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Harry Potter booksHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author J. K. Rowling

Illustrators Jason Cockcroft, Mary GrandPré

Genre Fantasy

Publishers Bloomsbury Publishing PLC,Scholastic Press, Raincoast Books

Released July 21, 2007Book no. SevenSales 11 million+ first 24 hours[1]

Storytimeline

July 1997 – May 1998 and 1September 2017

Chapters 36 chapters and an epilogue

Pages 607 759

Precededby

Harry Potter and the Half-BloodPrince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book of HarryPotter novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was released onJuly 21, 2007, ending the series that began in 1997 with the publication of HarryPotter and the Philosopher's Stone. This book chronicles the events directly

following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and leads to the long-awaited final confrontation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

Deathly Hallows is published in the UK by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the USA byScholastic Press, in Canada by Raincoast Books and in Australia and New Zealandby Allen & Unwin. Released globally in ninety-three countries, Deathly Hallowsbroke sales records as the fastest-selling book ever, selling more than eleven millioncopies in the first twenty-four hours following its release. The previous record, ninemillion in its first day, had been held by Half-Blood Prince.[1]

Contents1 Epigraph2 Plot

2.1 Leaving the Dursleys2.2 Search for the Horcruxes2.3 The Deathly Hallows2.4 The Battle of Hogwarts2.5 Epilogue

3 Rowling's commentary and supplement4 Pre-release history

4.1 Choice of title4.2 Marketing campaigns4.3 Rowling on finishing the book4.4 Spoiler embargo4.5 Online leaks and early delivery4.6 Price wars and other controversies

5 Sales6 Critical reception7 Translations8 Editions9 References10 External links

EpigraphAll the books in the Harry Potter series have dedications, but Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows is the only one to include an epigraph. It contains two quotesrelating to death and friendship. The first quotation is an English translation fromAncient Greek of a passage from The Libation Bearers, by the 5th century BCplaywright Aeschylus.[2] The second quotation is from More Fruits of Solitude(1682) by William Penn, the Quaker author and founder of the AmericanCommonwealth of Pennsylvania.[3]

Plot

Leaving the Dursleys

Acting on information received from Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort and hisfollowers plot to ambush Harry Potter when he leaves the Dursleys' home for thelast time. Voldemort also seeks a new wand that can defeat Harry's. Shortly beforeHarry's protection expires on his seventeenth birthday, the Dursleys are sent to an

undisclosed location, and Order of the Phoenix members arrive to escort Harry to asafe house. Six Harry-lookalike decoys are used, but the real Harry is identified enroute and attacked by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry narrowly escapes toThe Burrow, but Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed.

A few days later, Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrives to give Harry, RonWeasley, and Hermione Granger their bequests from Albus Dumbledore's will. Ronreceives Dumbledore's Deluminator, and Hermione has been left a book of fairytales. Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's sword and the Snitch he caught in his first-ever Quidditch match, although Scrimgeour withholds the sword, claiming it neverbelonged to Dumbledore. Later, the Snitch reveals a cryptic inscription inDumbledore's handwriting: "I open at the close."

Search for the Horcruxes

During Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception, KingsleyShacklebolt's Patronus appears with a warning that the Ministry has fallen and thatDeath Eaters are coming. Harry, Ron and Hermione escape by Disapparating,eventually taking refuge in the deserted Order of the Phoenix headquarters atnumber twelve, Grimmauld Place. While there, Harry discovers that Sirius's latebrother, Regulus Black, shares the same initials with "R.A.B", the person whoremoved the locket Horcrux from the hidden sea cave.[HP6] Hermione recalls seeinga locket amongst house elf Kreacher's possessions. Kreacher fetches MundungusFletcher, who admits he stole the locket from the house elf and used it to bribeDolores Umbridge. Convinced it is the Horcrux, the trio infiltrate the Ministry ofMagic disguised by Polyjuice Potion. They recover the locket, but their hiding placeat Grimmauld Place is uncovered.

The trio are forced to go on the run. Unable to open or destroy the locket, they taketurns wearing it to keep it safe. They learn that the sword confiscated by theMinistry is actually a replica; the real Gryffindor sword can destroy Horcruxes.Harry wants to search for it, but Ron, fearing for his family's safety and frustratedthat Harry has no real plan, leaves the group. Harry and Hermione go to Godric'sHollow to look for the sword. They are ambushed by Nagini and Voldemort. Asthey escape, Hermione accidentally breaks Harry's wand.

In the Forest of Dean, Harry is led by a doe-shaped Patronus to an icy pondcontaining Gryffindor's sword. As Harry attempts to retrieve it, the locket Horcruxtightens around his neck. Meanwhile, Ron uses the Deluminator to locate Harry andHermione. He returns in time to rescue Harry, then destroys the locket with thesword. Ron warns that Voldemort's name is now Tabooed - anyone uttering itreveals their location.

The Deathly Hallows

The trio go to Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father, to ask about a symbol they sawhim wearing that matches the hand-drawn one in Hermione's book of fairy tales.Lovegood says it represents the Deathly Hallows, three legendary objects thatconquer death: the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak. Whenpressed about Luna's absence, Lovegood admits that Death Eaters abducted her; hetells them he has alerted the Death Eater-controlled Ministry that they are there, butthey escape.

Bounty hunters capture the trio at their camp after Harry inadvertently speaksVoldemort's name. They are imprisoned at Malfoy Manor, along with LunaLovegood, Dean Thomas, Ollivander the wandmaker, and Griphook the goblin.Finding Gryffindor's sword among the trio's possessions, Bellatrix Lestrange

suspects they have broken into her vault at Gringotts Bank. Dobby apparates intothe cellar to rescue the prisoners. Peter Pettigrew enters to investigate the noise. Hechokes Harry, who tells him he is owed a life debt.[HP3] Pettigrew loosens his grip,and his own silver hand strangles him to death in retribution. Harry and Ron rushupstairs to rescue Hermione from Bellatrix's torture. Ron disarms Bellatrix andHarry takes Draco's wand. Dobby reappears and they apparate to Bill and FleurWeasley's home. During their escape, Bellatrix throws a knife and fatally woundsDobby.

While at the cottage, Ollivander confirms the Elder Wand's existence and says that awand can change its allegiance if the previous owner is defeated or disarmed.Bellatrix's behaviour convinces the trio that another Horcrux is hidden in theLestrange vault. Aided by Griphook, they infiltrate Gringotts, gain entry into thevault and retrieve Helga Hufflepuff's Cup Horcrux; Griphook takes the sword,claiming it rightfully belongs to the Goblins, and the trio escape with the Horcrux.Meanwhile, Voldemort, who has stolen the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb,now realises that his Horcruxes are being destroyed. His mind link with Harryunintentionally reveals that one is hidden at Hogwarts, which Harry soon learns isRowena Ravenclaw's Diadem.

The Battle of Hogwarts

In Hogsmeade, Aberforth Dumbledore helps the trio to sneak into Hogwarts. Harryalerts the staff to Voldemort's impending invasion. The Order of the Phoenix,Dumbledore's Army, and former and current Hogwarts students arrive asVoldemort's allies attack; among the many casualties are Fred Weasley, RemusLupin, Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, and Colin Creevey. As Harry searches for thediadem, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve basilisk fangs.Hermione uses one to destroy the Cup Horcrux. Harry remembers seeing theDiadem in the Room of Requirement. While there, the trio are attacked by Malfoy,Crabbe, and Goyle; Crabbe mishandles the powerful Fiendfyre spell, killing himselfand destroying the diadem.

Harry glimpses Voldemort's mind again, and the trio go to the Shrieking Shack.They overhear Voldemort telling Snape that he believes the Elder Wand fails towork properly for him because Snape became its master when Snape killed thewand's former owner, Dumbledore.[HP6] Convinced that Snape's death will transferthe wand's allegiance to him, Voldemort orders Nagini to kill him, then leaves. AsSnape lies dying, he gives Harry his memories; they reveal that Snape, although notentirely good, was loyal to Dumbledore, motivated by his lifelong love for LilyPotter, Harry's mother. Dumbledore, who was doomed to die after being cursed byGaunt's ring Horcrux, had ordered Snape to kill him, if necessary, to protect Snape'srole in the Order of the Phoenix and also to spare Draco Malfoy from fulfillingVoldemort's task to murder the headmaster. It was Snape who sent the doe Patronusthat led Harry to Gryffindor's sword. The memories also reveal that Harry himself isa Horcrux; Voldemort cannot die while Harry lives.

Resigned to his fate, Harry goes alone to the Forbidden Forest where Voldemortawaits. Along the way, he deciphers the Snitch's clue, and it opens to reveal theResurrection Stone. Harry summons the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, andRemus Lupin, who provide comfort and accompany him to Voldemort's camp. Hethen willingly allows Voldemort to strike him with the Avada Kedavra curse.Awakening in an otherworldly place, Harry is uncertain whether he is alive or dead.Albus Dumbledore appears and explains that Voldemort's Horcrux within Harry hasbeen destroyed by the killing curse. He says that just as Voldemort cannot die whilehis soul fragments remain, Harry cannot be killed while his blood resides inVoldemort's body. Harry, having "mastered death", is given the choice to "go on" or

return to the living world.

Harry revives, although he pretends to be dead. Voldemort has him carried toHogwarts as a trophy. Neville pulls Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat andbeheads Nagini, destroying the final Horcrux, and the fighting resumes. Harrycovers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. The Hogsmeade villagers, Centaurs, andHogwarts' house elves join the battle against the Death Eaters who eventually foldunder superior numbers. Inside the castle, McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn duelVoldemort as Ginny, Hermione, and Luna are simultaneously fighting BellatrixLestrange. When a killing curse nearly hits Ginny, Molly Weasley pushes the girlsaside and fiercely battles Bellatrix, fatally cursing her. Harry reveals himself andchallenges Voldemort, knowing that Voldemort was never the Elder Wand's truemaster. When Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, Dracounknowingly won the Elder Wand's allegiance; when Harry later captured Draco'sown wand, he became the Elder Wand's new master. Voldemort casts a KillingCurse at Harry as Harry conjures a Disarming Spell, but the Elder Wand protects itsmaster by rebounding Voldemort's curse, killing him.

Following the battle, Harry visits Dumbledore's portrait. He tells the late headmasterthat he will keep the Invisibility Cloak, but to prevent the Deathly Hallows frombeing reunited again, the Resurrection Stone will be left where it was dropped in theForbidden Forest, and the Elder Wand is to be returned to Dumbledore's tomb. IfHarry dies undefeated, the Elder Wand's power will be extinguished with his death.Before placing the Elder Wand into the tomb, Harry uses it to repair his own brokenwand.

Epilogue

Nineteen years later, Harry is married to Ginny Weasley, and they have threechildren: James, Albus Severus, and Lily. Ron and Hermione are also married andhave two children, Rose and Hugo. The families meet at King's Cross station, wherea nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts. James, the eldest, isalready familiar with school while Lily will start in two years' time. Harry'snineteen-year-old godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Billand Fleur's daughter) in a train compartment. Teddy is apparently very close to thePotters, with Harry remarking, "He already comes round for dinner about four timesa week." Harry spots Draco Malfoy and his unnamed wife with their son, Scorpius;Malfoy acknowledges Harry with a curt nod, then turns away. Harry comfortsAlbus, who is worried he will be sorted into Slytherin, by telling him that hisnamesake, Severus Snape, was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever met. Headds that the Sorting Hat takes one's own choice into account. Neville Longbottomis now the Hogwarts Herbology professor and is close friends with Harry. The bookconcludes with the words: "The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. Allwas well."

Rowling's commentary and supplement

In an interview[4] and online chat,[5][6][7] Rowling gave additional information onthe futures of the main characters that she chose not to include in the epilogue of thebook. She stated that Harry becomes an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and islater appointed head of the department. He keeps Sirius's motorcycle, which ArthurWeasley repaired for him, but he can no longer speak Parseltongue afterVoldemort's soul fragment inside him is destroyed. Ginny Weasley plays for theHolyhead Harpies Quidditch team for a time, leaves to establish a family with Harryand later becomes the lead Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Ron works at George's store, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, then later becomes anAuror. Hermione finds her parents in Australia and removes the memorymodification charm she put on them. She initially works for the Ministry of Magicin the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, greatlyimproving life for house elves and their ilk. She later moves to the Department ofMagical Law Enforcement and assists in eradicating oppressive, pro-purebloodlaws.

Rowling also explained the fates of several secondary characters. George Weasleyruns his successful joke shop, initially helped by Ron. George names his first childFred, after his late twin brother. Luna Lovegood searches the world for odd andunique creatures. She eventually marries Rolf, a grandson of the famed naturalist,Newt Scamander.[7] Her father's publication, The Quibbler, has returned to its usualcondition of "advanced lunacy" and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.Firenze is welcomed back into his herd, who acknowledge that his pro-humanleanings were not shameful, but honourable. Dolores Umbridge is arrested,interrogated, and imprisoned for crimes against Muggle-borns.

There have been transformations in the wider wizarding world. KingsleyShacklebolt is the Minister for Magic, with Percy Weasley working under him as ahigh official. As one of the reforms introduced by Shacklebolt, Azkaban no longeruses Dementors. Consequently, the world is now a "much sunnier place". Harry,Ron, and Hermione have been instrumental in reforming the Ministry. At Hogwarts,Slytherin House has become more diluted and is no longer the pureblood bastion itonce was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers. Voldemort's jinx on the DefenceAgainst the Dark Arts (DADA) position was broken with his death, and there is apermanent DADA teacher. A portrait of Snape, who briefly served as HogwartsHeadmaster following Dumbledore's death, does not appear in the headmaster'soffice, as he abandoned his post. Harry intends to lobby for the addition of Snape'sportrait, and has publicly revealed Snape's true allegiance.

Pre-release history

Choice of title

Shortly before releasing the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had consideredthree different titles for the book.[5][8] The final title, "Harry Potter and the DeathlyHallows" was released to the public on December 21, 2006 via a special Christmas-themed hangman puzzle on Rowling's website, confirmed shortly afterwards by thebook's publishers.[9] Asked during a live chat as to the other titles she had beenconsidering, Rowling mentioned Harry Potter and the Elder Wand and HarryPotter and the Peverell Quest.[5]

Marketing campaigns

Scholastic's Seven QuestionsIn the build-up to the book's release, American publisherScholastic released seven questions that fans would findanswered in the final book:[10]

Question 1: Who Will Live? Who Will Die?

Question 2: Is Snape Good or Evil?

Question 3: Will Hogwarts Reopen?

Question 4: Who Winds Up With Whom?

Question 5: Where are the Horcruxes?

Question 6: Will Voldemort Be Defeated?

Question 7: What are the Deathly Hallows?

The launch was celebrated by an all-night book signing and reading at the NaturalHistory Museum in London, which Rowling attended along with 1700 guests chosenby ballot.[11] Rowling intends to tour the USA in October, where another event willbe held at Carnegie Hall in New York with tickets allocated by sweepstake.[12]

Scholastic Inc., the American publisher of the Harry Potter series, launched a multi-million dollar "THERE WILL SOON BE 7" marketing campaign with a 'KnightBus' travelling to forty libraries across the United States, online fan discussions andcompetitions, collectible bookmarks, tattoos, and the staged release of sevenDeathly Hallows questions most debated by fans.[13]

Scholastic also hosted "Harry Potter Place" — a magical and interactive streetcelebration at Scholastic headquarters in New York City, where the first U.S. signededition of Deathly Hallows were unveiled on July 20.[14] The festivities included a20 foot (6 metre)-high Whomping Willow, face-painting, wand-making, fire-eaters,magicians, jugglers and stilt-walkers.

Several bookstores set up small kiosks displaying free-to-take bookmarks. Thebookmarks show reasons why Severus Snape should be considered a friend or a foeon opposite sides along with the Deathly Hallows logo at the bottom.[15]

J. K. Rowling arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of themissing Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when DeathlyHallows was launched on 21 July and said that she hoped that the posters would bedisplayed prominently in shops all over the world.[16]

Rowling on finishing the book

Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh inJanuary 2007, and left a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her roomwhich read: "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows inthis room (652) on 11 January 2007".[17] In a statement on her website, she said,"I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed Icould feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric." She compared her mixedfeelings to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition ofDavid Copperfield, "a two-years' imaginative task." "To which," she added, "I canonly sigh, try seventeen years, Charles..." She ended her message, "Deathly Hallowsis my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."[18]

When asked before publication about the forthcoming book, Rowling stated that shecould not change the ending even if she wanted to. "These books have been plottedfor such a long time, and for six books now, that they're all leading a certaindirection. So, I really can't."[19] She also commented that the final volume relatedclosely to the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,"almost as though they are two halves of the same novel."[20] She has said that thelast chapter of the book was written "in something like 1990", as part of her earliestwork on the series.[21]

Spoiler embargo

Rowling made a public request that anyone with advance information about thecontent of the last book should keep it to themselves, in order to avoid spoiling theexperience for other readers.[22] To this end, Bloomsbury invested GB£10 millionin an attempt to keep the book's contents secure until the July 21 release date.[23]

Arthur Levine, U.S. editor of the Harry Potter series, denied distributing any copiesof Deathly Hallows in advance for press review, but two U.S. papers published earlyreviews anyway.[24][25]

Online leaks and early delivery

The title page of theleaked book.

In the week prior to its release, a number of texts purporting to be genuine leaksappeared in various forms. On July 16, a set of photographs representing all 759pages of the U.S. edition was leaked to the Internet and was fully transcribed priorto the official release date.[26][27][28][29] The photographs later appeared on websitesand peer-to-peer networks, leading Scholastic to seek a subpoena in order toidentify one source.[30] This represented the most serious security breach in theHarry Potter series' history.[31] Rowling and her lawyer admitted that there weregenuine online leaks.[32] Reviews published in both The Baltimore Sun and The NewYork Times on July 18, 2007 corroborated many of the plot elements from this leak,and about one day prior to release, The New York Times confirmed that the maincirculating leak was real.[33]

Scholastic announced that approximately one ten-thousandth (0.01%) of the U.S.supply had been shipped early — interpreted to mean about 1,200 copies.[34] Onereader in Maryland received a copy of the book in the mail from DeepDiscount.comfour days before it was launched, which evoked incredulous responses on the part ofboth Scholastic and DeepDiscount. Scholastic initially reported that they weresatisfied it had been a "human error" and would not discuss possible penalties.[35]

However, the following day Scholastic announced that it would be launching legalaction against DeepDiscount.com and its distributor, Levy Home Entertainment.[36]

Scholastic has filed for damages in Chicago's Circuit Court of Cook County,claiming[37] that DeepDiscount engaged in a "complete and flagrant violation of theagreements that they knew were part of the carefully constructed release of thiseagerly awaited book." Some of the early release books soon appeared on eBay, inone case being sold to Publishers Weekly for US$250 from an initial price ofUS$18.[38]

Price wars and other controversies

ASDA,[39] plus several other UK supermarkets, had already taken pre-orders for thebook at a heavily discounted price. ASDA then sparked a further price war two daysbefore the book's launch by announcing they would sell it for just GB£5.00 a copy

(about US$10). Other retail chains also offered the book at discounted prices.[40] InMalaysia, a similar price war brought about controversy regarding sales of thebook.[41] The book's early Saturday morning release in Israel was criticised forviolating the Sabbath.[42]

Sales

Queue in London atWaterstone's near PicadillyCircus; some people campedoutside the bookseller for overtwo days to be among the firstto get the book.

On 21 July 2007, all English language editions, except for the American andCanadian editions, were released at one minute past midnight (00:01) BST; theAmerican and Canadian editions were released at one minute past midnight (00:01),local time.[43][44] It was released globally in 93 countries.[45] The book reached thetop spot on both the Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble best-seller lists just a fewhours after the date of publication was announced on 1 February 2007.[46] In July2007 the U.K. newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported that it had been bought bymore than 10% of the British population in the 5 days since its release.[47]

The countdown to thebook's release outside of ToysR Us, Times Square, NewYork City.

Retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders reported that moreorders had been placed for this book than for any other in history,[48] withAmazon.com stating that advance orders of the book reached 2.2 millionworldwide,[49] breaking the record set by the sixth book of 1.5 million.[50]

Scholastic announced an unprecedented initial print run of 12 million copies.[13]

A bookstore in the UnitedStates just before the midnightrelease.

On the book's first day of sales, it sold 11 million copies in the UK and U.S.,breaking the record of 9 million held by the sixth book.[51] In the U.S., 8.3 millionhardcovers were sold during the first 24 hours, breaking the record of 6.9 million setby the sixth book.[52] In addition 400,000 copies were sold in Germany in the first24 hours,[47] all 250,000 copies made available in Holland and Belgium,[47] 170,000in India,[53] and just over 573,000 copies in Australia;[54] while in Canada over800,000 copies were sold in the first two days.[55] Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S.book chain, reported all-time record sales of 1.8 million copies in the first two daysincluding 560,000 in the first hour - a rate of more than 150 copies per second. Theaudiobook broke records as well, with 225,000 copies sold in the first two days,according to Random House Audio's Listening Library.[56] Borders reported recordsales of 1.2 million copies on the first day, breaking the record of 850,000 set by thesixth book.[57]

During the run-up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,Bloomsbury's stock lost more than £151M in value. Investors were reacting to theend of the publisher's key product.[58] In the last financial year in which no HarryPotter book was released, Bloomsbury's profits dropped by 75%.

Critical receptionThe Baltimore Sun's critic, Mary Carole McCauley's, praised the entire Harry Potterseries as "a classic bildungsroman, or coming-of-age tale." She noted that "[b]ookseven... lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished the earlier novels.Even the writing is more prosaic", but then observed that given the book's darkersubject matter, "[h]ow could it be otherwise?"[59]

Reviewer Alice Fordham from The Times writes that "Rowling’s genius is not justher total realisation of a fantasy world, but the quieter skill of creating charactersthat bounce off the page, real and flawed and brave and lovable." Fordhamconcludes, "We have been a long way together, and neither [Rowling] nor Harry letus down in the end."[60]

By contrast, Jenny Sawyer of the Christian Science Monitor says that while "Thereis much to love about the Harry Potter series, from its brilliantly realized magicalworld to its multilayered narrative," however, "A story is about someone whochanges. And, puberty aside, Harry doesn't change much. As envisioned byRowling, he walks the path of good so unwaveringly that his final victory overVoldemort feels, not just inevitable, but hollow."[61]

Stephen King criticised the reactions of some reviewers to the books, includingMcCauley, for jumping too quickly to surface conclusions of the work.[62] He felt

this was inevitable, because of the extreme secrecy before launch which did notallow reviewers time to read and consider the book, but meant that many earlyreviews lacked depth. Rather than finding the writing style disappointing he felt ithad matured and improved. He acknowledged that the subject matter of the bookshad become more adult, and that Rowling had clearly been writing with the adultaudience firmly in mind since the middle of the series. He compared the works inthis respect to Huckleberry Finn and Alice in Wonderland which also achievedsuccess and have become established classics, in part by appealing to the adultaudience as well as children. Criticisms of the book included a tendency onRowling's part to spend too much time on some elements, such as the extendedperiod of camping out through the books, and a certain tendency to produce magicalsolutions out of nowhere in a sticky situation. This is perhaps inevitable, in a worldof magic, but King also attributed some of this to Rowling having fun andintroducing humour into her work.

TranslationsMain article: Harry Potter in translation

Following a pre-release question from the Swedish publisher about the difficulty oftranslating the two words "Deathly Hallows" without having read the book, Rowlingrevealed an alternative title from which non-English editions could be translated:Harry Potter and the Relics of Death.[63] Translation of the book is underway in arange of languages.[64]

Editions

Stack of the Scholasticversion displayed at ComicCon 2007.

Bloomsbury (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, etc.)

ISBN 0-7475-9105-9 HardcoverISBN 0-7475-9106-7 Hardcover (adult edition)ISBN 0-7475-9107-5 Hardcover (special edition)

Scholastic (United States, etc.)

ISBN 0-545-01022-5 HardcoverISBN 0-545-02937-6 Deluxe Hardcover

Raincoast (Canada, etc. - Same as Bloomsbury editions)

ISBN 1551929767 HardcoverISBN 1551929783 Hardcover (adult edition)

References

1. ^ a b Harry Potter finale sales hit 11 m. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-07-272. ^ The Libation Bearers is the second in a trilogy of tragedies called The

Oresteia. See Oresteia#The Libation Bearers. The quotation's wordingdepends on the translation used - Rowling used the Robert Fagles translationpublished by Penguin Classics.

3. ^ More Fruits of Solitude is the second part of the work Fruits of Solitude(1682), a collection of aphorisms published by William Penn. The full Pennquote used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last four lines ofthe aphorism titled Union of Friends.

4. ^ Brown, Jen. "Finished Potter? Rowling tells what happened next.",MSNBC, 2007-07-25. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.

5. ^ a b c "Online Chat Transcript", Bloomsbury, 2007-07-31. Retrieved on2007-07-31.

6. ^ Toler, Lindsay. "Rowling Answers Fans' Final Questions", AssociatedPress. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.

7. ^ a b "Rowling Answers Fans' Final Questions", MSN Entertainment, 2007-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.

8. ^ J.K.Rowling Official Site. News Archive. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.9. ^ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bloomsbury Publishing (2006-12-

21). Retrieved on 2006-12-21.10. ^ Harry Potter: Shrieking Shack Poll. Scholastic. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.11. ^ Harry Potter. scholastic. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.12. ^ USA open book tour. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.13. ^ a b Scholastic Announces Record-Breaking 12.1 Million First Printing In

United States Of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.Scholastic (2007-03-14). Retrieved on 2007-03-29.

14. ^ Scholastic to Host 'Harry Potter Place'. Scholastic (2007-06-26). Retrievedon 2007-06-26.

15. ^ Laminated Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 7 Snape Bookmark (2007-06-26).16. ^ "Rowling in Madeleine poster plea", BBC News, 2007-07-16. Retrieved on

2007-07-17. 17. ^ Cornwell, Tim (2007-02-03). Finish or bust - JK Rowling's unlikely

message in an Edinburgh hotel room. The Scotsman. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.

18. ^ "Rowling reacts to Potter's end", USA Today, Associated Press, 2007-02-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.

19. ^20. ^ Rowling, J. K. (2004-03-15). Progress on Book Six. J. K. Rowling Official

Site. Retrieved on 2006-12-23.21. ^ ""Rowling to kill two in final book"", BBC News, 2006-06-27. Retrieved

on 2007-07-25. 22. ^ J.K.Rowling Official Site. J K Rowling (14 May 2007). Retrieved on

2007-05-18.23. ^ 10 million pounds to guard 7th Harry Potter book. Rediff (16 July 2007).

Retrieved on 2007-07-16.24. ^ Editor Says 'Deathly Hallows' Is Unleakable. MTV Overdrive (video) (July

17, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.25. ^ There was speculation that some shops would break the embargo and

distribute copies of the book early, as the penalty imposed for previousinstallments — that the distributor would not be supplied with any furthercopies of the series — would no longer be a deterrent.Potter embargo 'couldbe broken'. BBC News (12 July 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.

26. ^ Harry Potter Fans Transcribe Book from Photos. TorrentFreak (18 July2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.

27. ^ New Potter book leaked online. Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfaxnewspapers (18 July 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

28. ^ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows leaked to BitTorrent. TorrentFreak(17 July 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.

29. ^ Harry Potter Spoiler Count. Los Angeles Times (20 July 2007). Retrievedon 2007-07-20.

30. ^ New Did the Times Betray Harry Potter Fans?. New York Times (30 July2007).

31. ^ Web abuzz over Potter leak claims (17 July 2007).32. ^ Malvern, Jack. "Harry Potter and the great web leak", Times, 2007-07-19.

Retrieved on 2007-07-19. 33. ^ Web abuzz over Potter leak claims (17 July 2007).34. ^ Publisher slams book on "Harry Potter" distributor. Newsday (18 July

2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.35. ^ The spell is broken. The Baltimore Sun (18 July 2007). Retrieved on

2007-07-18.36. ^ Press release from Scholastic. PR Newswire (from Scholastic) (July 18,

2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.37. ^ Distributor mails final Potter book early. MSNBC Interactive (July 18,

2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.38. ^ I Was an eBay Voldemort. National Review Online (20 July 2007).

Retrieved on 2007-07-20.39. ^ In the UK, supermarket chain Asda claimed that the retail price of the book

(GB£17.99, equivalent to about US$37 at the time of release) was "holdingchildren to ransom". The publisher responded by threatening to withdrawAsda's supply of the book, claiming a previously unpaid debt.Potter book firmclashes with supermarket over price. Times Newspapers (2007-07-17). Asdaissued an apology and settled the debt, and its supply of the book wasrestored. http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2128891,00.html

40. ^ At these prices the book is a loss leader, but attracting large numbers ofcustomers to their stores. This caused uproar from traditional UK booksellerswho argued they had no hope of competing in those conditions.http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah6148.shtml Access Hollywood.Independent shops protested loudest, but even Waterstone’s, the UK's largestdedicated chain bookstore, could not compete with the supermarket price.Some small bookstores hit back by buying their stock from the supermarketsrather than their wholesalers. Asda tried to counter this by imposing a limit oftwo copies per customer to prevent bulk-buying. Philip Wicks, a spokesmanfor the UK Booksellers Association, said: 'It is a war we can't even participatein. We think it's a crying shame that the supermarkets have decided to treat itas a loss-leader, like a can of baked beans." Michael Norris, an analyst atSimba Information, said: "You are not only lowering the price of the book. Atthis point, you are lowering the value of reading."

41. ^ Harry Potter and the ugly price war. The Star Malaysia (21 July 2007).Retrieved on 2007-07-21. Four of the biggest bookstore chains in Malaysia,mph Bookstores, Popular Bookstores, Times and Harris, decided to pull HarryPotter and the Deathly Hallows off their shelves as a protest against Tescoand Carrefour hypermarkets. The retail price of the book in Malaysia is MYR109.90 (about GB£16), while the hypermarkets Tesco and Carrefour sell thebook at MYR 69.90 (about GB£10). The move by the bookstores was seen asan attempt to pressure the distributor Penguin Books to remove the booksfrom the hypermarkets. However, as of 24 July 2007, the price war has ended,with the four bookstores involved resuming selling the books in their storeswith discount. Penguin Books has also confirmed that Tesco and Carrefourare selling the book at a loss, urging them to practice good business sense andfair trade.Bookstores end ‘Harry Potter’ boycott. The Star Malaysia (24 July2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-24.

42. ^ Trade and Industry Minister Eli Yishai commented that "It is forbidden,according to Jewish values and Jewish culture, that a thing like this should

take place at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Let them do it on another day."Plans forSabbath sales of Harry Potter draw threats of legal action in Israel.International Herald Tribune (July 17, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18. Yishaiindicated that he would issue indictments and fines based on the Hours ofWork and Rest Law.Yishai warns stores over Harry Potter book launch onShabbat. Haaretz (July 21, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

43. ^ Rowling, J. K.. "Publication Date for Harry Potter and the DeathlyHallows", J. K. Rowling Official Site, 2007-02-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.

44. ^ Official Raincoast Harry Potter page. Raincoast Books. Retrieved on2007-07-20.

45. ^ "Potter books fly off the shelves", BBC, 2007-07-21. Retrieved on2007-07-23.

46. ^ 'HPDH' reaches no. 1 on U.S. Amazon & BN lists. HPANA (2007-02-01).Retrieved on 2007-03-29.

47. ^ a b c Issue number 47,318 Tuesday 24 July 2007 p9 New Harry Potter bookin over 10pc of homes

48. ^ Blais, Jacqueline. "After final 'Harry Potter' book, can anyone fill thevoid?", USA Today, 2007-05-03. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.

49. ^ 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Sells 2.2 Million Online.50. ^ 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Breaks Online Record.51. ^ Harry Potter finale sales hit 11m.52. ^ 'Deathly Hallows' sells 8.3 million in first 24 hours. Retrieved on 2007-07-

25.53. ^ Potter magic: 1.7 lakh copies sold, The Hindu, 22 July, 200754. ^ Bloomsbury Says `Harry Potter' Sold 573,845 Copies in Australia,

News.com.au, 21 July, 200755. ^ Canadian Potter sales up 25% over No. 6, Globe and Mail, 24 July 200756. ^ 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Breaks Records. Retrieved on

2007-07-25.57. ^ Final Harry Potter book posts spellbinding sales. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.58. ^ "Harry Potter and a nightmare for the high street bookshops", The

Independent, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 59. ^ McCauley, Mary Carole (July 18, 2007). An inevitable ending to Harry

Potter series. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.60. ^ Fordham, Alice (July 21, 2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The

Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.61. ^ Sawyer, Jenny (July 25, 2007). Missing from 'Harry Potter" – a real moral

struggle. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.62. ^ Stephen King. J K Rowling's Ministry of Magic. entertainment weekly.

Retrieved on 2007-8-21.63. ^ Släppdatum för sjunde Harry Potter-boken klar!. Tiden. Retrieved on

2007-07-24.64. ^ The languages include Vietnamese (tentatively titled Harry Potter và tử

thần tích expected to be released in mid-October, 2007 Thôngtin từ NXB Trẻ về Harry Potter 7. Trẻ Publishing House (July 24, 2007).Retrieved on 2007-07-26., French (as Harry Potter et les reliques de la mortwith an expected release date of October 26, 2007 Annonce officielle de laversion française du tome 7, German (Harry Potter und die Heiligtümer desTodes, October 27, 2007 www.carlsen-harrypotter.de) and Finnish (name yetundisclosed) March 7, 2008www.tammi.net/harrypotter . TheHebrew translation is due to appear in Israel in December 2007. (ChicagoJewish Star, July 27, 2007).

External links

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