Hermione/Emma Watson (Re: The Romance (was HBP))

[Miles]

> Magpie:
> Just to throw out one thing about the title change, whether or not it
> makes it better or worse, but I have heard that the rumor that
> Philosopher's was changed to simplify it or dumb it down for American
> audiences isn't true. What they wanted was a title that indicated
> that the book was about magic/sorcery etc. I think they asked JKR to
> come up with an alternative title and she chose Sorcerer's
> Stone--which is pretty good given the options. So it's not that they
> just changed that word because it was too hard, it was that she went
> for Sorcerer's Stone rather than Harry Potter and the School of Magic
> or whatever and they liked that.
>
> So it was more about the title grabbing the right audience than
> simplifying in that case. US children's books aren't anti-4-syllable
> words on principle, iow.

Miles
But if you know what the philosopher's stone is, you know  it's closely 
connected to wizardry and magic, at least in modern fantasy literature. It 
does not exist, it was a dream of ancient alchemists, and if a story deals 
with an existing PS, it obviously is not a story taken from our world.

So, the preconception behind changing the term was that "philosopher's 
stone" is unknown to the average buyer of fantasy for kids and teenagers. 
And I do hope this is an insult.

Miles