Why Every Potter Fan Must Read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
With the announcement, in 2013, that J.K. Rowling would be co-penning an eighth installment in the internationally beloved Harry Potter series, this one written as a stage play, hearts and minds across the country were ignited. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which hit the London stage on the same day its script book hit bookstores this summer, is a gift, a magical, heart-tugging page-turner that explores what happened after we closed the book on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We jump right back to when we last saw Harry, dropping his oldest son, Albus Severus, at Platform 9 3/4 for his first ride on the Hogwarts Express. From there, we’re taken on a whirlwind ride through the years, finally landing on a teenaged Albus, just before he kicks off a magical, time-bending adventure with best friend Scorpius Malfoy, son of—you guessed it—longtime Potter nemesis Draco. The book travels new ground and introduces new characters, while revisiting the past and all its beloved characters in wholly unexpected ways. Here’s why anyone who has ever wished for a wand, or read about magic late into the night, needs to discover it.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II
Hardcover
$24.99
$29.99
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II
By J. K. Rowling , John Tiffany , Jack Thorne
Hardcover
$24.99
$29.99
It’s a chance to revisit one of fiction’s most beloved worlds.
Though the story belongs not to Harry but to his son, Albus Severus, it takes place wholly in the wizarding world with which we’re all familiar, and it’s chockfull of nods to hardcore fans. References to memorable moments and bits of dialogue from the original seven books show up; minor characters like Madam Hooch, Amos Diggory, and Moaning Myrtle pop in…as do major characters you don’t expect to meet again. And we haven’t seen the last of the Marauder’s Map, the Invisibility Cloak, or Time-Turners…
Meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all grown up.
Though he was always noble, Harry wasn’t a hero without his inner conflicts. Here we get to see him reckoning with his past in heartbreaking ways we never thought possible. We get to see him as a father, of a difficult son he doesn’t always understand, and as a husband to the eternally lovely Ginny Weasley Potter. Hermione grows into the strong, brilliant woman we always knew she would become, way back when she was the “brightest witch of her age” at Hogwarts. As for Ron, his sense of humor is intact, but age has mellowed him—he has lost the chip on his shoulder, giving him the freedom to make dad jokes galore. It’s wonderful.
Slytherins finally get their day.
In Rowling’s original seven Potter books, Slytherins get a bad rap. But now, in an era when many readers have been sorted into Slytherin by the online Sorting Hat quiz, we’re looking for a more nuanced take on Hogwarts’ houses (even unglamorous Hufflepuff). I’m happy to report that Cursed Child has a whole lot of Slytherin going on—you could go so far as to say the story is a testament to the unsung heroes of the house, including but not limited to Scorpius Malfoy, who’s nothing like his father. Cursed Child spends much of its time exploring the age-old Gryffindor/Slytherin dichotomy…and perhaps the idea that there really isn’t much of a dichotomy at all.
It’s the eighth story in the Harry Potter saga, told in a whole new way.
Reuniting with beloved characters, meeting their children, finally getting answers to our burning questions as Potter fans: these are all gifts Cursed Child gives us. But it also allows us to enter Rowling’s world in a whole new way. A play is a storytelling medium entirely separate from a novel. Cursed Child is meant to be seen, and when you’re reading the script book, complete with vibrant stage directions, you will see it. The tale is as rich and wild as the stage demands, and your reading experience will be sheer, immersive magic.
It’s a chance to revisit one of fiction’s most beloved worlds.
Though the story belongs not to Harry but to his son, Albus Severus, it takes place wholly in the wizarding world with which we’re all familiar, and it’s chockfull of nods to hardcore fans. References to memorable moments and bits of dialogue from the original seven books show up; minor characters like Madam Hooch, Amos Diggory, and Moaning Myrtle pop in…as do major characters you don’t expect to meet again. And we haven’t seen the last of the Marauder’s Map, the Invisibility Cloak, or Time-Turners…
Meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all grown up.
Though he was always noble, Harry wasn’t a hero without his inner conflicts. Here we get to see him reckoning with his past in heartbreaking ways we never thought possible. We get to see him as a father, of a difficult son he doesn’t always understand, and as a husband to the eternally lovely Ginny Weasley Potter. Hermione grows into the strong, brilliant woman we always knew she would become, way back when she was the “brightest witch of her age” at Hogwarts. As for Ron, his sense of humor is intact, but age has mellowed him—he has lost the chip on his shoulder, giving him the freedom to make dad jokes galore. It’s wonderful.
Slytherins finally get their day.
In Rowling’s original seven Potter books, Slytherins get a bad rap. But now, in an era when many readers have been sorted into Slytherin by the online Sorting Hat quiz, we’re looking for a more nuanced take on Hogwarts’ houses (even unglamorous Hufflepuff). I’m happy to report that Cursed Child has a whole lot of Slytherin going on—you could go so far as to say the story is a testament to the unsung heroes of the house, including but not limited to Scorpius Malfoy, who’s nothing like his father. Cursed Child spends much of its time exploring the age-old Gryffindor/Slytherin dichotomy…and perhaps the idea that there really isn’t much of a dichotomy at all.
It’s the eighth story in the Harry Potter saga, told in a whole new way.
Reuniting with beloved characters, meeting their children, finally getting answers to our burning questions as Potter fans: these are all gifts Cursed Child gives us. But it also allows us to enter Rowling’s world in a whole new way. A play is a storytelling medium entirely separate from a novel. Cursed Child is meant to be seen, and when you’re reading the script book, complete with vibrant stage directions, you will see it. The tale is as rich and wild as the stage demands, and your reading experience will be sheer, immersive magic.