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Cover of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

  • 343 pages · about 6 hours
  • First published 2016
  • 36 editions

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1 About this book

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the script of a two-part stage play by Jack Thorne, from a story he devised with J. K. Rowling and the director John Tiffany. It begins nineteen years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry is now an overworked official at the Ministry of Magic and a father of three, and his second son, Albus, is starting at Hogwarts. Albus is sorted into Slytherin, makes an unexpected best friend in Scorpius Malfoy, and grows up resenting the fame of a father he feels he cannot live up to. When the two boys try to put right something from the past, they set off dangers that neither of them foresaw. The play opened in London in 2016.

  • Fantasy
  • Magic
  • Fantasy drama
  • Drama
  • Juvenile drama
  • Good and evil
  • Wizards
  • Drama, collections

2 What to expect

A play script, not a novel: dialogue and stage directions tell a story set nineteen years after the seventh Harry Potter book. It centers on Harry's son Albus and his friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, on fathers and sons, and on the weight of a famous name, with time travel driving the plot. It reads fast, in four acts, and has far less description and inner life than the novels.

Good for readers who want: more of the Harry Potter world, a father-and-son story, and a quick read in script form.

3 About Jack Thorne

Born 1978

Jack Thorne (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and six BAFTA Awards. Thorne is best known for writing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016), the films Wonder (2017), Enola Holmes (2020) and the latter's sequel (2022), and the television programme His Dark Materials (2019–2022).

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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