'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' is the second installment in the popular Harry Potter book series penned by J K Rowling. This book takes off from the beginning of Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After defeating the dark wizard Lord Voldemort in his first year, Harry is pitted against an entirely different set of perils in this book. A house-elf named Dobby warns Harry even before he goes to Hogwarts that his life is in danger, but Harry, who solely looks forward to his time in Hogwarts, decided to attend it anyway.
After the overnight fame that J. K. Rowling garnered for her first Harry Potter book, she was concerned that the second book may not live up to the expectations developed by the first book. She began writing this book soon after the first one and had also made several significant changes to initial drafts. For instance, the working title of this book was actually ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ something she changed later and would eventually name the sixth book with this title.
Furthermore, significant details initially written for this book, including the family origins of the character Dean Thomas and an elaborate song describing the circumstances of Nearly Headless Nick’s death, were omitted during the editing process. This also included adding a deeper character arc to Neville Longbottom, as Rowling saw great potential in his character development for later books. Rowling also took back the manuscript she submitted to Bloomsbury on schedule to revise it further for about six weeks. Rowling has used her expertise in classics and romance languages to create a significant story world for her book. Several magical creatures that appear in this book, like the Basilisk, are creatures that have existed in myths long before this book was written. This book also significantly borrows from Arthurian Legend as Harry, quite similar to King Arthur, and the Sword of Excalibur is able to wield the Sword of Gryffindor.
The books most obviously related to ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ are the rest of the books in the Harry Potter Series. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince‘ is specifically related to this book because it was supposed to be the working title of ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.’ Furthermore, Rowling was supposed to reveal a lot of details that were eventually revealed in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ owing to the cluttering of significant details. Details include the description of Horcruxes and the Half-Blood Prince himself. Several other connections exist between these two books, including the magical artifacts like the Hand of Glory and the Vanishing Cabinet, which play significant roles in book six. Furthermore, Ginny Weasley plays a significant role in both these books.
Other books related to the Chamber of Secrets include ‘The Hobbit‘ by J. R. R. Tolkein and the Narnia Series by C S Lewis, both of which are children’s books containing similar magical beings and creatures. Another significant work of literature with ties to the Chamber of Secrets is the Legend of King Arthur. There are noticeable parallels between Harry and King Arthur, with both of them wielding their respective swords (Sword of Gryffindor and the Excalibur) with undertones insinuating their worthiness and bravery.
The story of ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ has been a great success since it was first published in 1998. Due to the roaring success of its predecessor ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ this series was already a household name, and the book took over most best-selling lists in both the UK and the USA. The book went on to win several awards, including The British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. This book also paved the way for its successors in a very significant manner through its plot, as it acknowledged Lord Voldemort’s origins and Hagrid’s expulsion from Hogwarts. It also subtly hinted at the magical objects called Horcruxes, which would play an important role in the final books.
The book was adapted into a movie by the Warner Bros. and released in the year 2002. The major cast continued to be the same as that of the first movie adaptation, with a few additions, including Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. Chris Columbus returned to direct the movie.
‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ is quite popular but is also one of the least well-received books in the Harry Potter series. It does have a lot of interesting developments that set up the narrative for upcoming books.
‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ has a lot of new characters who were not present in the first book. Furthermore, some characters that were merely introduced in book one play a major role in this book.
‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ explores a lot of new themes that were not considered in the first book, making it grittier and realistic compared to the first installment.
‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ does a great job as a follow-up to the first installment of the series. This book delves deeper into identity and the choices that Harry makes.
‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ is the second book in J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. It follows Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione and their adventures during their second year at Hogwarts.