The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels - Softcover

Granger, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0972322108 ISBN 13: 9780972322102

Publisher: Zossima Pr, 2002

Synopsis

What you need to know about The Hidden Key to Harry Potter:

1) It is the first critical study to unlock the inner meaning of Harry Potter by treating the series seriously as literature along the lines of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

2) It is the first exposé to identify Joanne Rowling as a Christian who consciously writes Christian Fantasy in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

3) It is the first full-fledged effort to predict Potter’s future course in detail – an audacious and thought-provoking adventure offered to fellow enthusiasts.

4) It is the first Muggle textbook suitable for use at Hogwarts – bringing humor, fun, and WOW! excitement to the "serious" business of Pottermania.

Low Road critics have panned the bestselling Harry Potter novels as "the literary equivalent of fast food" and as a gateway to the occult. But no one has explained the worldwide popularity of Ms. Rowling’s fiction or read it as one would read Tolkien, Hemingway, or Shakespeare. The Hidden Key takes the High Road to understanding Harry Potter’s success, through an exploration of the series’ structure, themes, and symbolism.

The astonishing conclusion of this investigation is that Ms. Rowling, demonized by some Christian critics because of the magical setting of her books, is ironically writing the most charming and challenging Christian fiction for children since Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. The Hidden Key demonstrates that all the Potter books teach Christian doctrines - sometimes with subtlety, often baldly - in their plot, imagery, and character development. Lambasted by critics who have not read her books closely or are unfamiliar with traditional Christian literature, Ms. Rowling’s genius has been overlooked despite her books’ success.

A lover and teacher of the Great Books – including the great children’s books he reads his seven children – Mr. Granger applies his knowledge of classical philosophy and Christian traditions to reveal the secret message that explains the magic power of Harry Potter.

Find out these secrets inside:

* What is the hidden key to Harry Potter?
* Is Harry’s magic dangerous – or quite the opposite?
* What is the evidence that Rowling is a Christian novelist?
* Is the author an "Inkling"? How have we been so bamboozled?
* Who is the real-world model for Gilderoy Lockhart?
* Who is Harry, really? Why does Lord Voldemort want him dead?
* Will Wormtail kill Voldemort as Wormtongue killed Saruman?
* What may happen in the upcoming Potter books?
* How does it all end? – an UNAUTHORIZED prediction.

About this title

From the Publisher

Joanne Rowling’s Harry Potter is the media event of the new millennium. Harry’s books and movies have hundreds of millions of fans. But whence this popularity? Fans say they love the stories and characters. Ivory Tower pundits and some Churchmen tell us the books are popular because they are so bad. Some Christian apologists have written books saying the books are harmless. Other critics have called the books Disney cartoon literature, Fast Food Reading, even a gateway to the occult!

But do any of these approaches answer the question? Could the books be so much more popular than other books because they’re much better and more profound than other books? Might readers not love them because they’re wise and wonderful?

This is the novel approach of The Hidden Key to Harry Potter – to take Harry Potter seriously as literature and explore the meaning of the series’ structure, themes, and symbolism as one would Shakespeare or Dickens. Mr. Granger begins by examining the themes of prejudice, death and bereavement, choice, and change. Next he guides the reader to an understanding of why conventional interpretations are insufficient, and why these stories (and their power) only make sense when viewed from a symbolist vantage point. Using his Latin and knowledge of the Great Books, he is able to explain convincingly why and how Ms. Rowling (who like Mr. Granger has a university degree in classical languages) has created a story and magical world that rest on Classical Philosophy and Christian Theology.

The astonishing conclusion of this exploration is that Ms. Rowling, demonized by some Christian critics because of the magical setting of the books, is writing the most charming and challenging Christian fiction for children since Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. The Hidden Key demonstrates that each book and the series as a whole teach explicitly Christian doctrines, sometimes with subtlety but often boldly, in their plot, imagery, and character development.

Hidden Key includes perceptive reviews of critical comments to date and rich exegesis of the Harry Potter books’ formulas, influences and themes. Even fans who have read the books several times will be astonished at the layers of traditional Christian imagery and meaning revealed in Hidden Key: from the Resurrection Journey that Harry takes every year at Hogwarts to the alchemical substances represented by each character, from the symbols of unicorn, phoenix, and philosopher’s stone to the psychology of Harry’s trials and purification. Hidden Key explains the Christian meaning of Harry’s name and is bold enough to predict both his destiny as Heir of Gryffindor and as a modern Christian ‘Everyman’ or Pilgrim.

C. S. Lewis fans will be delighted to learn of Ms. Rowling’s pointed references to his Narnia series and traditional apologetics. The big surprise here is that Hogwarts’ magical milieu, rather than inviting readers to invocational sorcery forbidden by scripture, turns out to be a powerful critique of modernity’s materialist and secular ideologies. The magic of Harry Potter is not demonic but only more evidence of his being on the side of the angels (the good angels!). Not only is Ms. Rowling not a Satanist – she is the most literate Christian Fantasy writer this side of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and their circle of Inklings!

From the Inside Flap

What the experts are saying about The Hidden Key to Harry Potter:

John Granger's The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is a delightful and provocative book. Granger makes a compelling case for reading J.K. Rowling as an "Inkling" on the order of C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. Granger brings his considerable linguistic skills and his broad understanding of literary and symbolic allusion to bear on the Potter books. A timely and accessible volume, Christian parents who are wondering whether the Potter series is harmful for their children should first read Rowling and then Granger's Hidden Key. Older children and adults who have loved Potter will find The Hidden Key hard to put down. One of the most interesting aspects of The Hidden Key is Granger's bold "prediction" of what will happen in the final three volumes of the Potter series. While predicting in print what an author will write is an endeavor practically destined for failure and ridicule, Granger offers some intriguing speculations, and I, for one, wouldn't be surprised if he's gotten quite a lot right.

- Dr. Scott H. Moore, Great Texts Program and Professor of Philosophy, Baylor University

The Hidden Key to Harry Potter captures the reader by stages: its theses that Harry is a Christian hero and Rowling is underestimated and misunderstood seem at first surprising, then engaging, and finally persuasive. I invite readers to go on a journey into Harry Potter's world and see things they never recognized before.

- Frederica Mathewes-Green, Author of "Facing East" and "The Illumined Heart"

The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is an important contribution toward the proper understanding of Christian fantasy. It combines literary and spiritual insight with humor, resulting in a ground-breaking resource for readers of C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien as well as J. K. Rowling. Hidden Key is the first book to assert that Rowling's conscious use of Christian symbols and themes are intrinsic to her story. With this book, Mr. Granger proves himself a "Defense Against The Dark Arts" master in the truest sense.

- Robert Trexler, Editor of CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C.S. Lewis Society

Open Letter to the Talk Radio Community: We had John Granger on our program the day the new Harry Potter film opened. All we knew was that John had written a book called "The Hidden Key to Harry Potter." We booked him on the phone and matched him up with Reverend Joe Chambers, a rather famous Charlotte Fundamentalist minister famous for his past opposition to Barney the Dinosaur and Pokeman, in addition to Harry Potter. John was absolutely engaging, totally informed on the subject, and was completely able to defend his points up against an ultimate true believer. With good humor and an articulate manner, we enthusiastically recommend him as a solo guest, or up against your best local fundamentalist. Listeners are passionate about this topic and John's a great vehicle to bring it to the audience. - Brad Krantz, Co-host of "Spires and Krantz", 3-6pm, WBT, Charlotte

The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is a jazzy, gutsy exposition of the secret Christian symbolism that pervades J.K. Rowling's brilliant series. John Granger shows that Rowling, far from being an agent for the occult, belongs firmly in the Inklings tradition of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Using his "hidden key", he even dares to predict what will happen to Harry Potter in the rest of the series. Let us hope that Rowling doesn't decide to prove him wrong!

- Stratford Caldecott, Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture

John Granger's The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is the only comprehensive attempt to analyse the genuinely Christian elements in J. K. Rowling's immensely impactive series. Granger will be thought by some to be overstating the case, but everyone else seems to be understating it. The issue, as Granger makes clear, is not the doctrinal precision of Rowling's personal beliefs, but the themes and corresponding values which her books convey. We Sherlockians well understand this: Holmes's perspective transcended Conan Doyle's, and the prophets of the Old Testament often wrote not knowing the full impact of their prophecies. The Hidden Key is "must" reading for Potterites, whatever their religious orientation. - Prof. Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, Christian Apologist, Barrister, Educator, and Author of "Myth, Allegory, and Gospel" and "Cross and Crucible"

Edition details

• Publisher: Zossima Pr
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0972322108
• ISBN 13: 9780972322102
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 364