Katrin Berndt is assistant professor of English and Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Bremen University, and Lena Steveker is assistant professor of British Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University, Germany.

'Heroism in the Harry Potter Series provides a neat cross-section of the conversations to date about Rowling's best-selling series. The lens of heroism, as this collection demonstrates, can offer new perspectives on earlier ways of reading the series - genre, gender, religion, archetype, philosophy, psychology, and postmodernism - and point readers towards new areas of exploration.' Karin E. Westman, Kansas State University, USA 'A worthwhile scholarly collection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and general readers.' Choice '... there is real stimulation here, in the essays of Katrin Berndt, Julia Boll, Nadine Böhm, Maria Nikolajeva and Lena Steveker. Who would have thought that the Harry Potter novels 'can be read on a certain level as Snape's rather than Harry's story?' Children's Books History Society Newsletter 'It is a tribute to the organizing talent of the editors that the contributions are of consistent quality. All begin with a clear exposition culminating in a thesis that is subsequently worked out carefully and concluded by a final statement. Together, they demonstrate how the use of various points of view results in different findings that, due to the multiple ambiguities of the text, complement rather than contradict each other.' Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik '... this collection provides much food for thought on Harry Potter.' International Research in Children’s Literature Accessible, well-wrought and easy to work with, Heroism in the Harry Potter Series is a valuable asset to scholars from undergraduate to established, to libraries and to fans of the series who are willing to have their love challenged in new ways.' English Studies

• Introduction, Katrin Berndt, Lena Steveker; Part I Heroism in Generic Perspective; Chapter 1 A Paradox: The Harry Potter Series as Both Epic and Postmodern, Mary Pharr; Chapter 2 Harry Potter and the Battle for the Soul: The Revival of the Psychomachia in Secular Fiction, Rita Singer; Chapter 3 The Diffusion of Gothic Conventions in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003/2007), Susanne Gruss; Chapter 4 Harry and his Peers: Rowling's Web of Allusions, Lisa Hopkins; Part II The Formation of the Hero; Chapter 5 ‘Your soul is whole, and completely your own, Harry’: The Heroic Self in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, Lena Steveker; Chapter 6 Harry Potter’s Archetypal Journey, Julia Boll; Chapter 7 Harry Potter — The Development of a Screen Hero, Jennifer Schütz; Chapter 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), or, How Harry Potter Becomes a Hero, Nadine Böhm; Part III Heroic Originals, Friends and Foes; Chapter 9 Harry Potter and the Idea of the Gentleman as Hero, Christine Berberich; Chapter 10 Hermione Granger, or, A Vindication of the Rights of Girl, Katrin Berndt; Chapter 11 The Influence of Gender on Harry Potter’s Heroic (Trans) Formation, Karley Adney; Chapter 12 Adult Heroism and Role Models in the Harry Potter Novels, Maria Nikolajeva; Chapter 13 Heroism at the Margins, Kathleen McEvoy;

Katrin Berndt is assistant professor of English and Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Bremen University, and Lena Steveker is assistant professor of British Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University, Germany.

'Heroism in the Harry Potter Series provides a neat cross-section of the conversations to date about Rowling's best-selling series. The lens of heroism, as this collection demonstrates, can offer new perspectives on earlier ways of reading the series - genre, gender, religion, archetype, philosophy, psychology, and postmodernism - and point readers towards new areas of exploration.' Karin E. Westman, Kansas State University, USA 'A worthwhile scholarly collection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and general readers.' Choice '... there is real stimulation here, in the essays of Katrin Berndt, Julia Boll, Nadine Böhm, Maria Nikolajeva and Lena Steveker. Who would have thought that the Harry Potter novels 'can be read on a certain level as Snape's rather than Harry's story?' Children's Books History Society Newsletter 'It is a tribute to the organizing talent of the editors that the contributions are of consistent quality. All begin with a clear exposition culminating in a thesis that is subsequently worked out carefully and concluded by a final statement. Together, they demonstrate how the use of various points of view results in different findings that, due to the multiple ambiguities of the text, complement rather than contradict each other.' Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik '... this collection provides much food for thought on Harry Potter.' International Research in Children’s Literature Accessible, well-wrought and easy to work with, Heroism in the Harry Potter Series is a valuable asset to scholars from undergraduate to established, to libraries and to fans of the series who are willing to have their love challenged in new ways.' English Studies

• Introduction, Katrin Berndt, Lena Steveker; Part I Heroism in Generic Perspective; Chapter 1 A Paradox: The Harry Potter Series as Both Epic and Postmodern, Mary Pharr; Chapter 2 Harry Potter and the Battle for the Soul: The Revival of the Psychomachia in Secular Fiction, Rita Singer; Chapter 3 The Diffusion of Gothic Conventions in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003/2007), Susanne Gruss; Chapter 4 Harry and his Peers: Rowling's Web of Allusions, Lisa Hopkins; Part II The Formation of the Hero; Chapter 5 ‘Your soul is whole, and completely your own, Harry’: The Heroic Self in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, Lena Steveker; Chapter 6 Harry Potter’s Archetypal Journey, Julia Boll; Chapter 7 Harry Potter — The Development of a Screen Hero, Jennifer Schütz; Chapter 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), or, How Harry Potter Becomes a Hero, Nadine Böhm; Part III Heroic Originals, Friends and Foes; Chapter 9 Harry Potter and the Idea of the Gentleman as Hero, Christine Berberich; Chapter 10 Hermione Granger, or, A Vindication of the Rights of Girl, Katrin Berndt; Chapter 11 The Influence of Gender on Harry Potter’s Heroic (Trans) Formation, Karley Adney; Chapter 12 Adult Heroism and Role Models in the Harry Potter Novels, Maria Nikolajeva; Chapter 13 Heroism at the Margins, Kathleen McEvoy;

Katrin Berndt is assistant professor of English and Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Bremen University, and Lena Steveker is assistant professor of British Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University, Germany.

'Heroism in the Harry Potter Series provides a neat cross-section of the conversations to date about Rowling's best-selling series. The lens of heroism, as this collection demonstrates, can offer new perspectives on earlier ways of reading the series - genre, gender, religion, archetype, philosophy, psychology, and postmodernism - and point readers towards new areas of exploration.' Karin E. Westman, Kansas State University, USA 'A worthwhile scholarly collection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and general readers.' Choice '... there is real stimulation here, in the essays of Katrin Berndt, Julia Boll, Nadine Böhm, Maria Nikolajeva and Lena Steveker. Who would have thought that the Harry Potter novels 'can be read on a certain level as Snape's rather than Harry's story?' Children's Books History Society Newsletter 'It is a tribute to the organizing talent of the editors that the contributions are of consistent quality. All begin with a clear exposition culminating in a thesis that is subsequently worked out carefully and concluded by a final statement. Together, they demonstrate how the use of various points of view results in different findings that, due to the multiple ambiguities of the text, complement rather than contradict each other.' Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik '... this collection provides much food for thought on Harry Potter.' International Research in Children’s Literature Accessible, well-wrought and easy to work with, Heroism in the Harry Potter Series is a valuable asset to scholars from undergraduate to established, to libraries and to fans of the series who are willing to have their love challenged in new ways.' English Studies

• Introduction, Katrin Berndt, Lena Steveker; Part I Heroism in Generic Perspective; Chapter 1 A Paradox: The Harry Potter Series as Both Epic and Postmodern, Mary Pharr; Chapter 2 Harry Potter and the Battle for the Soul: The Revival of the Psychomachia in Secular Fiction, Rita Singer; Chapter 3 The Diffusion of Gothic Conventions in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003/2007), Susanne Gruss; Chapter 4 Harry and his Peers: Rowling's Web of Allusions, Lisa Hopkins; Part II The Formation of the Hero; Chapter 5 ‘Your soul is whole, and completely your own, Harry’: The Heroic Self in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, Lena Steveker; Chapter 6 Harry Potter’s Archetypal Journey, Julia Boll; Chapter 7 Harry Potter — The Development of a Screen Hero, Jennifer Schütz; Chapter 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), or, How Harry Potter Becomes a Hero, Nadine Böhm; Part III Heroic Originals, Friends and Foes; Chapter 9 Harry Potter and the Idea of the Gentleman as Hero, Christine Berberich; Chapter 10 Hermione Granger, or, A Vindication of the Rights of Girl, Katrin Berndt; Chapter 11 The Influence of Gender on Harry Potter’s Heroic (Trans) Formation, Karley Adney; Chapter 12 Adult Heroism and Role Models in the Harry Potter Novels, Maria Nikolajeva; Chapter 13 Heroism at the Margins, Kathleen McEvoy;