To err is human. But to correct surreptitiously is fishy, especially to Harry Potter fans.
In July, careful British and American readers of J.K. Rowling's children's fantasy series took immediate notice of an error that appeared in the fourth installment, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The mistake concerned the order of Harry's parents' emergence from villainous Lord Voldemort's wand in the novel's climactic scene. In the previous Potter books, Rowling makes it quite clear that Voldemort killed first James and then Lily Potter. In "Goblet of Fire," however, the ghosts of the evil wizard's victims emerge from his deadly wand, we are told, in the reverse order in which they were killed, yet James steps out of the wand before Lily.
This led many of Rowling's most ardent fans to speculate that the discrepancy was intentional, a plot twist to be picked up in Harry Potter V, a notion that sent readers' imaginations running wild and inspired innumerable theories. According to Brian Dorband, one of more than 500 members of the international HPforGrownups mailing list on eGroups, this has been a subject of discussion for months. The "list mom" for HPforGrownups, Penny Linsenmayer, says that members have been coming up with theories "ranging from the perfectly plausible to the insane."
All of this conjecture, Potter fans now realize, is in vain. Recent editions of "Goblet of Fire" now describe Lily as emerging from the wand before James. In an e-mail to HPforGrownups members, Rowling's British publisher, Bloomsbury, acknowledged that the order of the ghosts' appearances in earlier editions was an error. "It was spotted by our editorial team in July, and corrected in subsequent editions," explained the unnamed Bloomsbury representative, and "the difference in timing of corrections between editions, both our own and the U.S., is down to reprint timings." While the news proved disappointing to Rowling's fans, the way in which the correction was handled incited anger and frustration among list members.
"We were completely taken aback that (a) it was just a mistake, (b) the 'correction' was done silently, and (c) the 'corrected' passage reads very strangely," writes list mom Linsenmayer. There was no mention of the correction in the press, and booksellers have neglected to bring the corrected editions to consumers' attention, likely because neither Bloomsbury Publishing nor the Scholastic Press alerted them to the change. Dorband declares, "We are in quite a tizzy over it," and confesses that list members have another theory. "We don't believe that Rowling wrote this correction because, for one thing, Lily's name is spelled wrong. They spelled it L-i-l-l-y. It comes out lame the way they changed it."
Linsenmayer agrees. "It's really not enough to simply change the pronouns and proper names to make Lily appear before James. I would say that most of us at HPforGrownups believe that it was a colossal mistake to have slipped by J.K. Rowling and the editorial staffs at both Scholastic and Bloomsbury. It was a passage that gave virtually all of us pause on the first read, and many of us have speculated that the release date for 'Goblet of Fire' contributed to several errors that should have been corrected with adequate editorial supervision and reasonable deadlines."
Some Potter readers think that Scholastic and Bloomsbury should have allowed Rowling "a more creative way to write about it," says Dorband. "We fully expected it would have been explained later on. And it wouldn't have been a big deal." Which leads HPforGrownups members to wonder, according to Dorband, "Did she actually correct it, or did she just say, 'Oh jeez, we got it wrong. Go ahead and change the words'?" Neil Ward, a British member, thinks it must be the latter, because the correction in both the English and American editions is worded exactly the same; "it seems to me very unlikely that Bloomsbury and Scholastic would be able to agree on the same rewording without the author's involvement."
For now, these questions will have to go unanswered. Arthur Levine, Rowling's editor at the Scholastic Press, refused repeated requests for comment.
Salon reviews of Harry Potter films:
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
The long-awaited movie is faithful to J.K. Rowling's book, but the fantasy isn't very fantastic and the evil just isn't dark enough.
By Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
Despite terrific special effects and funnier gags, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" finds a way to make J.K. Rowling's marvelous series into a deadly bore.
By Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
Hippogriffs, Dementors and Harry, oh my! Director Alfonso Cuaron finally decants the essence of J.K. Rowling's work and brings us one of the greatest fantasy films of all time.
By Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
Harry and his friends are growing up, but this latest Potter film may leave you struggling with your own childhood demons.
By Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Patches of magical beauty rescue this sprawling adaptation of the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's beloved series.
By Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
The sixth film in J.K. Rowling's series has beautiful special effects, and something even more rare: Magic.
By Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
Other Salon articles related to the films:
Harry Potter doesn't get "Blue Velvet"
The boy has no profound psychosexual life, which keeps the film from being dangerous -- and important.
By David Thomson, Salon
Harry Potter and the art of screenwriting
Michael Goldenberg talks about the pleasures and pitfalls of adapting "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" for the big screen.
By Rebecca Traister, Salon
The sexual awakening of Hermione
How "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson is navigating the tricky transition from adorable child actor to mature adult.
By Joy Press, Salon
Salon reviews of Harry Potter books:
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," like all great escapist reading, takes you happily back to where you already were.
By Charles Taylor, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
With her fourth Harry Potter book, J.K. Rowling takes her young hero to his darkest adventure yet.
By Charles Taylor, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
No, Hogwarts isn't a hotbed of drugs, smoking and sex (at least not yet). But J.K. Rowling's rich and huge new installment unmistakably brings our bespectacled hero into adolescence.
By Laura Miller, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
Harry learns more about his mysterious nemesis -- and the brutal reality of being 16 -- in J.K. Rowling's tricky, but ultimately satisfying, penultimate volume in the "Harry Potter" series.
By Laura Miller, Salon
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
Does J.K. Rowling's final installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," provide the magical ending to the beloved series her readers so desperately long for?
By Laura Miller, Salon
Other articles related to the books:
Dumbledore? Gay. J.K. Rowling? Chatty.
What happens when authors like J.K. Rowling can't stop telling their own stories?
By Rebecca Traister, Salon
A.S. Byatt and the goblet of bile
The author's recent New York Times Op-Ed shows that she doesn't understand why so many of us love Harry Potter. Maybe it's just too much fun.
By Charles Taylor, Salon
A list of their own
Has Harry Potter changed the course of the New York Times Book Review -- and the children's book market -- for good or for evil? It depends on whom you ask.
By Kera Bolonik, Salon
Of magic and single motherhood
Bestselling author J.K. Rowling is still trying to fathom the instant fame that came with her first children's novel.
By Margaret Weir, Salon
Harry Potter's girl troubles
The world of everyone's favorite kid wizard is a place where boys come first.
By Christine Schoefer, Salon
Can 35 million book buyers be wrong? Yes.
The cultural critics will, soon enough, introduce Harry Potter into their college curriculum, and The New York Times will go on celebrating another confirmation of the dumbing-down it leads and exemplifies.
By Harold Bloom, The Wall Street Journal
On the Potter lifestyle:
Potterpalooza
For the Quidditch players, wizard rockers and would-be witches who gathered at a New Orleans Harry Potter convention, this is the dawning of their summer of love -- and loss.
By Rebecca Traister, Salon
For Harry Potter fans about to rock, we salute you
A global network of Potter-influenced bands inspired kids like 8-year-old Darius to make their own wizard rock. Will fans keep the music alive?
By Elisabeth Donnelly, Salon
The end of the affair
For almost a decade, Harry Potter and Tony Soprano have been my intimate companions. Now it's time to disentangle myself from their lives and say goodbye.
By Rebecca Traister, Salon
Wizard people, dear reader
The first chapter in the famed unauthorized "re-telling" of the Harry Potter films.
A Look at Werewolves from WOLF MAN to NEW MOON
Open Salon box office in review (10/18/09)
Is there enough of me left for a novel?
You Say Childless Like It's A Bad Thing