«Muggles, Monsters and Magicians»: A Literary Analysis of the «Harry Potter» Series (Kulturelle Identitäten / Cultural Identities)

Harry Potter’s global triumph is without precedent. Economically it is the most successful children’s book ever published and at the same time it has become the most widely discussed text for young adults. Why is this so? What does the text offer to its readers? Muggles, Monsters and Magicians deals with these issues and answers these questions. On the basis of a carefully conducted text-based analysis of the whole series it argues that, from a purely literary point of view, Pottermania is not entirely comprehensible. It identifies Rowling’s narrative techniques, explains the world view underlying this series and links it to the literary genres of children’s and fantastic literature.