magical Creatures.
The titles as a whole cover the entire Hogwarts curriculum, with the exception of History of Magic itself. It looks set to offer some insight into the subjects studied by Harry and his cohorts.
They Contain Some Intriguing Extras
The books will explore the origins of magic through history and folklore. They will offer deeper insight into the areas which wizards and witches study. Alongside this, they will also feature notes, manuscript pages, and sketches, as previously seen in Harry Potter: A History of Magic.
This book was originally published to celebrate twenty years of Harry Potter and contains an in-depth look at the history of magic. These adapted ebooks look likely to contain similar information but in bitesize chunks.
There Should Be Some New Material
While diehard Harry Potter fans may wonder if there is a point to these books, they are likely to contain at least some new material. This is despite being based on previously published books.
The Pottermore post mentions some new line drawings as well as some content from the audiobook, which readers may not have heard. Hopefully, this is also combined with a few new things to discover about the history of magic and the content of the Hogwarts curriculum.
They Aren’t Telling A New Story
There is no new story contained within these books and there will be no new characters. They are purely focused on magical history and giving more details about the Wizarding World itself, rather than its inhabitants.
Harry Potter as a series concluded with Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and that won’t be changing any time soon. These new titles are simply extra content for fans to read in order to further their knowledge of the Wizarding World. Given what we know about the library exhibition, they are also likely to feature information about the real-world inspiration behind the magic in the books.
What Does This Mean For The Cinematic Universe?
So far, the bulk of the Harry Potter cinematic universe focuses on the core series of seven books. Split over eight movies, we see the story of Harry Potter’s journey through Hogwarts played out on the big screen. The cinematic universe may well expand in the future, but these new titles aren’t likely to be related.
While they may help add some details to any Hogwarts lessons we see on screen, their relevance to the wider cinematic universe is negligible at best. There are many journeys to explore within Harry’s world, but they all take place outside of these new ebooks.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was such a successful concept that it spawned its very own franchise. The reason it has been so successful is that the book itself explored aspects of the life of Newt Scamander, which later intermingles with other characters we see or hear about in Harry Potter. It also explores aspects of the Wizarding World that are only touched upon in the main series. By discovering Newt’s story, we are also finding out the story of Grindlewald and, later, the tale of the great wizarding war.
Fantastic Beasts allows us to really explore in-depth the reasons for the war and the rise of Voldemort. It’s through this understanding that we are also better able to understand the effects of this history on the characters we know from Harry Potter. It adds a new depth to the canon, one which we are unlikely to see replicated in these new books.
A History Of Magic
The new ebooks appear to be focusing on less specific aspects of wizarding history and more on general areas of magical studies. They will hopefully give us more insight into the Hogwarts lessons and into some of the aspects taught to students. However, they are very unlikely to affect anything in the cinematic universe.
Fans can expect these books to simply flesh out some information that we already know. The notes, drawings, and manuscript pages will no doubt be fascinating to see but won’t affect the overall canon of either the Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts series.
The Cursed Child
If the Harry Potter cinematic universe is to expand beyond Fantastic Beasts, then these new books won’t be paving the way for it. A much more likely scenario is that The Cursed Child stage show is adapted for the big screen. This would bring to life the tale of Hogwarts years later when Harry’s son and his cohorts are attending. The story of Albus and his friends is a much more likely target for adaptation.
Nonetheless, the new ebooks will no doubt be enjoyed by Harry Potter fans young and old. Anyone with an interest in finding out more about the wizarding world and the inspiration behind the magic should look them up.
