Parade's End postponed?

J.K. Rowling

This was bound to happen. The London Telegraph reports that no sooner had J.K. Rowling left the door open to bringing the character of Harry Potter back in a future book, notwithstanding the official end of the series with the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," then British bookseller Waterstones kicked off an online "Save Harry" petition.

When asked last Friday by BBC interviewer Jonathan Ross whether she would ever consider bringing Harry back, Rowling acknowledged her sadness at ending the seven-book series, but added, "Never say never." Commenting on Rowling's BBC remark, a spokesman for the author told the Telegraph, "It's not saying that she definitely is and it's not saying she definitely isn't. I cannot comment further." Waterstone's "International Campaign to Save Harry" hopes to gather a million signatories by July 21, the "Deathly Hallows" release date.

Much as we understand the panic of financially battered booksellers, such as Waterstones, at the prospect of a world without Harry Potter, my hunch is that there will be no more Potter novels.

Many have hung their hopes on the precedent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who killed off Sherlock Holmes, but then brought him back in response to an irresistable public clamor. However, Doyle offed the detective because he was heartily sick of him, whereas Rowling has said she loves Harry and is both "heartbroken and euphoric" to see his story end. Also, there was never any plan with Holmes -- it wasn't a series of novels, with the character changing and growing. Rowling always said there would be seven Potter novels, and she has always kept faith with her readers.