An irresistible romp through the history of magic, from alchemy to unicorns, ancient witchcraft to Harry's Hogwarts - packed with unseen sketches and manuscript pages from J.K. Rowling, magical illustrations from Jim Kay and weird, wonderful and inspiring artefacts that have been magically released from the archives at the British Library.

This spellbinding book takes readers on a journey through the Hogwarts curriculum, including Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Divination and more. Discover the truth behind making the Philosopher's Stone, create your very own potion and uncover the secret of invisible ink. Learn all about the history of mandrake roots and dragons, discover what witches really used their brooms for, pore over incredible images of actual mermaids and read about real-life potions, astronomers and alchemists.

The perfect gift for aspiring witches and wizards and any Harry Potter fan. Celebrating twenty years of Harry Potter magic, and produced in association with the British Library to support their major exhibition, Harry Potter: A History of Magic.

大英图书馆是英国国立图书馆，也是世界最大的学术图书馆之一，至今已有250余年的历史。馆藏资料种类繁多，超过1.5亿件，展现了有文字记载以来各个历史时期的文明，包括书籍、杂志、手稿、地图、邮票、音乐、专利证书、照片、报纸和录音，涵盖了所有已知的语言。图书馆最为珍贵的藏品包括：两份1215年《大宪章》的副本、《林迪斯芳福音书》、列奥纳多·达·芬奇的笔记本、1788年3月18日发行的第一版《泰晤士报》、披头士乐队的歌词手稿，以及纳尔逊·曼德拉在庭审现场的演讲录音。