18 Jul 2007 by
starlitgrove From LA Times.
So the scans are the manuscript, which, if Wikipedia is correct and I understood it correctly, may mean that the scans are the yet unedited version of the book.
In book, magazine, and music publishing, a manuscript is an original copy of a work written by an author or composer, which generally follows standardized typographic and formatting rules.
That would explain all of the typographical errors. It doesn’t explain some continuity errors though.
But then a few other photos have come out. Photos of the Table of Contents, first page of some chapter titles, and the first page of the Epilogue. And these chapters (plus epi) are completely different from the chapters in the “Carpet” full version. We call it Carpet since the background of the photos is this hideous carpet, and we call the other set of photos the Flickr version since they were first posted on Flickr.
The Table of Contents:
The chapter titles are so very different from the Carpet version.
The First Chapter: The Dark Lord Ascending
The same with the Carpet version, word for word.
Chapter 3: Wither Thou Goest
Chapter 3 for Carpet version is titled The Dursleys Departing. Interesting note: the chapter illustration above of Harry and Ginny (presumably) is the same as the Chapter 7: The Will of Albus Dumbledore illustration for the Carpet version.
Next, Chapter 16: The Second Cave
Carpet’s Ch16 is titled Godric’s Hollow. Story is also totally different. But, the triangle and circle sign does appear in the Carpet version.
And finally, first page of the Epilogue
Totally different from page 1 of the infamous, cheesy one in the Carpet version.
I don’t think that the Carpet version is 100% real. I think that Chapter 1 is real. I think that, because of some continuity issues I have with it, mostly to do with Hermione, some parts of it are faux. This is reinforced by my observation that some of the illustrations for the chapter pages seem off. They don’t seem to relate to the story unfolding in the chapter itself. (Yes, I slogged through the whole Carpet version for lack of anything better to do.) Example, Ch11. The drawing looks like a long-haired woman. There is no mention of her in the chapter.
I don’t regret reading the Carpet version. If it is indeed a hoax, it will give the whole HP spoiler community a barrel of laughs. Part of me believes that this all a conspiracy between JKR and her publishers. Release a believable fake leak before an authentic one could be posted and confuse the hell out of everybody. I just wish that 2 chapters are real: Snape and Neville.
