Pupil of sorcerers

The plot about a boy who does not know that he is a wizard, and about the school of magic, where he is eventually going to study, 35-year-old Englishwoman Joan Cathling Rowling invented back in 1990 (photo: AP )

Once upon a time there was a young mother in England with her little daughter Jessica. And she was ... And she was especially not anyone. In childhood, she studied at the most ordinary school (where, small, chubby, freckled and clumsy quiet, no one paid attention to her). She graduated from the university, gave birth to a child. She failed to get a job - there was no one to leave Jessica with. So I had to live on a manual, and spend the days in a cafe so as not to freeze in an unheated apartment.

In general, the story is complained, but, alas, quite ordinary. That is, it would be quite ordinary if not for one important detail. Sitting in these same cafes and stretching savings for the sake of one cup of Kapuccino for the whole day, Jessikina Mom (called her, by the way, Joan Cathling Rowling) composed fairy tales. Right on paper napkins.

But the most amazing thing is that one fine day these magical stories were taken and published. Of course, in fact, everything went not as smoothly as it would be in the fairy tale about the literary Cinderella, and the Bloomsbury London publishing house was not the first place where Joan sent his manuscript. But what, in essence, the difference is that it was in Bloomsbury that they realized, firstly, to grab the book, and secondly, to make candy from the author’s biography.

It was four years ago, in 1997. Since then, Rowling has published four books: Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Secret Room, Harry Potter and Azkaban Prisoner and Harry Potter and Fire Cup. Three more are planned. In the meantime, those that have already been written, are published by multimillion-dollar circulations, are translated into all languages, receive all conceivable literary prizes and all these years occupy the first lines in the most prestigious lists of bestseller (it is especially noted that even American children were obsessed with Harry Potter, not accustomed to books. However, the first volume had to be renamed Harry Potter and stone sorcerer ": publishers were not sure that their buyers know about the philosopher's stone).

As for Jessikina’s mother, she still walks through the Edinburgh coffee houses and writes stubbornly. Only now he receives crazy fees for this, and a peaceful napkin license is periodically interrupted by another annoying interviewer, who is once again amazed at the simplicity of treatment, sincerity and non -dispersion of Joan, as well as its complete unwillingness to play the role of a star. However, it is difficult to resist and not to notice that she probably was supposed to be so.

I'm not a wizard, I'm just learning
The story of Harry Potter is also in some way a variation of a fairy tale about Cinderella. His parents died (it is believed that in a car accident, but in fact - fighting with an evil sorcerer), and he has to live with a vile aunt, which, of course, is terribly indulging in his fat, harmful son, and keeps his nephew in the closet and is in every possible way. But here (instead of a good godmother), the revenue is a bearded giant with a pink umbrella. And he explains that Harry is a real wizard, only he needs to learn. So the hero enters Hogwarts - the best school of sorcery and magic in the world.

This, perhaps, is the main invention of Rowling. That is, in fact, of course, it is assumed that Hogwarts is only a small part of the parallel world, where exclusively wizards, sorceresses, unicorns and other fantastic creatures live. But such things are invented without any difficulty, the benefit in English literature - from Lewis Carroll to Clive Lewis - there are already bottomless rabbit burrows, wardrobes that lead far to the forest, and other convenient devices for fairy -tale movements.

To make the young hero fight the superior forces of evil is also small wisdom, especially after Tolkien. Not to mention the immensely bred texts, films and computer games from the category of "fantasy".

But the idea with the school of magic was, firstly, not too hackneyed, and secondly, very, very fruitful. The whole secret was that, mixing a certain dose of banal English reality to the fairy tale, not to be mistaken in proportions. (The accuracy, as you know, is the most important thing in the preparation of magical decoctions. At least, this is how the chief Hogwarter specialist in the potions Professor Snape.) Then it remained only to relax and give free rein to the imagination.

As a result, we have: a school express that goes from the platform # 9 3/4; a shop where each beginner is selected by a magic wand (“Take this one - ebonite and unicorn wool, eight and a half inches, very springy!”); brooms flying at different speeds (the speeder the broom - the more expensive it costs); Magic football with five different balls called Quidditch, for which these same brooms are required; biting books included in the list of compulsory literature; a three -headed dog nicknamed a fluff; portraits periodically laughing at each other; owl mail; control for turning the mouse into a snuffbox (minus one point, if a mustache is found in the snuffle); Magic spells, which in fact turn out to be the most ordinary Latin; The lessons in the taming of the hippogrites (the main thing here, it turns out, show politeness). Well, and so on. You can’t list everything.

It seems that the main charm of books about Harry Potter consists just in these cute details, and not in the plot, no matter how dashing it was twisted. Moreover, in the course of action, annoying inconsistencies are periodically found. Take at least a philosopher's stone. It is assumed that it is stored in the most reliable cache in the world. But what is this cache if three beginner wizards who have not even finished the first grade can penetrate there? Or the omniscient director of the school Albus Dumbledore. It seems to be considered the most powerful of all living sorcerers, but for some reason, he cannot distinguish a friend from the traitor without the help of students. Even Harry’s angry aunt is sometimes overgrown with: she, of course, is obliged to sprinkle his nephew in the role, but why give him the old socks for other people's birthday?

All of the above, by the way, does not mean at all that Rowling is not good. On the contrary, they are exciting, easily and funny written and generally pleasant in every way.

It is only strange that the epic about Harry Potter is extremely cute, but nothing more - such a boom caused all over the world. Harry Potter feng clubs and feng sites (among which there is even a division into official and unofficial!) Arise in many in England, America, Japan. And a month ago, such a site started up in Runet ( www.ha r rypoter.narod.ru ). The newspapers have long introduced the term “Potteromania”, in America, a special book of reader reviews was even published. Called "We love Harry Potter."

In general, Harry’s fans divorced so many that they sometimes have to meet with them Rowling at stadiums. They dress in T -shirts with emblems of four colleges of Hogwarts, and round glasses are put on their nose - like Harry Potter (it turns out that the wizards are not able to get rid of myopia. The most that they are capable of is to pronounce a special spell so that the glass does not fog up during the game). By the way, in one English school they already managed to invent the ground version of the Quidditch and even hold a couple of competitions. And in some American schools, on the contrary, Rowling managed to enter the list of prohibited authors - for the promotion of incorrect values.


Fans of Harry Potter dress in T -shirts with emblems of four colleges of Hogwarts, and hook glasses on their nose - like their beloved hero. The fourth book about the little wizard Harry Potter and the Fire Cup has already brought Rowling about 6 million pounds (photo: AP )

Mysterious transformations of toad
This time Russia is not very far behind from the other civilized world. The legal translation of the first book should be published at Rosman Publishing House in December (the self -packing version, as usual, appeared on the Internet a month earlier). The second and third, of course, will be scrapping later, but the rights to them have already been bought.

In appearance, the publication is not very different from English. At least, the cover is very similar to the original (where good illustrators went - a separate question and, it seems, insoluble). But with the translation - alas! - There was a puncture.

Rosman, who had to pretty fought for the rights to Rowling, decided to take the transfer responsibly and reverently. And instead of simply giving the text to one of the celebrities who willingly offered their services, he arranged an open competition. As a result, some unknown Igor Uransky (another literary Cinderella, or rather, Cinderella) won to anyone. The head of the marketing department Tatyana Uspenskaya assures that it was he who best coped with the translation of the control passage stuffed with dialecticisms.

Unfortunately, with other tricky places of light, at first glance, the text turned out to be much worse. Not only in an attempt to abduct the philosophical stone is not accused of “powerful evil”, but a “strong dark” wizard. Not only did all the speaking names, the explanation of which the conscientious English fans even hung on the network ( www.geocities.com/potterica ), remained inadvertent transcriptions and from the Russian text it is generally impossible to understand that the director of the Albus Dumbledore is actually a white bumblebee, but people who are deprived of magical abilities are not just called the magicians. "Mugui", and, say, "muffles" (from English mug - a stupid person). So the absent -minded classmate Harry Neville for no reason replaced the pet: in the original he had a toad, which now and then strove to escape, the translator put his turtle.

However, probably, you should not get so boring. In the end, who knows what they did with all the goblins, trolls, unicorns and centaurs in the remaining thirty countries that are wandering around Hogwarts. But go - read, rejoice. Perhaps they will gradually take root with us. The book is still good.


In 1997, the first book by Rowling was published - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In 1998, the turn of Harry Potter and the secret room came. In 1999, Harry Potter and Azkaban Prisoner appeared. Now these three books have been translated, according to various information, either 31 language, or 35, and their total circulation amounted to about 35 million copies (photo: AP )

STROP: Triumph

Joan Cathling Rowling was born on July 31, 1965 in the English town of Chipping Sodbury. Until 1990, she managed to graduate from the exeter University (specialty: French language and literature), compose two quite adult novels (which later destroyed itself) and change several unremarkable secretary works (one of which was in a publishing house where Joan composed and sent polite refusals to the authors of unacceptable manuscripts).

Once, sitting on a train that was late from Manchester to London, Joan came up with a plot about the boy Harry Potter, who did not know that he was a wizard, and about the school of magic, where he eventually goes to study. It was in 1990. Soon after this, Rowling moved to Portugal - teach English. The work turned out to be good because it left a lot of time to compose an epic about Harry Potter.

In 1992, Joan married a certain Portuguese journalist named Georges Arantsh, from whom she gave birth to a daughter Jessica and with whom she divorced a year later.

Returning to her homeland, she settled in Edinburgh - closer to her younger sister - and continued to compose, the benefit of the time for this was enough: she could not get a job because of the child. But in the end (in 1995), Rowling received a grant from the Scottish Council for Art.

In 1997, the manuscript of the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - managed to attach to the Bloomsbury publishing house for a modest reward of $ 4,000. The book received several prizes, then it was declared the best British children's book of the year, and later beat all the records, holding on the upper lines of the list of bestsellers of New York Times for almost two years (it seems to be not going to fly from there to this day).

In 1998, the turn of Harry Potter and the secret room ("Children's Book of the Year", "Author of the Year" and other and other) came. In 1999, Harry Potter and Azkaban Prisoner appeared, who also received his share of prizes. Now these three books have been translated, according to various information, either 31 language, or 35, and their combined circulation amounted to about 35 million copies.

But all these are just flowers compared to the fourth book - Harry Potter and the Fire Cup. I must say that the name of the next story was kept in the strictest secret until the very last moment, and the plot - even more so. Moreover, according to the unanimous assurances of the British and American publishers, this was done not at all for advertising reasons, but solely by the will of the author. However, to whom the plan belonged originally, it is not so important (although there is no doubt in the fact that it was). The main thing is that he was a success, and even beyond the expectations. On the eve of the "X Day" (in advance on July 8, 2000), bookstores have already stormed crowds of fans, so the owners of some shops had to open the doors at midnight, but the rest were forbidden to start work until noon, so as not to finally disrupt classes in all schools.

The “Cup of Fire” (the initial circulation in the UK is 1 million, in the States - 5.3 million) I immediately beat all conceivable records. The fourth volume of the epic about Harry Potter has already brought Rowling about 6 million pounds, and in general last year, Joan received 20.5 million for her fairy tales, becoming the highest paid woman of the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Rowling company was bought by the LEGO company, and on the very first book, the Warner Bruser studio was going to shoot the film. Spielberg had read the directors for quite some time, but, as reported in press releases, Rowling had “fundamental disagreements” with him, so as a result of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chris Columbus will do (the one that Mrs. Dautfire and Odin Home took off). The premiere is scheduled for November 16, 2001 (it was previously impossible to deal with all special effects that are supposed to the script). In the meantime, at www.harrypotter.ws/movie you can admire the actors and decorations. At the same time, the next, fifth series should be released.


(Photo: AP )

In total, seven books are supposed - one for each academic year in Hogwarts. Rowling came up with the plots for a long time - when she was just starting to write about Harry Potter. But what will happen to the heroes further, of course, for the time being does not reveal.

But recently, Joan announced that she intends for charitable purposes (that is, for nothing, as the Milnovskaya owl said) to publish his favorite Hogwartic manuals: “Fantastic animals and their habitat” and “Quidditch history”.