The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
stephjuliee's review against another edition
3.0
Really cool, especially if you are a big harry potter fan!
mybookalicous's review against another edition
1.0
I have no idea how I managed to finish this book...
dustindikes's review
5.0
These were fantastic. I expected them to be more backstory for the lore of the wizarding world, something similar to The Hogwarts Collection (which was the backstory of characters), but I was completely wrong.
These books detail the real-life origins and inspirations of various creatures and topics from the Harry Potter books. I gathered a fairly large list of other books that I want to look into or read, which I've listed below.
Aside from that, there was also a lot of illustrations (by JK Rowling) and original version changes for the Harry Potter books also documented, which was always interesting.
There are a ton of quotes from the books throughout these. After the first couple of sections, I stopped reading them, as it just slowed me down and I didn't feel the excerpts provided much for me. I was a lot more interested in all the facts being presented than the relevant portions of the books for the topic at hand.
My favorite sections were herbology, divination, and charms.
Below are the books I found referenced, separated by section:
Charms
- Liber Medicinalis (The Book of Medicine) by Quintus Serenus Sammonicus
- A Discourse of Witchcraft as it was Acted in the Family of Mr Edward Farfax of Fuystone
- The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches, Lately Executed in New-England by Cotton Mather
- The History of the Lancashire Witches
- The Book of King Solomon called the Key of Knowledge
Defence Against the Dark Arts
- Accurate Description of the Very Rich Thesaurus of the Principal and Rarest Natural Objects by by Albertus Seba
- Historia Animalium by Idonius
- Tonegawa Zushi - Akamatsu Sotan
- The Historie of Foure-Footed Beasts by Edward Topsell
Potions
- Ortus Sanitatis (The Garden of Health)
- De Laniis et Phitonicis Mulieribu (On Witches and Female Fortune Tellers) by Ulrich Molitor
- Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of the Witches) by Heinrich Kramer
- Bald's Leechbook
- The Compleat History of Druggs by Pierre Pomet
- The Ripley Scroll
- The Compound of Alchymy by George Ripley
- Uraltes Chymisches Werck (Age-Old Chemical Work)
- Splendor Solis
Herbology
- The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes by John Gerard
- Culpeper's Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper
- Herbarium - Gherardo Cibo
- Hortus Eystettensis
- Hortus Hyemalis by John Evelyn
- A Curious Herbal by Elizabeth Blackwell
- Temple of Flora by Robert John Thornton
- De Materia Medica (On Medical Material) by Pedanius Dioscorides
- Illustrated Herbal by Giovanni Cadamosto
Divination
- Mother Shipton Wonders!!! Past, Present, and to come; being the strange prophecies and uncommon predictions of the famous Mohter Shipton
- Practical Guide to Crystal Gazing by John Melville
The Magic of Jewels and Charms by George Fredrick Kunz
- The Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy
- Confessions: Memoirs of a Modern Seer by Cheiro
- Tea-Cup Reading and the Art of Fortune-Telling by Tea-Leaves by a Highland Seer
- How to Read the Future with Tea Leaves
- Napoleon's Oraculum (The Dream Book)
Astronomy
- Dunhuang Star Atlas
- Astronomica - Hyginus
- Astronomicum Caesareum by Petrus Apianus
- Mandeville's Travels by Sir John Mandeville
- Rudolphine Tables
Care of Magical Creatures
- Ambroise Pare's Discourse
- On the Properties of Animals
- The Birds of America by John James Audubon
- Orlando Furioso (Furious Roland) by Lodovico Ariosto
- Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium by Maria Sibylla Merian
- Homer's Odyssey
- Fishes, Crayfishes and Crabs, of Diverse Colours and Extraordinary Form, That Are Found Around the Islands of the Moluccas and on the Coasts of the Southern Lands by Louis Renard
- Mundus Subterraneus (The Underground World) by Athanasius Kircher
- Serpentum et Draconum Historiae (A History of Snakes and Dragons) by Ulisse Aldrovandi
- Historia Animalium by Conrad Gessner
- L'Histoire et Description du Phoenix (The History and Description of the Phoenix) by Guy de la Garde
- Collection of Rarities by Sultan Muhammed Balkhi
These books detail the real-life origins and inspirations of various creatures and topics from the Harry Potter books. I gathered a fairly large list of other books that I want to look into or read, which I've listed below.
Aside from that, there was also a lot of illustrations (by JK Rowling) and original version changes for the Harry Potter books also documented, which was always interesting.
There are a ton of quotes from the books throughout these. After the first couple of sections, I stopped reading them, as it just slowed me down and I didn't feel the excerpts provided much for me. I was a lot more interested in all the facts being presented than the relevant portions of the books for the topic at hand.
My favorite sections were herbology, divination, and charms.
Below are the books I found referenced, separated by section:
Charms
- Liber Medicinalis (The Book of Medicine) by Quintus Serenus Sammonicus
- A Discourse of Witchcraft as it was Acted in the Family of Mr Edward Farfax of Fuystone
- The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches, Lately Executed in New-England by Cotton Mather
- The History of the Lancashire Witches
- The Book of King Solomon called the Key of Knowledge
Defence Against the Dark Arts
- Accurate Description of the Very Rich Thesaurus of the Principal and Rarest Natural Objects by by Albertus Seba
- Historia Animalium by Idonius
- Tonegawa Zushi - Akamatsu Sotan
- The Historie of Foure-Footed Beasts by Edward Topsell
Potions
- Ortus Sanitatis (The Garden of Health)
- De Laniis et Phitonicis Mulieribu (On Witches and Female Fortune Tellers) by Ulrich Molitor
- Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of the Witches) by Heinrich Kramer
- Bald's Leechbook
- The Compleat History of Druggs by Pierre Pomet
- The Ripley Scroll
- The Compound of Alchymy by George Ripley
- Uraltes Chymisches Werck (Age-Old Chemical Work)
- Splendor Solis
Herbology
- The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes by John Gerard
- Culpeper's Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper
- Herbarium - Gherardo Cibo
- Hortus Eystettensis
- Hortus Hyemalis by John Evelyn
- A Curious Herbal by Elizabeth Blackwell
- Temple of Flora by Robert John Thornton
- De Materia Medica (On Medical Material) by Pedanius Dioscorides
- Illustrated Herbal by Giovanni Cadamosto
Divination
- Mother Shipton Wonders!!! Past, Present, and to come; being the strange prophecies and uncommon predictions of the famous Mohter Shipton
- Practical Guide to Crystal Gazing by John Melville
The Magic of Jewels and Charms by George Fredrick Kunz
- The Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy
- Confessions: Memoirs of a Modern Seer by Cheiro
- Tea-Cup Reading and the Art of Fortune-Telling by Tea-Leaves by a Highland Seer
- How to Read the Future with Tea Leaves
- Napoleon's Oraculum (The Dream Book)
Astronomy
- Dunhuang Star Atlas
- Astronomica - Hyginus
- Astronomicum Caesareum by Petrus Apianus
- Mandeville's Travels by Sir John Mandeville
- Rudolphine Tables
Care of Magical Creatures
- Ambroise Pare's Discourse
- On the Properties of Animals
- The Birds of America by John James Audubon
- Orlando Furioso (Furious Roland) by Lodovico Ariosto
- Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium by Maria Sibylla Merian
- Homer's Odyssey
- Fishes, Crayfishes and Crabs, of Diverse Colours and Extraordinary Form, That Are Found Around the Islands of the Moluccas and on the Coasts of the Southern Lands by Louis Renard
- Mundus Subterraneus (The Underground World) by Athanasius Kircher
- Serpentum et Draconum Historiae (A History of Snakes and Dragons) by Ulisse Aldrovandi
- Historia Animalium by Conrad Gessner
- L'Histoire et Description du Phoenix (The History and Description of the Phoenix) by Guy de la Garde
- Collection of Rarities by Sultan Muhammed Balkhi
More...