The idea for the Harry Potter books came to Joanne Rowling while she was travelling on a train in 1990. She says that she was not looking for magic and sorcery, but that magic and sorcery sought her out. This prompted Frans Lutters, an experienced Waldorf teacher, to ask: who really is Harry Potter, and where did he come from?

Lutters explores the archetypes of the seven books, including Harry and Dumbledore. He draws on his deep knowledge of esoteric and classical thinking to find comparable characters, and draws parallels to Parsifal, Mani, Michael and Ahriman.

This thought-provoking little book looks beyond the glitter of the movies and the hype and revisits the storytelling power of these popular books.

Translated by: Philip Mees