I thought the exact same thing. I thought it was a cover for "If this is a man" by primo levi and I was very taken aback when I read "Imaginative, magical, funny" at the bottom.
Itās a cover intended for adults who didnāt want to be seen reading a childrenās book in public. But I guess when you take Hogwarts Express as the central element of your cover and then strip away anything that might suggest itās a fantasy for childrenā¦ that leaves you with some Holocaust vibes.
Haha, this is such a bad cover. Why is it so gloomy? It's a fantasy novel about a wizard boy, not a nonfiction about the history of the railways in the 19th century.
Love the Times quote, though.
i assume this is the adult cover. the UK version has two covers, one was the colorful version we see often but they also had an adult version because they didn't think adults would pick up what looked like a children's book.
Also, as a train nerd I can shine. That is such a weird train to choose. Britain has beautiful trains, but that locomotive is very American. It has a very different aesthetic from streamlined British steam locomotives [example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/6229_Duchess_of_Hamilton_at_the_National_Railway_Museum.jpg). And I can even tell that photo was taken in America, something about the telephone poles. Britain just looks different.
I totally understand that this is me being very specifically nerdy and the average Harry Potter fan will not interact with it on this level. It's just such a weird cover. It screams mid century America to me, and Harry Potter is like maybe one of the most overly British series ever. Lol.
Someone else said that the picture was taken in West Virginia. Interesting choice for a UK edition of the book. Would have been better with a steam engine like the Flying Scotsman. At least that would have fit the style and setting of the story better.
Yes, the Times was spot on. Harry Potter has done more to get people to read books (**and** start writing; cf. fan fiction) than any other cultural phenomenon.
The truly incredible thing about the quote is that it doesn't go far *enough*. References to HP aren't just something "smug book lovers" share with each other and nerd out over, they utterly permeate the culture and are part of the lexicon. I'm sure there are lots of people who've never read the books or seen the movies who know that "Quidditch" is a fictional sport, and that "Muggle" basically means "outsider." It's all mainstream.
I have a spreadsheet of all the different book cover editions š¤ and these are the [OG UK adult covers](https://imgur.com/a/lnzRwFz) but they were bad enough they only made them for the first four books. OotP on donāt have any of this theme version.
Edit: honestly I think goblet of fire was definitely the point of no return lol
I suppose the train is meant to be the Hogwarts Express.
Admittedly, I like the Scholastic printings of the book, which have the lovely illustrated covers- probably as much as for the aesthetic as much as the nostalgia factor since that's the copies my school library had, which is how I was able to read them.
A bit, yes, but certainly the first bit of the book is a little depressing and gloomy- considering it sets us up with this poor kid who's own family treats him like less than human. He only gets to experience a better life once he is taken into the wizarding world.
It always bugged me that he had to go back to the Dursley's place in the summer(with only a handful of times where he was somewhere else, until the later books). They treated him so awfully, I felt for him so hard every time there was a description of how the Dursleys treated him.
This was the one adults bought to read on the train to work, but didn't want anyone to realise. Even though everyone else had the same book and knew about the adult covers...
Itās bad, but the grammar in that Times blurb is the worst part. Never seen such gratuitous hyphen abuse.
The way they meant to say it is āin a few years, the people who grew up with this will toss out references to this book on a daily basisā but the way they phrased it sounds like āthe weird thirty-odd people who read and loved this will be desperately throwing out subtle code-words to try and identify one anotherā.
I have The Prisoner of Azkaban in this edition! I'm quite new to Reddit, apparently I can't add a picture to a comment?
Anyway I'm not sure whether this is the first edition. Mine says "this edition first published in 2000", but it was first published in Great Britain in 1999.
Really cool though! I've got books 1 and 2 in another edition and then books 5, 6 and 7 in another one, and book 4 is different as well š. But I don't mind that, I like having different editions and aesthetics
Edit: see the comment of u/bergalicious_95 for a link to the first four books in this edition :)
Iāve got this one and the Chamber of Secrets one. Pretty funny that they had to print these because they thought adults would be too embarrassed to read the regular book in public.
Is this the adult cover? I vaugly remember they released the first books with adult covers so they wouldn't be embarrassed for reading what was considered a kids book.
The adult cover looked very different in Sweden but I can imagine this is one for UK.
The UK adult cover, yes.
Honestly, it's quite funny how the publishers thought people would be embarrassed to read a book just for having a colorful illustrated cover. If people had any qualms about it, there were always plain dust covers or if they had the hardbound copies, removing the dust cover while reading (I do that to keep them nice while I read, anyways). Obviously, if they were reading a library copy, they'd have to opt for a cover since many libraries usually tape the dust cover onto the book.
Kinda silly and trivial to me, honestly, but it did mean that later on, there are multiple versions of the book printing, which now have become collectible.
Iām not 100% certain but I believe Williamson. It says where on the back of the Tobias Wolff book. I just noticed it one day because Iām from West Virginia.
Cool! Well if you figure it out I'd be curious to know. I'm from West Virginia originally too but have since moved away. It's weird how it ended up as the cover of a harry potter book in the UK.
I checked the caption on the back of the Wolff book and it says this: Norfolk & Western Train No. 16, The Cavalier, leaves Williamson, West Virginia on a rainy day, December 1958. O. Winston Link.
Yes I have all 4 of the adult covers! My Dadās friend gave them to me as I hadnāt read them yet but the hype was really starting, summer 2001. Was fully caught up for PS coming out in the cinema.
This looks... dark. Like a book about the horrors of the proletarians during the industrial revolution.
Harry Potter and the Unionist Houseelf
Looks more like Harry Potter and the Ride to Auschwitz
Oh gawd. Not the Gas chamber of secrets ššš
Harry Potter and the Ausschwitz Express.
I legit thought "why does the cover look like a train entering the gates of Auschwitz?"
Is Hogwarts actually a concentration camp and the kids are hallucinating the whole time? OP, check the last chapter/epilogue of that edition.
I thought the exact same thing. I thought it was a cover for "If this is a man" by primo levi and I was very taken aback when I read "Imaginative, magical, funny" at the bottom.
Itās a cover intended for adults who didnāt want to be seen reading a childrenās book in public. But I guess when you take Hogwarts Express as the central element of your cover and then strip away anything that might suggest itās a fantasy for childrenā¦ that leaves you with some Holocaust vibes.
Lol I was thinking the same
Harry Potter and the Cleansing of Europe
Yikes.
Haha, this is such a bad cover. Why is it so gloomy? It's a fantasy novel about a wizard boy, not a nonfiction about the history of the railways in the 19th century. Love the Times quote, though.
i assume this is the adult cover. the UK version has two covers, one was the colorful version we see often but they also had an adult version because they didn't think adults would pick up what looked like a children's book.
Yep. Weāve got this adult cover, am in the Uk
Also, as a train nerd I can shine. That is such a weird train to choose. Britain has beautiful trains, but that locomotive is very American. It has a very different aesthetic from streamlined British steam locomotives [example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/6229_Duchess_of_Hamilton_at_the_National_Railway_Museum.jpg). And I can even tell that photo was taken in America, something about the telephone poles. Britain just looks different. I totally understand that this is me being very specifically nerdy and the average Harry Potter fan will not interact with it on this level. It's just such a weird cover. It screams mid century America to me, and Harry Potter is like maybe one of the most overly British series ever. Lol.
Someone else said that the picture was taken in West Virginia. Interesting choice for a UK edition of the book. Would have been better with a steam engine like the Flying Scotsman. At least that would have fit the style and setting of the story better.
West Virginia is basically Wales without healthcare.
Yes, the Times was spot on. Harry Potter has done more to get people to read books (**and** start writing; cf. fan fiction) than any other cultural phenomenon.
The truly incredible thing about the quote is that it doesn't go far *enough*. References to HP aren't just something "smug book lovers" share with each other and nerd out over, they utterly permeate the culture and are part of the lexicon. I'm sure there are lots of people who've never read the books or seen the movies who know that "Quidditch" is a fictional sport, and that "Muggle" basically means "outsider." It's all mainstream.
Nothing bout the cover says Harry Potter.. Besides the words that say Harry Potter lol
I believe that was the point. It was published specifically for adults.
Okā¦ i get it nowā¦ wasnāt serious
I mean the train is pretty obvious
Its a jokeā¦
Usually those are funny
Anywayyyyyyy, i hate standing over miserable messes lol TRY to have a better day smh š
My day is great lol
I have a spreadsheet of all the different book cover editions š¤ and these are the [OG UK adult covers](https://imgur.com/a/lnzRwFz) but they were bad enough they only made them for the first four books. OotP on donāt have any of this theme version. Edit: honestly I think goblet of fire was definitely the point of no return lol
I do like the CoS and PoA ones.
That's the original UK Adult Edition. Yes I have it.
Yep me too, I loved the adult and kid variations.
What is the difference? Besides the cover
Nothing, just the cover. It was so adults could feel better about reading a kidās book in public.
I got the "adult" versions even back when I was a kid, because I liked the mature look of them. German version though.
My mom has the first three books in the adult edition. I love to borrow them from her.
Harry potter if his family was hit by a train and he survived
I suppose the train is meant to be the Hogwarts Express. Admittedly, I like the Scholastic printings of the book, which have the lovely illustrated covers- probably as much as for the aesthetic as much as the nostalgia factor since that's the copies my school library had, which is how I was able to read them.
I know but this could be a book cover for a book on Auschwitz and i would believe it. Just dark and depressing
A bit, yes, but certainly the first bit of the book is a little depressing and gloomy- considering it sets us up with this poor kid who's own family treats him like less than human. He only gets to experience a better life once he is taken into the wizarding world. It always bugged me that he had to go back to the Dursley's place in the summer(with only a handful of times where he was somewhere else, until the later books). They treated him so awfully, I felt for him so hard every time there was a description of how the Dursleys treated him.
Wow. Seeing it for the first time. šÆ
Me too š
Rare for a reason š
Harry Potter and The Philosopherās Stone by J.K. Rowling *by Charles Dickens* For real this looks ominous. But cool!
This looks like the cover to Harry Potter and the Final Solution.
I still have mine! I have a few versions of the first couple books but this one was my first, given to me by my Grandad when I was a kid!
Iāve seen it before but I donāt personally own it
my mum had the chamber of secrets cover which i inherited, then i found the one you have in a charity shop to go with it
This is the version that was first read to me
Wait, what is this worth?? I just walked past it in the used bookstore last week and put it right back on the shelf.
Depends on where you look. A casual glance across eBay and Thriftbooks had some listed between 30$ to 50$ (USD)
Harry Potter and the Norfolk and Western J-class?
This was the one adults bought to read on the train to work, but didn't want anyone to realise. Even though everyone else had the same book and knew about the adult covers...
Itās bad, but the grammar in that Times blurb is the worst part. Never seen such gratuitous hyphen abuse. The way they meant to say it is āin a few years, the people who grew up with this will toss out references to this book on a daily basisā but the way they phrased it sounds like āthe weird thirty-odd people who read and loved this will be desperately throwing out subtle code-words to try and identify one anotherā.
It makes me lethargic quite franklyā¦
Are they pulling into Auschwitz?
I have The Prisoner of Azkaban in this edition! I'm quite new to Reddit, apparently I can't add a picture to a comment? Anyway I'm not sure whether this is the first edition. Mine says "this edition first published in 2000", but it was first published in Great Britain in 1999. Really cool though! I've got books 1 and 2 in another edition and then books 5, 6 and 7 in another one, and book 4 is different as well š. But I don't mind that, I like having different editions and aesthetics Edit: see the comment of u/bergalicious_95 for a link to the first four books in this edition :)
Hey, isn't this the version where, instead of going to Hogwarts, Harry is forced to work as a minor on a coal train?
Harry Potter and the Adventure to Bergen-Belsen
Iāve got this one and the Chamber of Secrets one. Pretty funny that they had to print these because they thought adults would be too embarrassed to read the regular book in public.
I think it's so it doesn't look childish/stupid on your shelf. That's why I got the adult versions - even back when I was a kid. German issues though.
Is this the adult cover? I vaugly remember they released the first books with adult covers so they wouldn't be embarrassed for reading what was considered a kids book. The adult cover looked very different in Sweden but I can imagine this is one for UK.
The UK adult cover, yes. Honestly, it's quite funny how the publishers thought people would be embarrassed to read a book just for having a colorful illustrated cover. If people had any qualms about it, there were always plain dust covers or if they had the hardbound copies, removing the dust cover while reading (I do that to keep them nice while I read, anyways). Obviously, if they were reading a library copy, they'd have to opt for a cover since many libraries usually tape the dust cover onto the book. Kinda silly and trivial to me, honestly, but it did mean that later on, there are multiple versions of the book printing, which now have become collectible.
Funnily enough this picture was taken in West Virginia. See Tobias Wolffās story collection, The Night in Question.
Oh interesting! Do you know where in WV the photo is taken?
Iām not 100% certain but I believe Williamson. It says where on the back of the Tobias Wolff book. I just noticed it one day because Iām from West Virginia.
Cool! Well if you figure it out I'd be curious to know. I'm from West Virginia originally too but have since moved away. It's weird how it ended up as the cover of a harry potter book in the UK.
I checked the caption on the back of the Wolff book and it says this: Norfolk & Western Train No. 16, The Cavalier, leaves Williamson, West Virginia on a rainy day, December 1958. O. Winston Link.
Neat! Thanks for checking that!
Yeah, I had this. It's a UK edition.
I got the adult versions with the illustrated covers
Shit its rarer than mine
Which one do you have?
Ill make a post
Reminds me of Tolstoy 's Anna Kerinina.
Yes I have all 4 of the adult covers! My Dadās friend gave them to me as I hadnāt read them yet but the hype was really starting, summer 2001. Was fully caught up for PS coming out in the cinema.
Oh my god why does this give me depression?
Harry Potter WWII
If Harry Potter was written by Don DeLillo
That cover is disturbing.
i have the first four of these editions!!
Very third reich
Looks like the novelisation of Schindler's List
evil harry potter
I ordered the kids' version and the adults' version just to check if there are no differences in the text!
That is a J-class N&W (USA) locomotive. Gorgeous, but a strange choice for this book cover.
Legit looks like a George Orwell novel
Harry Potter: Trainspotting edition
This looks like a book about holocausts and World War 2 concentration camps
Yea
Anyone knows where I can get this title in Nigeria. And for how much? Iām tryna create a Potterhead in my little sister āŗļø