Harry Potter is a heptalogy of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his best friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The central story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world, after which he seeks to subjugate the Muggle world to his rule.
Since the release of the first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, which was retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide.The series has spawned films, video games and Potter-themed merchandise. As of April 2008, the seven book series has sold more than 375 million copies and have been translated into more than 64 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released on 21 July 2007. Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone.
The success of the novels has made Rowling the highest-earning novelist in history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia, and Raincoast Books in Canada.
Thus far, the first five books have been made into a series of motion pictures by Warner Bros. The sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, began filming in September 2007, with a scheduled release of 21 November 2008.The series also originated much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth £7 billion ($15 billion).
Since the release of the first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, which was retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide.The series has spawned films, video games and Potter-themed merchandise. As of April 2008, the seven book series has sold more than 375 million copies and have been translated into more than 64 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released on 21 July 2007. Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone.
The success of the novels has made Rowling the highest-earning novelist in history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia, and Raincoast Books in Canada.
Thus far, the first five books have been made into a series of motion pictures by Warner Bros. The sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, began filming in September 2007, with a scheduled release of 21 November 2008.The series also originated much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth £7 billion ($15 billion).
Plot summary
The story opens with the conspicuous celebration of a normally secretive wizarding world; for many years, it has been terrorised by the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. On the previous night, October 31, Voldemort discovered the Potter family's hidden refuge, killing Lily and James Potter. However, when he attempted to murder their toddler son, Harry, the Avada Kedavra killing curse he cast rebounded upon him. Voldemort's body was destroyed, but his spirit survived: he is neither dead nor alive. Meanwhile, the orphaned Harry is left with a distinctive lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry is the only known survivor of the curse, and Voldemort's mysterious defeat causes the wizarding community to dub Harry "The Boy Who Lived". Harry is protected by the enchantment that was produced when Harry's mother died while protecting him from Voldemort. This protection will last until his 17th birthday.
On November 1, Rubeus Hagrid, a 'half-giant', delivers Harry to his only living relatives, the cruel and magic-phobic Dursleys, comprised of Uncle Vernon, a bad-tempered uncle; Aunt Petunia, a woman who appears to absolutely loathe Harry; and Dudley, their spoiled and overweight son. The Dursleys are, in the words of Professor McGonagall, "the worst sort of Muggles imaginable" and seek to deny Harry his magical birthright by making up a false story about Harry's parents dying in a car accident. They treat Harry like a slave and force him to live in a small, cramped closet under the stairs at their Privet Drive home.
However, as his eleventh birthday approaches, Harry has his first contact with the magical world when he begins receiving letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which are delivered by owls. Unfortunately, his uncle confiscates the letters before he can read them. Much to the Dursley's chagrin, Hogwarts is aware that Harry is not receiving his letters. However, the letters keep on coming and Uncle Vernon decides to move the family (Harry included) to a deserted island off the coast, hoping that the letters will cease. At the stroke of midnight on Harry's eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Hogwarts half-giant gamekeeper) kicks in the door of the house where they are staying, and presents Harry with a letter explaining that he is a wizard and has been selected to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, which is mostly spent at Hogwarts. There he learns to use magic and brew potions. Harry also learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional hurdles as he struggles through his adolescence, Voldemort's second rise to power, and the Ministry of Magic's corruption and incompetent negligence. After facing many obstacles, forging lasting friendships, and losing countless loved ones, Harry Potter confronts the Dark Lord for the last time.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.
The story opens with the conspicuous celebration of a normally secretive wizarding world; for many years, it has been terrorised by the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. On the previous night, October 31, Voldemort discovered the Potter family's hidden refuge, killing Lily and James Potter. However, when he attempted to murder their toddler son, Harry, the Avada Kedavra killing curse he cast rebounded upon him. Voldemort's body was destroyed, but his spirit survived: he is neither dead nor alive. Meanwhile, the orphaned Harry is left with a distinctive lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry is the only known survivor of the curse, and Voldemort's mysterious defeat causes the wizarding community to dub Harry "The Boy Who Lived". Harry is protected by the enchantment that was produced when Harry's mother died while protecting him from Voldemort. This protection will last until his 17th birthday.
On November 1, Rubeus Hagrid, a 'half-giant', delivers Harry to his only living relatives, the cruel and magic-phobic Dursleys, comprised of Uncle Vernon, a bad-tempered uncle; Aunt Petunia, a woman who appears to absolutely loathe Harry; and Dudley, their spoiled and overweight son. The Dursleys are, in the words of Professor McGonagall, "the worst sort of Muggles imaginable" and seek to deny Harry his magical birthright by making up a false story about Harry's parents dying in a car accident. They treat Harry like a slave and force him to live in a small, cramped closet under the stairs at their Privet Drive home.
However, as his eleventh birthday approaches, Harry has his first contact with the magical world when he begins receiving letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which are delivered by owls. Unfortunately, his uncle confiscates the letters before he can read them. Much to the Dursley's chagrin, Hogwarts is aware that Harry is not receiving his letters. However, the letters keep on coming and Uncle Vernon decides to move the family (Harry included) to a deserted island off the coast, hoping that the letters will cease. At the stroke of midnight on Harry's eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Hogwarts half-giant gamekeeper) kicks in the door of the house where they are staying, and presents Harry with a letter explaining that he is a wizard and has been selected to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, which is mostly spent at Hogwarts. There he learns to use magic and brew potions. Harry also learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional hurdles as he struggles through his adolescence, Voldemort's second rise to power, and the Ministry of Magic's corruption and incompetent negligence. After facing many obstacles, forging lasting friendships, and losing countless loved ones, Harry Potter confronts the Dark Lord for the last time.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.
Chronology
Main article: Chronology of the Harry Potter stories
The books mainly avoid setting the story in a particular real year; however, there are a few references, which allow the books, and various past events mentioned in them to be assigned corresponding real years. The time line is sufficiently set in Chamber of Secrets, in which Nearly-Headless Nick remarks that it is the five-hundredth anniversary of his death on October 31, 1492; thus, Chamber of Secrets takes place from 1992 to 1993. This chronology was again reiterated in Deathly Hallows, in which the date of death on James and Lily Potter's gravestone is October 31, 1981. Thus, as Harry was a year old at the time of his parents' murders, his year of birth is 1980 and the main action of the story takes place from 1991 (the second chapter of Philosopher's Stone) to 1998 (the end of Deathly Hallows). Interviewed for an ITV documentary broadcast in December 2007, Rowling stated that the final battle with Voldemort's forces takes place on 2 May 1997, however, this would seem to be a mistake, and that the actual date should be 2 May 1998, fitting in with the dates given in Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows.
Main article: Chronology of the Harry Potter stories
The books mainly avoid setting the story in a particular real year; however, there are a few references, which allow the books, and various past events mentioned in them to be assigned corresponding real years. The time line is sufficiently set in Chamber of Secrets, in which Nearly-Headless Nick remarks that it is the five-hundredth anniversary of his death on October 31, 1492; thus, Chamber of Secrets takes place from 1992 to 1993. This chronology was again reiterated in Deathly Hallows, in which the date of death on James and Lily Potter's gravestone is October 31, 1981. Thus, as Harry was a year old at the time of his parents' murders, his year of birth is 1980 and the main action of the story takes place from 1991 (the second chapter of Philosopher's Stone) to 1998 (the end of Deathly Hallows). Interviewed for an ITV documentary broadcast in December 2007, Rowling stated that the final battle with Voldemort's forces takes place on 2 May 1997, however, this would seem to be a mistake, and that the actual date should be 2 May 1998, fitting in with the dates given in Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows.
In 1990, J. K. Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into her head". Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:
“
I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.
”
In 1995, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was completed and the manuscript was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other publishers had rejected Philosopher's Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £2,500 advance for its publication.
Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when she began to write the Harry Potter books, the publishers initially targeted them at children age nine to eleven.On the eve of publishing, Joanne Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name, in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name, because she has no middle name.
The first Harry Potter book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury in July 1997 and in the United States by Scholastic in September 1998, but not before Rowling had received $105,000 for the American rights — an unprecedented amount for a children's book by a then unknown author.Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with a magical theme (as a Philosopher's Stone is alchemy-related), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market.
Rowling's publishers were able to capitalise on this buzz by the rapid, successive releases of the first four books that allowed neither Rowling's audience's excitement nor interest to wane while she took a break from writing between the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and also quickly solidified a loyal readership. The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to two editions of each Harry Potter book being released (in markets other than the United States), identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.
Completion of the series
In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site, "2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series." Updates have since followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the release date of 21 July 2007.
The book itself was finished on 11 January 2007 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, where she scrawled a message on the back of a bust of Hermes. It read: “JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11 January 2007.”
Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the seventh book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".
In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show Richard & Judy, announced that the chapter had been modified as one character "got a reprieve" and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. She also said she could see the logic in killing off Harry to stop other writers from writing books about Harry's life after Hogwarts.
On March 28, 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released.
After Deathly Hallows
Rowling spent seventeen years writing the seven Harry Potter books. In a 2000 interview through Scholastic, her American publisher, Rowling stated that there is not a university after Hogwarts. Concerning the series continuing past book seven, she stated, "I will not say never, but I have no plans to write an eighth book." She has since said that if she does write an eighth book Harry Potter will not be the central character, as his story has been told, and that she would not begin such a project for at least ten years.
When asked about writing other Harry Potter-related books similar to Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, she has said that she might consider doing this with proceeds donated to charity, as was the case with those two books. Another suggestion is an encyclopedia-style tome containing information that never made it into the series, also for charity.She has revealed she is currently penning two books, one for children and one not for children.
In February 2007 Rowling issued a statement on her website about finishing the final book, in which she compared her mixed feelings of "mourning" and "incredible sense of achievement" to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of David Copperfield, "a two-years' imaginative task." "To which," she added, "I can only sigh, try seventeen years, Charles…"
On July 24, 2007, Rowling announced in an interview that she "probably will" write an encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter world, which would include background information cut from the narrative as well as post-Deathly Hallows information, including details of what happens to the other characters, who the new Hogwarts headmaster is, and more.Rowling refers to the encyclopaedia as the "Scottish Book", a take on the Scottish play.In a 90-minute live Web chat, Rowling revealed what several of the characters did in the years between the conclusion of the book and the epilogue.
Rowling has written an 800-word prequel to the Harry Potter Series for Waterstone's, "What's Your Story" postcard book, which has been auctioned for charity and fetched £25,000. Rowling stressed that she is not intending to write a full length prequel.
“
I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.
”
In 1995, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was completed and the manuscript was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other publishers had rejected Philosopher's Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £2,500 advance for its publication.
Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when she began to write the Harry Potter books, the publishers initially targeted them at children age nine to eleven.On the eve of publishing, Joanne Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name, in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name, because she has no middle name.
The first Harry Potter book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury in July 1997 and in the United States by Scholastic in September 1998, but not before Rowling had received $105,000 for the American rights — an unprecedented amount for a children's book by a then unknown author.Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with a magical theme (as a Philosopher's Stone is alchemy-related), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market.
Rowling's publishers were able to capitalise on this buzz by the rapid, successive releases of the first four books that allowed neither Rowling's audience's excitement nor interest to wane while she took a break from writing between the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and also quickly solidified a loyal readership. The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to two editions of each Harry Potter book being released (in markets other than the United States), identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.
Completion of the series
In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site, "2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series." Updates have since followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the release date of 21 July 2007.
The book itself was finished on 11 January 2007 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, where she scrawled a message on the back of a bust of Hermes. It read: “JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11 January 2007.”
Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the seventh book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".
In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show Richard & Judy, announced that the chapter had been modified as one character "got a reprieve" and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. She also said she could see the logic in killing off Harry to stop other writers from writing books about Harry's life after Hogwarts.
On March 28, 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released.
After Deathly Hallows
Rowling spent seventeen years writing the seven Harry Potter books. In a 2000 interview through Scholastic, her American publisher, Rowling stated that there is not a university after Hogwarts. Concerning the series continuing past book seven, she stated, "I will not say never, but I have no plans to write an eighth book." She has since said that if she does write an eighth book Harry Potter will not be the central character, as his story has been told, and that she would not begin such a project for at least ten years.
When asked about writing other Harry Potter-related books similar to Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, she has said that she might consider doing this with proceeds donated to charity, as was the case with those two books. Another suggestion is an encyclopedia-style tome containing information that never made it into the series, also for charity.She has revealed she is currently penning two books, one for children and one not for children.
In February 2007 Rowling issued a statement on her website about finishing the final book, in which she compared her mixed feelings of "mourning" and "incredible sense of achievement" to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of David Copperfield, "a two-years' imaginative task." "To which," she added, "I can only sigh, try seventeen years, Charles…"
On July 24, 2007, Rowling announced in an interview that she "probably will" write an encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter world, which would include background information cut from the narrative as well as post-Deathly Hallows information, including details of what happens to the other characters, who the new Hogwarts headmaster is, and more.Rowling refers to the encyclopaedia as the "Scottish Book", a take on the Scottish play.In a 90-minute live Web chat, Rowling revealed what several of the characters did in the years between the conclusion of the book and the epilogue.
Rowling has written an 800-word prequel to the Harry Potter Series for Waterstone's, "What's Your Story" postcard book, which has been auctioned for charity and fetched £25,000. Rowling stressed that she is not intending to write a full length prequel.
