Posted by Peter Willis on September 30, 2003 at 19:23:13 from 195.92.168.163 user PeterWillis.
In Reply to: Re: Harry Potter posted by Mike Dennis on September 29, 2003 at 08:10:59:
"Another factor about AR is that seem to be timeless, even though we all know when they were set. In contrast Rowling uses references that in a few years will be outdated and look really odd."
This interests me. Could we have some examples Mike?
The only examples of potentially-datedness I can recall in Rowling is references to jeans and trainers (though I'm told by the resident expert that there is a Playstation somewhere).
The clothes in Ransom are always a giveaway - flannel shorts, sou-westers - but neither I nor any of the children I know seem to have found this a barrier. More an element of period charm (and there must be others - any suggestions?)
One of Rowling's remarkable achievements is to create a fantasy world (Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley) that co-exists alongside and occasionally interfaces with a recognisable real world (Privet Drive, Kings Cross Station - even if she did really mean Euston). Real worlds simply aren't timeless - even AR's lake district and Broads. One of the great charms of the Harry Potter series is the running joke about Muggle artefacts.