{"product_id":"the-politics-of-fantasy-magic-childrens-literature-and-fandom-in-putins-russia-hardback-9780299353506","title":"The Politics of Fantasy; Magic, Children's Literature, and Fandom in Putin's Russia (Hardback) 9780299353506","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Politics of Fantasy\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eMagic, Children's Literature, and Fandom in Putin's Russia\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eEliot Borenstein (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780299353506\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 19 August 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e184 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.408 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"This volume shows how importing J. K. Rowling's multimedia franchise into Russia has provoked not only Russians' fantasies but also their national anxieties and fears. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, \u003ci\u003eThe Politics of Fantasy\u003c\/i\u003e provides an invaluable guide through the Russian multiverse that Harry Potter has inspired.\" - Julie Cassiday, author of \u003ci\u003eRussian Style: Performing Gender, Power, and Putinism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIn this book, cultural historian Eliot Borenstein asks what happened when J. K. Rowling's mega-blockbuster, born in the United Kingdom and launched to global heights by Hollywood and the full force of Western marketing, came knocking on President Putin's door. The arrival of boy wizard and international star Harry Potter in a recently neoliberal Russia was enormously influential but neither smooth nor uncontested. The franchise quickly became a lens that focused Russians' national ambitions and fears during an era characterized by both the hegemony of popular culture and a conservative backlash. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With crisp, engaging prose, Borenstein leaps from Harry Potter into an exploration of the culture wars and moral panics sparked by the development of Western-inspired children's culture, extending back into the Soviet period and through the invasion of Ukraine, guiding us along a path as treacherous and intriguing, with as many surprising characters, dark corners, and historical side streets, as the wizarding world's Diagon Alley. As cultural products pitched ostensibly to children, the Harry Potter books and films became the perfect objects for criticism, translation, adaptation, parody, attack, mimicry, and meme-making, allowing Russians to carve out their own space in the worldwide market of magical multiverses.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAcknowledgments \u003cbr\u003e Note on Translations and Transliteration \u003cbr\u003e Introduction: Confessions of a Reformed Pirate \u003cbr\u003e Chapter . . . and the Arrival of a Franchise \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 2 . . . and the Fantasy Genre Controversy \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 3 . . . and the Cheap Knock-Offs \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 4 . . . and the Rise of Fandom \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 5 . . . and the Russian Culture Wars \u003cbr\u003e Chapter . . . and the Transgender Russophone Satanic Wizard \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 7 . . . and the Dark Lord Putin \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion . . . and the Cruel Optimism of the Wizarding World \u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e Works Cited \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Wisconsin Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52676670587160,"sku":"9780299353506","price":23.66,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-politics-of-fantasy-magic-childrens-literature-and-fandom-in-putins-russia-hardback-9780299353506","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}