The Tales of Beedle the Bard

J.K. Rowling's handwritten and personally illustrated leatherbound copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard sold at auction today for $4 million, which will go to benefit charity. Initial reports were that the volume was purchased by the London art agent Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox. Later today, it was revealed that the book was actually purchased on behalf of Amazon.com. It is the only one of seven created by Rowling that was made available to the public - the other six copies were gifts to close friends. And it's gorgeous.

I have to give it to Amazon...this purchase was a smart move. Four million dollars, yes, but an alliance with its top-selling product line of all time. In fact, I just read in Real Simple today that the top three products with a five star review are Harry Potter books.

Anyway, Amazon is doing two things I heartily approve of (which may make up for the Super Saver Free Shipping debacle I had with them the other night - but that's another story). First of all, they've shared the treasure with fans by creating a separate page for the book which includes numerous photographs, description and a message board for discussion. They plan to review the book and release some of the text. Secondly, they plan to tour with The Tales of Beedle the Bard at schools and libraries. I applaud Amazon for capitalizing on this (so far) only by drawing people to the site and for sharing it immediately, rather than withholding it like a corporate game of keepaway. It's nice to think that maybe, just maybe, the magic of Harry Potter prevails again. The gesture, the tone of the site, make me feel like somebody at Amazon is just like me - just an enchanted reader who wants to keep sharing the Potterverse with the rest of us. Well done, Amazon.