1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Shannon Maughan (review date 1 November 1999)

SOURCE: “Keeping Up with Harry,” in Publishers Weekly, Vol. 246, No. 44, November 1, 1999, p. 36.

[In the following review, Maughan describes the marketing of the “Harry Potter” books and the resulting reading frenzy.]

As the industry's traditionally busy fall continues apace, Harry Potter is clearly the runaway story of the season. J. K. Rowling's first two books about wizardry student Harry have been riding high on the New York Times bestseller list for months, but with the release on September 8 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which promptly joined its predecessors in bestsellerdom) and the paperback of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, fans—and the media—have been truly whipped into a frenzy. In the past six weeks, the junior wizard's face has graced the cover of Time, and Rowling and her books have been featured on “60 Minutes,” the...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Criticism
   1. Shannon Maughan (review date 15 February 1999)
   2. Shannon Maughan (review date 19 July 1999)
   3. J. K. Rowling with Roxanne Feldman (interview date September 1999)
   4. Roger Sutton (review date September–October 1999)
   5. Judith Rosen (essay date 4 October 1999)
   6. Andrew Stuttaford (review date 11 October 1999)
   7. Francine Fialkoff (review date 15 October 1999)
   8. Shannon Maughan (review date 1 November 1999)
   9. Andrew Stephen (review date 1 November 1999)
   10. Brooke Allen (review date 1–15 November 1999)
   11. Lee Siegel (review date 22 November 1999)
   12. Christian Century (review date 1 December 1999)
   13. Alison Lurie (review date 16 December 1999)
   14. Charles De Lint (review date January 2000)
   15. Julia Eccleshare (review date 3 January 2000)
   16. J. K. Rowling with Brad Crawford (interview date February 2000)
   17. Cathi Dunn MacRae (review date March 2000)
   18. Michael Rogers (essay date 1 March 2000)
   19. Dot Wordsworth (review date 8 April 2000)
   20. Shannon Maughan (review date 17 April 2000)
   21. School Library Journal (essay date May 2000)
   22. Bobbie Combs (review date 10 July 2000)
   23. Chauncey Mabe (review date 10 July 2000)
   24. Kathleen Merryman (essay date 10 July 2000)
   25. Robert Munsch (review date 10 July 2000)
   26. Nancy Pate (review date 10 July 2000)
   27. Susan Perren (review date 10 July 2000)
   28. Andrea Sachs (review date 17 July 2000)
   29. Stefan Kanfer (essay date 19 July 2000)
   30. Makund Padmanabhan (review date 24 July 2000)
3. Further Reading
4. Copyright