I was a huge Potterhead back in the day (well…I still am, just not as obsessed). I know the books are great and all, I know how addictive her writing style is, that she can create such vivid and engaging characters and places, and the stories keep you hungry for more…but IMO that still does not completely explain the insane hype that generated. I don’t think there has ever been this level of mania and craze for a book – a children’s/YA book for that matter. So I am wondering, what are some of the factor that led to the hype? I’ve heard things like the rise in Internet (and internet fandom), JKR’s rags-to-riches story, etc all contributed. So for those who have been there, what was the mania like at that point, and what factors (aside from the quality of the books themselves) that lead to it?
American kids especially not realising how much of the book was just British (or more specifically, British boarding school culture) rather than specifically magical.
Boarding school friendship books have always done well in the UK anyway (Enid Blyton, Tom Brown’s School Days).
That plus the fact that there hadn’t been a “fad” phenomenon that was easily marketed for a while in that space.
Ursula K. Le Guin once waved off Harry Potter as just more Enid Blyton novels and it may be the most literary shade anyone’s ever thrown.