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I've only read The Secret of Platform 13, but I did notice that Raymond Trottle and Duddly Dursley are rather similar. Other than that, there were a few other parrallels, (Ben living in a cupboard, and the train platform). I think the book is good, but I did enjoy the Harry Potter books more. Rowling's books are longer and less juvenile.

She probably did get ideas and put her own slant on them. Many writers of all sorts of quality do it. As long as they take the thread of the idea and embroider it with their own ideas I do not judge them harshly.

What does drive me crazy is that after the first two books Harry Potter started annoying me. The books got longer and longer but not necessarily better. I got the feeling that she put every idea she had in the books and them.

Diana Wynne Jones is a much better storyteller and writer than JK Rowling. While her books are uneven and there a couple of stinkers, I'd take her clever, thought-provoking and often funny books over Harry Potter any day. I re read Jones and I cannot imagine ever-ever reading the overblown HP series again.

There is a 50/50 chance when you think about it. I mean, they both are really great writers with wild imaginations and I also think that some of the characters do act the same and have the same characteristics. Does anyone know who wrote their book first?!?! If it was Eva Ibbotson, than i would highly question JK Rowling because the characters are very much a like as I stated before.

Maybe she was inspired by JK Rowling...that's not bad. i also noticed the sameness of the stories though...

Now that you mentioned it I do see how the books are alike. When I finished the first Harry Potter I thought it was an okey book but, I also had the feeling that Harry Potter was similar to other stories. With Eva Ibbotson I didn't get that feeling.

no you are wrong! plafrom 13 is awsome, but so is HARRY POTTER!!!! READ EM!!!

omg!!! i just noticed this, but it seems like there are a lot of similarities. i loved both books, but still!!! if jk rowling stole ideas, i am angry!!!!

I don't think JK Rowling is delibertly steling ideas. She might not even have read Ibbotson or she might have read Ibbotson and some of the ideas of Ibbostson might have influnced her Rowling's writing but, not in a delibrate way. Considering how long human kind has be telling and writing stories there is bound to be some overlaps. I do believe the stories are different enough in plot to be considred their own stories. There are other books that are much closer to other books. Eragon springs to mind.

I do think though Ibbotson is the stronger writer. Rowling is good and she certainly has captured the readers world. It just for me her plot in the first book seemed to follow the path of other classic hero stories that I lost interest.

I read a lot both for my job (children's librarian) and pleasure. I'm also a bit of a storyteller and an avid movie watcher. So, for me a plot has to be very original to capture my attention. Also I generally don't like to get bog down in long series as I have to keep up with is being published. With my job I try to sell kids on good books that they might overlook. Since Harry Potter sells itself I stopped after reading the first book.

I know Harry Potter is a good book. I appreciate it got the kids reading. It just not for me. Please don't try convert me on to Harry Potter. It just causes me to hate the book and I finally have made peace with it. Deciding that the book is not for me but, others find value in it.

HP 1 was published in 1997. This was published in 1999. So in all likelihood, both authors had not heard of each other while writing their stories.

Whoa there! The Secrets of Platform 13 was actually published in 1994, three years BEFORE the first Harry Potter.

But let us not be too quick to throw around a bunch of accusations of stealing ideas. Common themes run through books (and movies) all the time.

Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary are both women who are unhappy in their lives, distract themselves with lovers, and kill themselves in the end. Similar? Yes. Stolen idea? No way. Each author took this idea and put their own unique spin on it and made a very individual book.

Robin McKinley has practically made a fortune on retelling famous folk tales collected by the Grimms, etc. Did she steal or plagiarize? But no! She took a story and interpreted it (in the case of Beauty and the Beast [first published version by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740,:] she interpreted it TWICE,) in her own words, with her own ideas about the character's motivations and actions. She also wrote a book about vampires called Sunshine. Isn't that borrowing an idea from Dracula by Bram Stoker? Did Stephanie Myers steal from Bram Stoker or Anne Rice? I think not.

What I'm trying to say here is that having similar ideas or even similar situations does not mean that anyone STOLE from anyone else.

Unless you are Terry Brooks, and your book is almost a character by character retelling of Tolkien stories. But that's just because I didn't like the Brooks book, so I'm prejudiced.

I agree with Amanda. I think that it can be good to use some of the same topics of diffrent writers. It helps them become better writers and it helps them know what readers want to read about. Sometimes ideas are similar, and that's okay too.

� Brigid � wrote: "Does anybody else notice that JK Rowling definitely stole some of her ideas from Eva Ibbotson? I mean, at the end of Which Witch? there's the part with the geeky orphan boy who turns out to be a wi..."

Oh, yes! Not to mention that magic Platform 13 is at KING'S CROSS STATION!?!?!? But I still like Harry Potter better, even if Rowling is an idea-stealer.
I'm glad other people thought that, too!

Bridget wrote: "There is a 50/50 chance when you think about it. I mean, they both are really great writers with wild imaginations and I also think that some of the characters do act the same and have the same cha..."

Eva wrote the books before J.K. I checked the publication date :)

hmmm... Maybe not. JK. might have not even read Ibbotson.

I thought there were quite a few similarities, but nowhere near as many as all the HP imitations afterwards. Compare the Lightning Thief with Harry Potter and you'll find much more in common.

Another thing to consider: PUBLICATION date and WRITING date don't always correlate.

I really enjoyed this book when I was reading it because it is very interesting. Have anyone read "soldier dog" by Sam Angus?

i think that j k rowling MAY have been inspired by eva ibbotson cuz the sorcerer's stone was published later. but there is a little flaw with that. you have to remember that miss rowling started writing the sorcerer's stone BEFORE miss ibbotson started writing this book. so platform nine and 3/4 was thought of BEFORE platform 13 (for books anyway)

I remember reading that some critics or whatever have said they think she may have copied. I love both books and apart from some of the ideas, I think they are good stories in different ways. I think it is definitely possible that it could have been a coincidence.

i agree with squiggle1812

The names "Hedwig" and "Hermione" were also in two of Eva Ibbotsons books so it does seem like Jk Rowling copied but I love both authors so no hate. My only problem is that Eva Ibbotsons books don't get the attention they deserve:(

Check out Anthony Horowitz's Groosham Grange (1988) and
The Unholy Grail (also released as Return To Groosham Grange) (1990) They contain a lot of ideas similar to the Harry Potter books.

However, you can't call it "stealing" unless the parallel points are terribly numerous like a hundred or so. You have a court case only when you can show some "copy and paste" type things. You can't use the name Luke Skywalker without getting sued. You might be able to have a book about Harry Potter provided he isn't magical.

What you can say is that JK Rowling isn't nearly as clever and imaginative as she is made out to be.

R.M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island inspired a whole genre of adventure literature, influencing Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

I think she stole the entire thing. All writers that are great always have a smaller version of their bigger Novel. This woman on the other hand has no works comparable to the one that's made her millions of dollars. This raises alot of red flags beyond the rabbit story's she told to her sister at night.

Aqua Horse wrote: "Maybe she was inspired by JK Rowling...that's not bad. i also noticed the sameness of the stories though..."
The secret of platform 13 was published 3 years before