First edition. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows forms the conclusion of the Harry Potter book series, a decade after the publication of the first volume, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The manuscript had been edited in collaboration between the British and American publishers in March and sent to production on 25 March 2007; the collated proofs were ready less than a month later on 20 April, and after final queries were settled, the marked proofs appeared on 4 May. This first UK edition for young readers was published on 21 July 2007 simultaneously with the UK adult edition, the UK deluxe edition for children, and the US first edition and deluxe edition for the children’s market.

Bloomsbury Publishing stated later that 2,652,656 copies had been sold ‘in the UK on the first day of its release, making it the fastest-selling book of all time’ as well as a logistic feat: Bloomsbury chairman ‘Nigel Newton proudly stated that “by the end of the series we were drop-shipping 11 million hardcovers into 83 countries around the world all to arrive within 48 to 24 hours of the on-sale time”’ (Errington).

Naturally, secrecy about the final volume was key prior to publication to avoid leaks. Errington explains that there was ‘[a]n early set of proofs (given the file name Edinburgh Potmakers) [...]. This was not the only spurious title given to the novel. Another print-out of the text in the editorial files at Bloomsbury is entitled The Life and Times of Clara Rose Lovett with the thrilling sub-title, “An epic novel covering many generations”’. Arguably, this could be applied to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the epic final battle between Harry and Voldemort, and its vision of the surviving main characters’ futures.

Philip W. Errington. J.K. Rowling. A Bibliography 1997-2013 (London, 2015), A14(a).

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