It’s funny how some authors only want to distance themselves from their most popular creations, while others keep right on keeping on as long as there is one devoted fan still breathing. J. K. Rowling is apparently steering a middle course; she is at once writing novels for a very adult audience (I have decided The Casual Vacancy should be subtitled “How to be Really Preachy While Using all the Naughty Swears You Held Back While Fighting with Your Publishers”) and still tinkering with her Wizarding World through the new Fantastic Beasts film and her work with Pottermore. Her newest contribution is a piece on the history of the Quidditch World Cup.
Though hailed as a “new Harry Potter story,” really, this nice little tidbit is just another ancillary essay, rather like the texts of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Quidditch Through the Ages. It mostly resembles the nice extras we used to find on Rowling’s old website, back in the days when we were all drooling over any little morsel to tide us over until the next installment in the Hogwarts Saga apprarated at the local B and N, or the wonderful backstory treasures we found when Pottermore began to work, finally.
In many ways, of course, this “new” bit is meant to do what those old ones did: keep us interested. Honestly, I had to search back through my emails to find my Pottermore login because it had been so long since I had been on the site. I am guessing I am not the only one in that situation. I noticed the page with the story has a scarce 700-odd likes on facebook. In order to keep the site fresh and popular, we need more new contributions from Rowling. There has to be some interest cooking to keep everyone interested until that Beasts movie, after all.
In fact, I am guessing that this Quidditch piece is also prepping us for a possible film of another Harry text. If Beasts is a box-office bonanza (sorry, Quidditch team names always make me start alliterating), we can bet our last Galleon that the other supplemental books will be given the big-screen treatment, too. Quidditch is, after all , a big deal, with a real sports following, so film extras would be easy to find, and a huge audience is a certainty.
This is not to imply that there is no value to the “story.” It is a nice piece that fills in some gaps, corrects some gaffes, and corrects some fuzzy math. Personally, I just like hearing Rowling’s voice (at least when it is not bludgeoning me with swears that would make Ron blush…)
In any case, it is fair to say that Rowling still has a strong connection with the Wizarding World, one that will continue with more little nuggets like this, glimmering like a Snitch that we are compelled to chase. Thoughts? Complaints?
“In order to keep the site fresh and popular, we need more new contributions from Rowling.”
Exactly. Pottermore is a beautiful site, but the only reason I’m on it is to read the extra texts, and it’s not that easy to navigate through if you just want reading mateial. And there’s only been about one or two good tidbits a year – the best ones have been Lupin, McGonagall and Petunia’s backstories.