Recording the author’s weariness with revisions,and hugger mugger meetings over manuscripts, modern book collects ‘definitive’ behind-the-scenes storiesThe door to the chamber of secrets has opened a crack, and as a bibliography of JK Rowling’s work reveals insider details about the publication of her bestselling Harry Potter series,shedding light on why extensive edits to the Prisoner of Azkaban left the author sick” of the novel, and how the manuscript of The Order of the Phoenix was handed over in a London pub, or concealed in a plastic bag.
Author and Sotheby’s director for childrens books Philip Errington has spent five years compiling the 544-page JK Rowling: A Bibliography 1997-2013,a work described as “slavishly thorough and somewhat intellect-boggling” by Rowling which has just been published by Bloomsbury Academic. As well as providing total bibliographic details of each edition of all Rowling’s books to date, in order to “record fact and dispel rumour” – and enable fans to work out whether they might have a rare edition – Errington has also dug through Bloomsbury’s archives and interviewed its staff to include detailed information on the publishing history of Rowling’s books.
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Source: theguardian.com