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Question

In the comments to this question, there is a discussion whether Gilderoy Lockhart's "Magical Me" is a distinct work or merely the title of the full 10-or-so book collection.

Which is correct?

Leave Gilderoy Lockhart alone. The poor guy is still in St. Mungo's.. — 5 hours ago
We'll let the experts decide english.stackexchange.com/questions/464585/â€¦ — 5 hours ago

score 4 · Answer 1 · 2018-09-17 04:42:36Z

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is a passage that can be taken as evidence of either possibility. At the end of one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes Lockhart says:

"Homework Ã¢Â€Â“ compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga
Werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!"

Now, if Magical Me is just the collection of the other books then all the students already have them. Receiving books they already have would hardly be a good prize. Moreover, Lockhart could have just signed the books they already had rather than giving them new ones that are signed.

On the other hand, if Magical Me is a distinct one-volume book, then he should say that the winner will get "a signed copy" rather than "signed copies".

Of course it is possible that he would give the winner multiple copies of the same book, or that there could be multiple winners. And it's also possible that he would give new signed books rather than signing the books they already have, because a mere signature is not much of a prize Ã¢Â€Â“ Lockhart had already signed many books for free, and any student could theoretically ask him to sign their books at any time. A prize of actual new books has some physical value, albeit diminished by the fact that it's books they already have.

A passage that supports the theory that Magical Me is one book appears when Mrs. Norris is found petrified. Lockhart there says:

"... I remember something very similar happpening in Ouagadougou,"
said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my
autobiography,

If his autobiography was actually all seven books then he should have said which book it was in (as he does on other occasions).

Additionally when Harry meets Lockhart in Flourish and Blotts we are told:

The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented
with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Yet a few moments earlier Lockhart had promised him his autobiography for free. As explained in this answer, there is only one other Lockhart book mentioned in the Harry Potter books (Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests). If his autobiography (Magical Me) is the whole set of seven books then it is basically itself the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Thus, there wouldn't be such a reason to say that Harry received the entire works. If, however, Magical Me is a separate one-volume autobiography then there is a very god reason to say that Harry received the entire works, namely that it is telling us a novel point Ã¢Â€Â“ that Harry did not only receive the one book Lockhart promised him, but he received all of Lockhart's books.

On the other hand, there certainly is biographical material in the set of seven books required for Hogwarts, such that it might be redundant to have a separate book as his autobiography. Lockhart says, for instance:

"Tut, tut Ã¢Â€Â“ hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is
lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti And a few of you need to read
Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully Ã¢Â€Â“ I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between
all magic and non-magic peoples Ã¢Â€Â“ though I wouldn't say no to a large
bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!"

There is other evidence that can perhaps support either theory. Lockhart was signing copies of Magical Me in Flourish and Blotts:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

Magical Me

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

The Weasleys were waiting on the line to get signed books:

They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and
sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing
with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

If Magical Me is in fact the set of books that were on the Hogwarts list it is understandable why the Weasleys are on line. They have to buy the books anyway so they may as well get them signed. But if Magical Me is a separate book that is not on the Hogwarts list, it would be strange for the Weasleys to be buying it. After all, they had just complained about not having enough money for Ginny's supplies Ã¢Â€Â“ why then would they be wasting money on an unnecessary book?

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his
parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive...."

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I
expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand.

On the other hand, if Magical Me is simply the set of books needed for Hogwarts and that is what Lockhart was signing, then it is hard to make sense of another passage:

"You have these." Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the
cauldron. "I'll buy my own Ã¢Â€Â“"

Here Harry gives the books he just got from Lockhart to Ginny, after waiting on the line. Moments later, Ron and Hermione meet him with their own stacks of Lockhart's books:

Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both
clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

This implies that they bought the books and got them signed. This would mean that the Weasley's probably already bought books for Ginny, as they were with Harry on line. In that case, Harry's actions are pointless. If, however, Magical Me is a separate book then that is the only one that would have been bought. Ginny would still need her Hogwarts books, and then Harry's actions make sense.¹

^{1. The truth is this might not make sense anyway, because when Mr. Weasley comes over to where Harry and the others are he says:}

^{"What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."}

^{If they hadn't bought all the books yet, why would Mr. Weasley suggest leaving the bookstore?}

It strikes me that he'd b giving out multiple copies of a single book (for their friends and families to read) — 5 hours ago

Bellatrix 55.8k11259292 · Answer 2 · 2018-09-17 01:19:46Z

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

When Lockhart refers to his autobiography, he refers to it as Ã¢Â€Âœmy bookÃ¢Â€Â, which seems to imply that it is likely a distinct work, as book is typically the singular form and usually refers to one book.

Ã¢Â€ÂœWhen young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography Ã¢Â€Â“ which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge Ã¢Â€Â“Ã¢Â€Â™ the crowd applauded again, Ã¢Â€Â˜Ã¢Â€Â“ he had no idea,Ã¢Â€Â™ Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, Ã¢Â€Â˜that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me.Ã¢Â€Â
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 4 (At Flourish and Blotts)}}

Also, in the movies, Magical Me is shown onscreen as being a distinct book titled Magical Me.

enter image description here

score -5 · Answer 3 · 2018-09-17 00:10:05Z

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

including

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

43 Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

This is clear in Chamber of Secrets:

Ã¢Â€ÂœWhen young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography Ã¢Â€Â” which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge Ã¢Â€Â”Ã¢Â€Â The crowd applauded again. Ã¢Â€ÂœHe had no idea,Ã¢Â€Â Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, Ã¢Â€Âœthat he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!Ã¢Â€Â
The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

This is made even clearer later on:

Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.
Ã¢Â€Â˜You have these,Ã¢Â€Â™ Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. Ã¢Â€Â˜IÃ¢Â€Â™ll buy my own Ã¢Â€Â“Ã¢Â€Â

If not all the books are on the school list, why would Harry give them all to Ginny? It seems he was only presented with the complete Lockhart biography, which is exactly what Ginny needs for school. All those books are "Magical Me."

Additionally, Lockhart himself, in the first Defense Against the Dark arts class appears to describe the books on the Hogwarts list as the complete set:

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books Ã¢Â€Â“ well done."

Also:

Harry yanked his robes straight and headed for a seat at the very back of the class, where he busied himself with piling all seven of LockhartÃ¢Â€Â™s books in front of him.

If Magical Me was a distinct work, there would be eight books, not seven. It certainly wouldn't say "all seven" as if there were no others. So it's clear Magical Me is the title for the seven book set.

I don't care what the wiki says, it's wrong.

"than my book, Magical Me." Note that it's book singular. Magical Me is a single book. — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh Since when does collected works only include autobiographical material? — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh Or he happened to also give him all the other books too, but not because they were part of the biography. — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh A series can only be called a "book" if it's published as a single volume (e.g. some printings of The Lord of the Rings). That's clearly not the case here, as evidenced by your own quote. You've also ignored the fact that Harry gives away the books Lockhart gave to him, and bought his own copies of the ones on the Hogwarts list, so the fact that he later only has seven books doesn't tell us anything useful; he wouldn't care about Lockhart's biography, so wouldn't buy himself a copy for school. — 6 hours ago
We know there are other Lockhart books, e.g., the guide to household pests, so when he refers to seven books as a "complete set" he can't be being literal. I can only assume he means "a complete set of those of my works that I could get away with putting on the DADA book list". — 5 hours ago

score 4 · Answer 4 · 2018-09-17 04:42:36Z

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is a passage that can be taken as evidence of either possibility. At the end of one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes Lockhart says:

"Homework Ã¢Â€Â“ compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga
Werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!"

Now, if Magical Me is just the collection of the other books then all the students already have them. Receiving books they already have would hardly be a good prize. Moreover, Lockhart could have just signed the books they already had rather than giving them new ones that are signed.

On the other hand, if Magical Me is a distinct one-volume book, then he should say that the winner will get "a signed copy" rather than "signed copies".

Of course it is possible that he would give the winner multiple copies of the same book, or that there could be multiple winners. And it's also possible that he would give new signed books rather than signing the books they already have, because a mere signature is not much of a prize Ã¢Â€Â“ Lockhart had already signed many books for free, and any student could theoretically ask him to sign their books at any time. A prize of actual new books has some physical value, albeit diminished by the fact that it's books they already have.

A passage that supports the theory that Magical Me is one book appears when Mrs. Norris is found petrified. Lockhart there says:

"... I remember something very similar happpening in Ouagadougou,"
said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my
autobiography,

If his autobiography was actually all seven books then he should have said which book it was in (as he does on other occasions).

Additionally when Harry meets Lockhart in Flourish and Blotts we are told:

The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented
with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Yet a few moments earlier Lockhart had promised him his autobiography for free. As explained in this answer, there is only one other Lockhart book mentioned in the Harry Potter books (Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests). If his autobiography (Magical Me) is the whole set of seven books then it is basically itself the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Thus, there wouldn't be such a reason to say that Harry received the entire works. If, however, Magical Me is a separate one-volume autobiography then there is a very god reason to say that Harry received the entire works, namely that it is telling us a novel point Ã¢Â€Â“ that Harry did not only receive the one book Lockhart promised him, but he received all of Lockhart's books.

On the other hand, there certainly is biographical material in the set of seven books required for Hogwarts, such that it might be redundant to have a separate book as his autobiography. Lockhart says, for instance:

"Tut, tut Ã¢Â€Â“ hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is
lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti And a few of you need to read
Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully Ã¢Â€Â“ I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between
all magic and non-magic peoples Ã¢Â€Â“ though I wouldn't say no to a large
bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!"

There is other evidence that can perhaps support either theory. Lockhart was signing copies of Magical Me in Flourish and Blotts:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

Magical Me

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

The Weasleys were waiting on the line to get signed books:

They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and
sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing
with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

If Magical Me is in fact the set of books that were on the Hogwarts list it is understandable why the Weasleys are on line. They have to buy the books anyway so they may as well get them signed. But if Magical Me is a separate book that is not on the Hogwarts list, it would be strange for the Weasleys to be buying it. After all, they had just complained about not having enough money for Ginny's supplies Ã¢Â€Â“ why then would they be wasting money on an unnecessary book?

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his
parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive...."

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I
expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand.

On the other hand, if Magical Me is simply the set of books needed for Hogwarts and that is what Lockhart was signing, then it is hard to make sense of another passage:

"You have these." Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the
cauldron. "I'll buy my own Ã¢Â€Â“"

Here Harry gives the books he just got from Lockhart to Ginny, after waiting on the line. Moments later, Ron and Hermione meet him with their own stacks of Lockhart's books:

Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both
clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

This implies that they bought the books and got them signed. This would mean that the Weasley's probably already bought books for Ginny, as they were with Harry on line. In that case, Harry's actions are pointless. If, however, Magical Me is a separate book then that is the only one that would have been bought. Ginny would still need her Hogwarts books, and then Harry's actions make sense.¹

^{1. The truth is this might not make sense anyway, because when Mr. Weasley comes over to where Harry and the others are he says:}

^{"What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."}

^{If they hadn't bought all the books yet, why would Mr. Weasley suggest leaving the bookstore?}

It strikes me that he'd b giving out multiple copies of a single book (for their friends and families to read) — 5 hours ago

Bellatrix 55.8k11259292 · Answer 5 · 2018-09-17 01:19:46Z

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

When Lockhart refers to his autobiography, he refers to it as Ã¢Â€Âœmy bookÃ¢Â€Â, which seems to imply that it is likely a distinct work, as book is typically the singular form and usually refers to one book.

Ã¢Â€ÂœWhen young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography Ã¢Â€Â“ which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge Ã¢Â€Â“Ã¢Â€Â™ the crowd applauded again, Ã¢Â€Â˜Ã¢Â€Â“ he had no idea,Ã¢Â€Â™ Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, Ã¢Â€Â˜that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me.Ã¢Â€Â
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 4 (At Flourish and Blotts)}}

Also, in the movies, Magical Me is shown onscreen as being a distinct book titled Magical Me.

enter image description here

score -5 · Answer 6 · 2018-09-17 00:10:05Z

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

including

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

43 Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

This is clear in Chamber of Secrets:

Ã¢Â€ÂœWhen young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography Ã¢Â€Â” which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge Ã¢Â€Â”Ã¢Â€Â The crowd applauded again. Ã¢Â€ÂœHe had no idea,Ã¢Â€Â Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, Ã¢Â€Âœthat he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!Ã¢Â€Â
The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

This is made even clearer later on:

Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.
Ã¢Â€Â˜You have these,Ã¢Â€Â™ Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. Ã¢Â€Â˜IÃ¢Â€Â™ll buy my own Ã¢Â€Â“Ã¢Â€Â

If not all the books are on the school list, why would Harry give them all to Ginny? It seems he was only presented with the complete Lockhart biography, which is exactly what Ginny needs for school. All those books are "Magical Me."

Additionally, Lockhart himself, in the first Defense Against the Dark arts class appears to describe the books on the Hogwarts list as the complete set:

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books Ã¢Â€Â“ well done."

Also:

Harry yanked his robes straight and headed for a seat at the very back of the class, where he busied himself with piling all seven of LockhartÃ¢Â€Â™s books in front of him.

If Magical Me was a distinct work, there would be eight books, not seven. It certainly wouldn't say "all seven" as if there were no others. So it's clear Magical Me is the title for the seven book set.

I don't care what the wiki says, it's wrong.

"than my book, Magical Me." Note that it's book singular. Magical Me is a single book. — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh Since when does collected works only include autobiographical material? — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh Or he happened to also give him all the other books too, but not because they were part of the biography. — 6 hours ago
@TheAsh A series can only be called a "book" if it's published as a single volume (e.g. some printings of The Lord of the Rings). That's clearly not the case here, as evidenced by your own quote. You've also ignored the fact that Harry gives away the books Lockhart gave to him, and bought his own copies of the ones on the Hogwarts list, so the fact that he later only has seven books doesn't tell us anything useful; he wouldn't care about Lockhart's biography, so wouldn't buy himself a copy for school. — 6 hours ago
We know there are other Lockhart books, e.g., the guide to household pests, so when he refers to seven books as a "complete set" he can't be being literal. I can only assume he means "a complete set of those of my works that I could get away with putting on the DADA book list". — 5 hours ago

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Is â€œMagical Meâ€ a distinct work, or is it just the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's multivolume autobiographical works?

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There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

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There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

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Is â€œMagical Meâ€ a distinct work, or is it just the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's multivolume autobiographical works?

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There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

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There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

There is potential evidence for both theories, but it seems more likely that Magical Me is a separate book

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me seems to be indicated as being a distinct work.

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

Magical Me is the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's collected works

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Is â€œMagical Meâ€ a distinct work, or is it just the title for Gilderoy Lockhart's multivolume autobiographical works?

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Long meetings (6-7 hours a day): Being â€œbabysatâ€ by supervisor