Simon Bowers
Like one of the young sorcerer’s own spells, Pottermania is producing some unexpected results in bookshops across the globe.
While many stores agree that JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – the teenage wizard’s fourth adventure – is the fastest selling book they have seen, the hype and hysteria surrounding the launch is driving some children to distraction.
“It’s been crazy, I’ve been in the trade 15 years and I have never known anything like it,” said Rebecca MacAlister, a bookshop manager who, like many, had extended opening hours at her store in Birmingham last weekend to meet demand for the book.
“We sold 600 copies on the first day, which is unbelievable. One mother rang in to say her daughter was so excited about the book coming out that she made herself sick. She was too ill to come down to the store so we are going to deliver a copy to her.”
More than 1 200 copies of the 636-page hardback were sold in two days at another branch in Plymouth after six- year-old Gregory White sat in its display window to draw in passing trade. “He absolutely loved it,” said a staff member. “We gave him a chair and a copy of the book and photographers took pictures of him reading away.”
In some shops copies of the book were reported to be selling at more than 100 an hour.
Meanwhile author Rowling cheerfully described the start of her promotional tour in London as “complete madess”. As she boarded the Hogwarts Express – a red steam engine named after the train that takes Harry to school – squabbling broke out among press, parents and children, all jostling with police for a glimpse of the author. One mother is reported to have dangled her son from a railway bridge before being stopped by police.
Publisher Bloomsbury has seen its share price increase five-fold since 1998, said a representative. The Potter series has sold 21-million copies in the United States and at one point held the top three spots on the New York Times bestseller list.
The book has been given a record-breaking first print run of 3,8-million in the US alone – about twice the number for a John Grisham novel. A record 1-million copies were printed in Britain in the initial run.
The Hogwarts Express is expected to bring pandemonium today to Waterstone’s in Emerson Chambers, Newcastle, and to the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh where Ms Rowling will be signing copies of her new book.