As our Headmaster posted on Saturday, Patricio Tarantino, author of Secret History of the Wizarding Phenomenon and head of the Rowling Library has found, and posted on line the most remarkable raw footage of an early J. K. Rowling television interview. To help us understand the reflections and import of this find, Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post: Harry Potter Dreaming – unseen footage of Rowling from 1998. Join me after the jump for Prof. Groves’ fascinating look at Rowling’s candid thoughts at the very beginning of her professional career.
Beatrice Groves: ‘Harry Potter Dreaming’ Unseen Footage of Rowling from 1998
June 8, 2022 by 2 Comments
Inside No 26 Denmark Street
June 7, 2022 by 3 Comments
In May, Strike sleuth @LudicrousMonica posted a London Borough of Camden planning application for 26 Denmark Street, allowing fans a first look at the plans and history of the London Office.
Interesting! Planning application for 26 Denmark Street. Documents attached include plans of the layouts of the second and third floors – the office and Strike's flat! #cormoranstrike https://t.co/VX1gmwnkno
— LudicrousMoniker (@LudicrousMonica) May 12, 2022
No 26 Denmark Street has had two quite major planning applications submitted since Robert Galbraith first started to publish the Strike novels. The first in 2014 to convert the three separate dwellings on the first, second and attic floors (second, third and fourth in US parlance) into one triplex dwelling. And now the application is to extend the ground floor into 22 and 23 Denmark Place to increase the size of the venue. Join me after the jump to take a look at the history of the building and a look at the plans from 2014 using the documents from the council website.
What and How Children are Reading in the UK
May 8, 2022 by 1 Comment
I spotted this tweet from J. K. Rowling’s agents, The Blair Partnership last Friday:
Spotted in The Times! Some books are good at any age… pic.twitter.com/bwppskhXRo
— The Blair Partnership (@TBP_agency) May 6, 2022
The tweet was responding from an article in the Times newspaper about the latest report from Renaissance on the reading habits of school children in the UK. Perhaps a surprise to followers of social media campaigns, J. K. Rowling has increased in popularity over the last three years of recording, with the Harry Potter series holding the top three places for favourite books for primary school pupils. For some take-aways and to download the report, see after the break.
Unicorn Hunting in Secrets of Dumbledore
April 19, 2022 by 6 Comments
Beatrice Groves has talked of the importance of the Asian unicorn – the qilin, and its European equivalent in Secrets of Dumbledore. This is dramatically represented in six paintings of unicorns at battle in the restaurant scene. The clearest images I can find of the final five painting are in the ‘behind the scenes’ trailer posted by Film Riot (hat tip Beatrice!).
Now super sleuth Vincenzo Leone has identified the inspiration behind the first of the paintings (credit again to Dr Groves’s wonderful spot!):
The wizard battle painting we saw in the German Ministry of Magic are inspired by Peter Paul Rubens “La Muerte del Cónsul Decio” #FantasticBeasts #FantasticBeastsTheSecretsOfDumbledore #SecretsOfDumbledore #HarryPotter #warnerbros pic.twitter.com/ykGaIOOQI7
— Vincenzo Leone (@LeoVinks) April 17, 2022
Death of the Consol Publius Decius was painted by Rubens in 1616 as one of a set of eight models for a series of tapestries. The painting depicts the death of Decius in the battle of the republican Romans against the Latins in Italy. At a crucial moment in the battle the Consul sacrifices himself by charging his horse into the enemy as an act of spiritual devotion foretold in a prophetic dream.
Do any of the other paintings seem familiar? Let me know in the comments down below.
Beatrice Groves – Secrets of Dumbledore: First Thoughts
April 16, 2022 by 5 Comments
In the wake of the UK theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore and the (long awaited) US release on 15th April, Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post: Secrets of Dumbledore: First Thoughts. Many spoilers after the jump…….Beware!
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