Early on in The Deathly Hallows Hermione Granger inherited a copy of The Tales Of Beedle The Bard from Albus Dumbledore. Neither she nor Harry Potter had heard of the book so Ron Weasley explained that it a book of stories told to young witches and wizards, similar to the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm for Muggle children.
The book contains five short stories, but one in particular, The Tale Of The Three Brothers, was important to the quest that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on in the final book. Little was known about the other four stories because there was no such book by Beedle the Bard in our world.
That is, until late 2007. J.K. Rowling created seven handwritten and illustrated copies of the book. They were bound with leather and had silver ornamentations on the covers. Each silver piece represents one of the five stories contained inside the book. Rowling gave away six of the books to people who were important in bringing the Harry Potter stories to life, and auctioned off the seventh copy.
The book was made available to the general public when it was published on December 4, 2008. Finally, fans could read the stories that Ron and other wizarding children grew up with! The stories are interesting and unique, and add a wonderful layer of mythology to the Harry Potter series.
Collector's Edition
Amazon.com had an exclusive collector's edition that they sold when the book was first published. It is a replica of the version that J.K. Rowling originally made of this book that she gave to close friends. I have this edition and it is beautiful!
The book is hidden inside what looks like a larger book. The larger "book" is bound with leather and has what appears to be gilded pages. But, instead of finding pages inside, when you open the large book you'll find pictures with 10 additional illustrations not found in the standard version tucked inside a protective sleeve, a velvet bag that has the replica of J.K. Rowling's signature on it, and the actual book inside the velvet bag.
The book looks nothing like the standard edition. The leather cover has metal embellishments surrounding a metal skull. There is a clasp that keeps the book closed, and when you open it you will see an introduction that is in J.K. Rowling's handwriting.
This book was expensive when it was originally published so I have to admit that I was surprised to see what it is selling for now. Yes, there are sellers asking ridiculous prices for it, but most sellers are reasonable at $200 - $300.
|
Hogwarts Library Edition
The Hogwarts Library collection contains three books. It is also considerably more expensive then the Hogwarts Classics because it's out-of-print.
- Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
- Quidditch Through The Ages
- The Tales Of Beedle The Bard
