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British author J. K. Rowling wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to benefit the British charity Comic Relief. About 80% of the cover price of each book sold goes directly to poor children in various places around the world. According to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages have raised £15.7 million. In a 2001 interview with publisher Scholastic, Rowling stated that she chose the subject of magical creatures because it was a fun topic for which she already had developed a lot of information.
The fictional book
Fantastic Beasts... purports to be a reproduction of a copy of a fictional book owned by Harry Potter and written by fictional author Newt Scamander, a famous magizoologist. In the Harry Potter series of novels, Magizoology (a portmanteau of magical and zoology) is the study of magical creatures. One who studies Magizoology is known as a magizoologist.
Fantastic Beasts... contains the history of Magizoology and describes 75 magical species found around the world. Most of the information found in the book was collected by Scamander through observations made over years of travel and across five continents. The fictional author notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its fifty-second edition.
The book is a required textbook for First Year Hogwarts students, having been an approved textbook since its first publication. It is not clear why students need it in their First Year, as students don't take Care of Magical Creatures until their Third Year. However, it may be used as an encyclopedia to Dark creatures studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. In his introduction to the book, Albus Dumbledore notes that it serves as an excellent reference for wizarding households in addition to its use at Hogwarts.
A highlight of the book is the numerous doodles in it by Harry and Ron (and one by Hermione). Based on some of their comments, they were written around the time of the fourth book. These doodles add some extra information for fans of the series, for example the "Acromantula" entry has a doodle confirming Hogwarts is located in Scotland.
Newt Scamander
Newton "Newt" Artemis Fido Scamander is the fictional author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, born in 1897. According to the "About the Author" section of the book, Scamander became a magizoologist because of his own interest in fabulous beasts and the encouragment of his mother, an enthusiastic Hippogriff breeder.
After graduating from Hogwarts, Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His career included a brief stint in the Office of House-Elf Relocation, a transfer to the Beast Division, the creation of the Werewolf Register in 1947, the 1965 passage of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, and many research trips for the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau. His contributions to Magizoology earned him an Order of Merlin, Second Class in 1979.
Now retired, he lives in Dorset with his wife Porpentina and their pet Kneazles: Hoppy, Milly and Mauler.
Though Rowling has never hidden the fact that she is the author of Fantastic Beasts..., "Newt Scamander" can nevertheless be considered a pseudonym of hers, as "he" is technically the author listed on the book's cover.
Editions
Scholastic Editions
- Paperback: ISBN 0439295017
- Hardcover Box Set: ISBN 043932162X (Includes Fantastic Beasts... and Quidditch Through the Ages)
- Paperback Box Set: ISBN 0439284031
- Paperback: ISBN 0747554668
- School & Library Edition: ISBN 0613325419
See also
- Quidditch Through the Ages
- Magical Beasts found in Harry Potter
- List of fictional books within the Harry Potter series
- Cryptozoology
External links
- Interview with J. K. Rowling about her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript3.htm
- Comic Relief web site: http://www.comicrelief.com/stufftobuy/harrysbooks.shtml
2001 books | Harry Potter books | Harry Potter animals | Fictional books
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"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"