On the 8th October 2019, Bloomsbury published the beautiful illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as illustrated by Jim Kay. The book is full of wonderful illustrations packed to the brim with little Easter eggs and gorgeous details.
The following day, we had the privilege of attending a talk hosted by Jim Kay himself at the National Theatre in which he discussed the book and the other three, detailing his process and some hidden gems that you might have missed as a reader. Here are some of our favourite illustrations with some added insider gossip!
There's a really lovely image of Ron in his room early on in the book. The page is a blaze of orange; his room being decorated floor to ceiling with Chudley Cannons merchandise - banners, scarves, bunting, cards and figurines. You name it, Ron's got it! Even his knitted jumper is Quidditch themed.
Ron's also got a fair few books on his shelf - A Snitch in Time, An Ordinary of Arms, The Collected Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle (from Chamber of Secrets), and, of course, Fantastic Beasts by Newt Scamander. He even owns a Tolkien novel! Also shown is a model of the Ford Anglia car, a Hogwarts snowglobe and a pawn from his chess piece.
Something Jim mentioned in his talk was he feels compelled to draw hares, so you can also find a toy hare in Ron's room. The Weasleys, Ron, Ginny and Molly, are all drawn from actual real life models so he can get the ageing just right. The models for Ron and Ginny are siblings in real life, and their mum is the inspiration behind Molly!
Continuing on the Weasley theme, there is a very sweet illustration of Mrs Weasley in the kitchen at the Burrow; a snapshot of Harry’s time there. The room is lovely and homely, filled with plants, handmade drawings of gingers, vegetables, and more jelly moulds (or cake tins) than one ever thought existed - note the little owl one on the top shelf! There’s also a whole lot of magical elements to the illustration, such as the levitating carrots grating themselves, the pots washing without assistance, the lion punch dispenser (assumedly a Gryffindor reference) and Errol nesting in his Gambol and Japes crate.
Molly herself dons a knitted jumper with a very cute honeycomb and bee design. In his talk, Jim noted that he liked this jumper, but had no idea why he chose that design, but we think it fits perfectly. One of the sweetest references in the illustration is the wireless radio; we know that Molly loves a bit of Celestina Warbeck, so it’s only right she’d have her radio right by her in the kitchen!
In this book, we are introduced to a flurry of new characters, such as the Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Rita Skeeter and the other three champions, Fleur, Cedric and Krum. Viktor Krum’s image can be seen a number of times throughout the book, but during his talk, Jim Kay highlighted the juxtaposition of the Krum seen on Quidditch posters at the World Cup, and the real life figure of Krum.
Kay described Viktor as seen on the poster as rockstar like; suave and cool, whilst the ‘real’ Krum is anything but. Viktor stands duck-footed with a hunched demeanour and hair in his eyes to display his shyness - far from the Quidditch star we read about at the beginning of the book!
When the first initial drawings were made public last year, the letter covered in stamps sent from Ron to Harry at the very beginning of the book became an immediate favourite. The drawing has a lovely mix of wizarding and muggle references shown on the straps, such as the Queen (as we have on all British stamps) and idyllic landscapes next to stamps adorned with Mandrakes, Owls and perhaps even the Hogwarts Express.
There's a new image of Draco Malfoy too, shown in the forest after the Quidditch World Cup match when the Death Eaters begin wreaking havoc. Like with the Weasleys, Jim Kay also has a real life Draco model, so he can age him up just right. It's fascinating to see how his features have changed as he's grown up, especially when you compare this new illustration to the first one we saw in the Philosopher's Stone illustrated edition. On the tree beside him is a sinister-looking moth.
Another character we get to see for the first time in this book is Rita Skeeter. Kay dedicates an entire page to a portrait of her interviewing Harry in the broom cupboard. At his talk, he mentioned that he wasn't sure what exactly would be found in a broom cupboard, and had fun filling it with all kinds of magical delights! Noteworthy mentions include the can of 'Spirit Away' (must be a ghost repellant) something entitled 'Sphinx', moth bombs, and what seems to be Christmas wrapping paper shoved in the corner. Kay noted that he chose to use the colours green and pink to make the image pop and contrast, which has a rather jarring effect. As readers of the book will know, Skeeter's Animagus form is a beetle, and these can be found forming the pattern on her dress, and a small ornate one clasping her handbag closed.
There's quite a charming image of Dobby surrounding by the Hogwarts house-elves in the kitchens. He's wearing "a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of what looked like children's football shorts, and odd socks. One of these, Harry saw, was the black one he had removed from his own foot and tricked Mr Malfoy into giving Dobby, thereby setting Dobby free. The other was covered in pink and orange stripes." On his head, Dobby is wearing a tea cosy for a hat on which is pinned "a number of bright badges" - one of them being a Blue Peter badge!
All the elves are wearing tea-towels stamped with the Hogwarts crest, tied like a toga. They're all shown doing various jobs, and all have unique looks.
And of course, we have to mention the Yule Ball!
In the illustration we can see Draco, looking like a vicar, with Pansy in frilly robes of pale pink; Krum and Hermione, in her floaty, periwinkle-blue dress; and Ron in his maroon velvet dress robes, looking longingly over at Hermione. House points to anyone who can spot the downtrodden house-elf and the runaway fairy!
The following day, we had the privilege of attending a talk hosted by Jim Kay himself at the National Theatre in which he discussed the book and the other three, detailing his process and some hidden gems that you might have missed as a reader. Here are some of our favourite illustrations with some added insider gossip!
 |
| Ron's room |
There's a really lovely image of Ron in his room early on in the book. The page is a blaze of orange; his room being decorated floor to ceiling with Chudley Cannons merchandise - banners, scarves, bunting, cards and figurines. You name it, Ron's got it! Even his knitted jumper is Quidditch themed.
Ron's also got a fair few books on his shelf - A Snitch in Time, An Ordinary of Arms, The Collected Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle (from Chamber of Secrets), and, of course, Fantastic Beasts by Newt Scamander. He even owns a Tolkien novel! Also shown is a model of the Ford Anglia car, a Hogwarts snowglobe and a pawn from his chess piece.
Something Jim mentioned in his talk was he feels compelled to draw hares, so you can also find a toy hare in Ron's room. The Weasleys, Ron, Ginny and Molly, are all drawn from actual real life models so he can get the ageing just right. The models for Ron and Ginny are siblings in real life, and their mum is the inspiration behind Molly!
 |
| The kitchen at the Burrow |
Continuing on the Weasley theme, there is a very sweet illustration of Mrs Weasley in the kitchen at the Burrow; a snapshot of Harry’s time there. The room is lovely and homely, filled with plants, handmade drawings of gingers, vegetables, and more jelly moulds (or cake tins) than one ever thought existed - note the little owl one on the top shelf! There’s also a whole lot of magical elements to the illustration, such as the levitating carrots grating themselves, the pots washing without assistance, the lion punch dispenser (assumedly a Gryffindor reference) and Errol nesting in his Gambol and Japes crate.
Molly herself dons a knitted jumper with a very cute honeycomb and bee design. In his talk, Jim noted that he liked this jumper, but had no idea why he chose that design, but we think it fits perfectly. One of the sweetest references in the illustration is the wireless radio; we know that Molly loves a bit of Celestina Warbeck, so it’s only right she’d have her radio right by her in the kitchen!
 |
| Quidditch Legend Krum |
In this book, we are introduced to a flurry of new characters, such as the Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Rita Skeeter and the other three champions, Fleur, Cedric and Krum. Viktor Krum’s image can be seen a number of times throughout the book, but during his talk, Jim Kay highlighted the juxtaposition of the Krum seen on Quidditch posters at the World Cup, and the real life figure of Krum.
 |
| Duck-footed Viktor |
Kay described Viktor as seen on the poster as rockstar like; suave and cool, whilst the ‘real’ Krum is anything but. Viktor stands duck-footed with a hunched demeanour and hair in his eyes to display his shyness - far from the Quidditch star we read about at the beginning of the book!
When the first initial drawings were made public last year, the letter covered in stamps sent from Ron to Harry at the very beginning of the book became an immediate favourite. The drawing has a lovely mix of wizarding and muggle references shown on the straps, such as the Queen (as we have on all British stamps) and idyllic landscapes next to stamps adorned with Mandrakes, Owls and perhaps even the Hogwarts Express.
 |
| Draco |
There's a new image of Draco Malfoy too, shown in the forest after the Quidditch World Cup match when the Death Eaters begin wreaking havoc. Like with the Weasleys, Jim Kay also has a real life Draco model, so he can age him up just right. It's fascinating to see how his features have changed as he's grown up, especially when you compare this new illustration to the first one we saw in the Philosopher's Stone illustrated edition. On the tree beside him is a sinister-looking moth.
 |
| Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations - |
Another character we get to see for the first time in this book is Rita Skeeter. Kay dedicates an entire page to a portrait of her interviewing Harry in the broom cupboard. At his talk, he mentioned that he wasn't sure what exactly would be found in a broom cupboard, and had fun filling it with all kinds of magical delights! Noteworthy mentions include the can of 'Spirit Away' (must be a ghost repellant) something entitled 'Sphinx', moth bombs, and what seems to be Christmas wrapping paper shoved in the corner. Kay noted that he chose to use the colours green and pink to make the image pop and contrast, which has a rather jarring effect. As readers of the book will know, Skeeter's Animagus form is a beetle, and these can be found forming the pattern on her dress, and a small ornate one clasping her handbag closed.
 |
| The kitchen elves |
There's quite a charming image of Dobby surrounding by the Hogwarts house-elves in the kitchens. He's wearing "a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of what looked like children's football shorts, and odd socks. One of these, Harry saw, was the black one he had removed from his own foot and tricked Mr Malfoy into giving Dobby, thereby setting Dobby free. The other was covered in pink and orange stripes." On his head, Dobby is wearing a tea cosy for a hat on which is pinned "a number of bright badges" - one of them being a Blue Peter badge!
All the elves are wearing tea-towels stamped with the Hogwarts crest, tied like a toga. They're all shown doing various jobs, and all have unique looks.
And of course, we have to mention the Yule Ball!
In the illustration we can see Draco, looking like a vicar, with Pansy in frilly robes of pale pink; Krum and Hermione, in her floaty, periwinkle-blue dress; and Ron in his maroon velvet dress robes, looking longingly over at Hermione. House points to anyone who can spot the downtrodden house-elf and the runaway fairy!
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