Rowling fairytales up for auction to help orphans like Harry Potter

Books News

Nov 1, 2007, 15:48 GMT

London - Harry Potter author Joanne K Rowling is about to unveil another secret by giving away a set of wizardy fairytales she alluded to in the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter author Joanne K Rowling is about to unveil another secret by giving away a set of wizardy fairytales she alluded to in the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. © Janet Mayer / PR PhotosThe multi-millionaire British writer said on her website Thursday that one copy of Tales of Beedle The Bard, hand-written and illustrated by her, would be auctioned for charity purposes at Sotheby's in London on December 13. Proceeds will go to a charity looking after children like Harry, who have been orphaned and abandoned, chiefly in Eastern European countries. Rowling said she would give the other six copies, all with unique covers, to 'those most closely connected' with the Potter books. The fairytales, Rowling's first work since the last Harry Potter book was published in July, will not be commercially published. Speaking of her future plans, Rowling said she had a 'half- finished book for children' that would probably end up being her next published work. Writing something else than Potter had been like 'coming up from a deep dive,' Rowling said in a BBC interview Thursday. 'The Tales Of Beedle The Bard is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years,' Rowling said. The volume, containing five wizardy fairytales, played a central role in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows when it was left to Hermione Granger by Hogwarts headteacher Albus Dumbledore, providing clues to help Harry and his friends defeat his nemesis Lord Voldemort. Only one of the five fairytales, The Tale Of The Three Brothers, is recounted in the Deathly Hallows book. The others are entitled The Fountain Of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, The Wizard And The Hopping Pot, and Babbitty Rabbitty And Her Cackling Stump. Each of the seven copies are bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with different semi-precious stones. The copy due to be sold at auction is mounted with hand-chased silver ornaments and seven moonstones. A dedication in the copy to be auctioned says: 'This seventh copy will be auctioned; the proceeds to help institutionalized children who are in desperate need of a voice. So to whoever now owns this book, thank you - and fair fortune be yours!' The book is expected to realize between 30,000 and 50,000 pounds (61,000 to 103,000 dollars) at auction. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Children's Voice, a charity co-founded by Rowling which campaigns for child rights across Europe - particularly Eastern Europe - where more than a million children and teenagers are growing up in institutions. 'It's a huge silent scandal how many children within Europe are institutionalized. A child with mental health issues was being taken from their family or given by their family to an institution and then placed in a cage and I really would like to do whatever I can to change it,' Rowling said. The fairytales were 'not about Harry, Ron and Hermione, but it comes from that world. It's been quite therapeutic in a way. A nice way to say goodbye,' she added. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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