Every Harry Potter fan... is left with a sense that there's a lot more to the saga. No worries, leave it to Irvin Khaytman... to present this carefully researched and brilliantly written walk through all seven novels, laying out a very plausible scenario for what Dumbledore knew and when.
—Steve Vander Ark, The Harry Potter Lexicon,
In Search of Harry Potter
Between his deep understanding of the Harry Potter series and his excellent writing skills, Irvin's "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore" is a must-read for Harry Potter fans. The book impressively explores the most fascinating character in the series. Get ready to see Dumbledore in a whole new light.
—Andrew Sims, Hypable.com, MuggleCast
Dumbledore: greatest of teachers or Machiavellian schemer? Irvin Khaytman reconciles these aspects of the character through an investigation of Dumbledore's final years, particularly his last great project: the race to identify and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes... If your understanding of love, death, and goodness have been influenced by these stories—if you're part of the Harry Potter generation—then this book is for you.
—Lorrie Kim, SNAPE: A Definitive Reading
Potterheads rejoice! Longtime Harry Potter fan Irvin Khaytman has provided a deep investigation of all things Albus Dumbledore in his new book... The intense scrutiny provided here helps us see the entirety of Dumbledore’s character. Khaytman pays Dumbledore the greatest compliment of all: the proof that he was human after all.
—Cathy Leogrande, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education, Le Moyne College, Syracuse NY
Irvin Khaytman provides a thorough analysis of Albus Dumbledore's history, intentions, and plans throughout the series. The reading will make you want to reread the series again and allow you to feel a sense of connection with the characters.
—Janina Scarlet, Ph.D., Harry Potter Therapy: An Unauthorized Self-Help Book from the Restricted Section
An engaging, in-depth, comprehensive and unique examination of one of J.K. Rowling's most enigmatic stars. Its premise and execution has the polish and power of an academic dissertation while being an extremely accessible, enjoyable read. [...] This book is an impetus to engage further with a dynamic, enthusiastic global community who knows that books and love are the most powerful magic of all.
—Leanna Renee Hieber, Darker Still,
the Strangely Beautiful saga
I’d like to venture this might be the most fun you’ll ever have reading a book of critical essays. Like Dumbledore himself, this book is both insightful and delightful and written with an abundance of charm, intelligence and a great deal of love for Harry Potter. I’ve reread the HP series probably around a dozen times, and this presented me with theories I had never considered before.
—Sarvenaz Tash,
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love
Copyright 2018 by Irvin Khaytman
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For permission requests, write to the author at [email protected]
Cover Design: Irvin Khaytman, Copyright ©2018
Portrait of Dumbledore (cover) by Sheila Simmons.
Photo of author by G. M. Courtemanche.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at [email protected].
The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore/ Khaytman, Irvin.—2nd ed.
ISBN: 978-1-7335141-1-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900922
www.lifeandliesofdumbledore.com
CONTENTS
Dedication
Author’s Note
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue: Judging Dumbledore
Appendix A: The Timeline
Appendix B: Dumbledore’s Most Puzzling Lie
Appendix C: Dumbledore as Death
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Dedication
Dedicated to the memory of my dad, who nurtured the beginnings of my love for writing and for Harry Potter.
And to my Harry Potter family, The Group That Shall Not Be Named, who have kept that love alive all these years.
Author’s Note
The Harry Potter fandom is an extraordinary thing—in its breadth, its longevity, and its boundless ingenuity. This is a book first and foremost for the fandom, by a fan. Consequently, it will use a host of jargon developed by the fandom over the last twenty years: abbreviations, portmanteaus, and clever nicknames. While most of them are hopefully self-evident, below is a list of abbreviations frequently used in this book.
There was also a choice to be made about what to call the author of Harry Potter throughout the text. Joanne Rowling has had a closer relationship with her readers than most authors who came before her, and her readers engaged with the material more than most readers had before. One of the things the fandom had to decide relatively early on was what to call her given how often we referred to her—“Rowling,” “JKR,” or something else.
The question was resolved when she launched her official website in mid-May 2004 and signed the welcome message "With love from J.K. Rowling (Jo to you)." The fansite MuggleNet immediately adopted the convention of calling her “Jo,” “because she said to.” The entire HP fandom followed suit, and the convention has stuck ever since. I am going to stick with that convention in this book—who am I to argue with the author’s chosen name?
Not to mention, it feels pretty good to be on first-name terms with someone like Jo!
Fandom Terminology
Books
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Book 1, Book One, SS, 1991-1992, first year
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Book 2, Book Two, CS, CoS, 1992-1993, second year
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Book 3, Book Three, PA, PoA, 1993-1994, third year
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Book 4, Book Four, GF, GoF, 1994-1995, fourth year
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Book 5, Book Five, OP, OotP, 1995-1996, fifth year
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Book 6, Book Six, HBP, 1996-1997, sixth year
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Book 7, Book Seven, DH, 1997-1998, seventh year
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard: TBB
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: FB
- Quidditch through the Ages: QA
The Battles
- Battle of the Department of Mysteries—climax of Order of the Phoenix
- Battle of the Tower—climax of
