Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter books
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.jpg
Author J. K. Rowling
Illustrators Jason Cockcroft (UK)
Mary GrandPré (US)
Genre Fantasy
Publishers Bloomsbury (UK)
Arthur A. Levine/
Scholastic (US)
Raincoast (Canada)
Released 16 July 2005
Book no. Six
Sales ~65 million
Story timeline 1 August 1996-June 10, 1997
Chapters 30
Pages 607 (UK)
652 (US)
ISBN 0747581088
Preceded by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Followed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on 16 July 2005, is the sixth of seven novels from British author J. K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores Lord Voldemort's past, and Harry's preparations for the final battle amidst emerging romantic relationships and the emotional confusions and conflict resolutions characteristic of mid-adolescence.

The book sold nine million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record at the time which was eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[1]

Contents

Plot

Harry Potter and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their sixth year of magical education. It is announced that Severus Snape has become the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor, while Horace Slughorn has taken Snape's place as Potions teacher. Harry discovers that the previous owner of his Potions textbook, the "Half-Blood Prince", has annotated the book with refinements that allow Harry to excel in class and become a favorite of Slughorn's. Slughorn is also intrigued by the rumor that Harry is the "Chosen One" who will finally kill the evil Lord Voldemort, who has recently regained power and is set on conquering the wizarding world.

Harry recognizes his attraction to Ginny Weasley, but fears that acting on it will harm his friendship with Ron, her overprotective older brother. Ron begins dating Lavender Brown, causing a rift between him and Hermione, who secretly harbors feelings for him. The rift heals only when Ron is nearly killed by poisoned mead intended for Hogwarts' headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Harry suspects that his nemesis, Draco Malfoy, has become one of Voldemort's supporters and believes he was behind both the mead and a previous failed attack on Dumbledore's life. However, no one seems to believe him.

During private meetings held throughout the year, Dumbledore uses his Pensieve to show Harry memories of Voldemort's past. A memory Harry procures from Slughorn confirms Dumbledore's suspicion that Voldemort splintered his soul into seven fragments in order to achieve near immortality. Six of these fragments are contained in magical objects called Horcruxes, which must be destroyed before Voldemort can be killed. Two Horcruxes have already been destroyed: Tom Riddle's diary, which Harry stabbed with a basilisk fang in his second year, and Voldemort's grandfather's ring, which Dumbledore destroyed during the summer. Dumbledore suspects that the remaining Horcruxes are Voldemort's pet snake Nagini and objects formerly owned by Hogwarts' founders: Salazar Slytherin's locket, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, and an unidentified object of either Godric Gryffindor's or Rowena Ravenclaw's.

After Snape sees Harry cast a curse from the Half-Blood Prince's book and attempts to confiscate the book, Harry hides it in the Room of Requirement. Harry's Hogwarts House, Gryffindor, wins the school's Quidditch championship; euphoric, Harry spontaneously kisses Ginny, and with Ron's diffident approval, they start dating.

Dumbledore locates a Horcrux and asks Harry for help destroying it. They travel to a cave and retrieve what they believe to be Salazar's locket, but Dumbledore is severely weakened after drinking the magical potion that protects the Horcrux. They return to Hogwarts and see Voldemort's symbol hovering over Hogwarts's Astronomy Tower. At the top of the tower, Dumbledore is confronted by Draco. Draco admits that he was behind the attacks on Dumbledore's life, as Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill him and would kill Draco if he failed, but he cannot bring himself to kill Dumbledore on the spot. However, Snape arrives and kills Dumbledore. Enraged, Harry pursues Snape, who fends off Harry's attacks and reveals that he is the Half-Blood Prince shortly before disapparating.

Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body, only to discover that it is a fake left by someone with the initials R. A. B., who stole the real Horcrux and left a note declaring his opposition to Voldemort. The school year ends with Dumbledore's funeral; he and his wand are buried in a tomb beside the lake on Hogwarts' grounds. After the funeral, Harry breaks up with Ginny, fearing that Voldemort will target her if they continue to see each other. He, Ron, and Hermione decide not to return to school the following year, but to hunt for the remaining Horcruxes instead.

Development

Potter fans wait in lines outside a Borders for the midnight release of the book

Prequels and sequel

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series.[2] The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997 with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, 300 of which were distributed to libraries.[3] By the end of 1997 the UK edition won a National Book Award and a gold medal in the 9- to 11-year-olds category of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.[4] The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999.[5][6] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999.[5][6] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.[7] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest novel in the Harry Potter series, was released 21 June 2003.[8] After the publishing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released 21 July 2007.[9] The book sold 11 million copies within 24 hours of its release: 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US.[1]

Pre-release controversy

The record-breaking publication of Half-Blood Prince was accompanied by controversy. In May 2005 bookmakers in the UK suspended bets on which main character would die in the book amid fears of insider knowledge. A number of high value bets were made on the death of Albus Dumbledore, many coming from the town of Bungay where, it was believed, the books were being printed at the time. Betting was later reopened.[10] Other controversies included the right to read Potter books inadvertently sold before the release date, environmental concerns over the source of the paper used in the printing of millions of books, and fan reactions to the plot developments and revelations of the novel.

Right to read controversy

In early July 2005, a Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, accidentally sold fourteen copies of The Half-Blood Prince before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books before the official release date or from discussing the contents[11]. Purchasers were offered a Harry Potter T-shirt and an autographed copy of the book if they returned their copies before 16 July.

On 15 July, less than twelve hours before the book went on sale in the Eastern time zone, Raincoast warned The Globe and Mail newspaper that publishing a review from a Canada-based writer at midnight, as the paper had promised, would be seen as a violation of the trade secret injunction. The injunction sparked a number of news articles alleging that the injunction had restricted fundamental rights. Canadian law professor Michael Geist posted commentary on his blog;[12] Richard Stallman called for a boycott, requesting that the publisher issue an apology.[13] The Globe and Mail published a review from two UK-based writers in its 16 July edition and posted the Canadian writer's review on its website at 9:00 that morning.[14] Commentary was also provided on the Raincoast website.[15]

Film

Main article: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)

The film based on the sixth book was originally scheduled to be released on 21 November 2008, but was changed to 15 July 2009.[16][17] The screenplay was written by Steve Kloves, and David Yates directed the film.[18] The film is 153 minutes long, making it the third longest Harry Potter film of the series.[19]

Translations

Along with the rest of the books in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was translated into 67 languages.[20] A translation into Scots Gaelic is planned to be released by Bloomsbury in July 2010.[21]

Textual changes

As with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the United States version of the novel has slightly changed text from the British version. One particular section has been remarked upon, where the alteration makes the nature of Dumbledore's offer to Draco Malfoy before Snape kills Dumbledore in the Half-Blood Prince explicit. The reason for the editing of the following text has not been explained on the author's webpage, but the British edition is more ambiguous. The text can be found in chapter 27, "The Lightning-Struck Tower". The U.S. text was changed to match the UK version with the publication of the paperback edition.[22] The parts added in the hardcover United States version have been highlighted in bold, below:

"[...] He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."
 "He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me — forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother — it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban [...]"

—(U.S. Edition p. 591)(CND Edition p. 552), [HP6]

See also


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harry Potter finale sales hit 11 m". BBC. 23 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6912529.stm. Retrieved 20 August 2008. 
  2. ↑ "Harry Potter Books". MuggleNet.com. 1999-2009. http://www.mugglenet.com/books/index.shtml. Retrieved 29 May 2009. 
  3. ↑ Elisco, Lester (2000-2009). "The Phenomenon of Harry Potter". TomFolio.com. http://www.tomfolio.com/PublisherInfo/HarryPotter.asp. Retrieved 22 January 2009. 
  4. ↑ Knapp, N.F. (2003). "In Defense of Harry Potter: An Apologia". School Libraries Worldwide (International Association of School Librarianship) 9 (1): 78–91. http://www.iasl-online.org/files/jan03-knapp.pdf. Retrieved 14 May 2009. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A Potter timeline for muggles". Toronto Star. 14 July 2007. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/235354. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Harry Potter: Meet J.K. Rowling". Scholastic Inc. http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
  7. ↑ "Speed-reading after lights out". London: Guardian News and Media Limited. 19 July 2000. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/jul/19/jkjoannekathleenrowling. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
  8. ↑ "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Book Review". Wolfpack Productions. 2003. http://www.wolfpackproductions.com/harrypotter/book5review.htm. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Rowling unveils last Potter date". BBC. 1 February 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6320733.stm. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
  10. ↑ "Bets reopen on Dumbledore death" from the BBC
  11. ↑ Malvern, Jack; Cleroux, Richard (13 July 2005). "Reading ban on leaked Harry Potter". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article543318.ece. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
  12. ↑ "The Harry Potter Injunction" by Michael Geist
  13. ↑ "Don't Buy Harry Potter Books" by Richard Stallman
  14. ↑ "Much Ado As Harry Potter Hits the Shelves" by The Globe and Mail
  15. ↑ http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/injunction-commentary.html Raincoast.com Retrieved on 04-24-07
  16. ↑ "Coming Sooner: Harry Potter Changes Release Date". TVGuide.com. http://movies.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Harry-Potter-Changes-1005104.aspx. Retrieved 15 April 2009. 
  17. ↑ "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/harry-potter-half-blood-prince-moves/story.aspx?guid={F4F52B7F-D1B1-4DC0-BF8A-AD0D9252BE7A}&dist=hppr. 
  18. ↑ "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/. 
  19. ↑ "Half-Blood Prince Runtime confirmed by several sources"
  20. ↑ Flood, Alison (17 June 2008). "Potter tops 400 million sales". theBookseller.com. The Bookseller. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/61161-page.html. Retrieved 12 September 2008. 
  21. ↑ "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Scottish-Gaelic Edition: J. K. Rowling: Amazon.co.uk: Books". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Philosophers-Stone-Scottish-Gaelic/dp/158234681X. Retrieved 12 December 2008. 
  22. ↑ "Differences between US and UK editions". HP=Lexicon. http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/books/hbp/changes_hbp.html. Retrieved 8 May 2007. 

External links