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Harry Potter
File:Harry potter stamps.jpg
The success of the Harry Potter franchise has led to a set of stamps being commissioned by Royal Mail, which feature the British children's covers of the seven books.[1]
AuthorUnited Kingdom J. K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling)
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, Thriller , Bildungsroman
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing, et al.
Publication date
26 June 1997 - 21 July 2007
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about an adolescent boy named Harry Potter. The story is mostly set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards and witches, and focuses on Harry Potter's fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents as part of his plan to take over the wizarding world.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games and assorted merchandise. The six books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies[2] and have been translated into more than 63 languages.[3] The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2007.[4] Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone.[5]

The success of the novels has made Rowling the highest earning novelist in literary history.[6] 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.

The first five books have been made into highly successful motion pictures by Warner Bros. The sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is set to begin filming in September 2007, and has a scheduled release of 21 November 2008.[7]

Origins and publishing history

File:Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.jpg
Cover of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In 1990, J. K. Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry simply popped into her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:[8]

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 didn't 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 £3,000 advance for its publication.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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 of 1998, but not before Rowling had received $105,000 for the American rights – an unprecedented amount for a children's book by an unknown author.[12] Fearing that American readers would either not understand the word "philosopher" or not associate it 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.

Word-of-mouth buzz, especially amongst young males, has been even more important than positive media reviews and Rowling's publishers' marketing strategies in the tremendous success of the series.[citation needed] This is notable because for years, interest in literature among this group had lagged behind other pursuits such as video games and the Internet.[citation needed] 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.[13] The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to two editions of each Harry Potter book being released (in Canada and the United Kingdom, not the United States), identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.[14]

Story

Plot summary

The story opens with the unrestrained celebration of a normally secretive wizarding world which for many years had been terrorised by Lord Voldemort. The previous night, Voldemort had discovered the refuge of the hidden Potter family, and killed Lily and James Potter. However, when he attempted to kill Harry, the Avada Kedavra killing curse rebounded upon him, and Voldemort was destroyed, becoming nothing more than a spirit: neither dead nor alive. Harry, meanwhile, was 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 killing curse, and his mysterious defeat of Voldemort results in him being dubbed "The Boy Who Lived" by the wizarding community.

The following night, a wizard (Hagrid) delivers Harry to what will be his residence for many years afterward. The orphaned Harry is subsequently raised by his cruel, non-magical relatives, the Dursleys, who, in an attempt to rid him of his magical powers, hide his magical heritage and give him severe punishments after any strange occurrences.

However, as his eleventh birthday approaches, Harry has his first contact with the magical world when he receives letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which are delivered by owls. The letters are taken from him by his Uncle before he has a chance to read them. On his eleventh birthday he is informed by Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, that he is in fact a wizard and has been invited to attend the school. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, which is mostly spent at Hogwarts, where he learns to use magic and brew potions. Harry also learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional obstacles as he struggles through his adolescence, Voldemort's rise to power, and the Ministry of Magic's constant denials of Voldemort's return.

For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.

Universe

Hogwarts school, as depicted in the first film.

The wizarding world in which Harry finds himself is both utterly separate from and yet intimately connected to our own world. While the fantasy world of Narnia is an alternative universe and the Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth a mythic past, the wizarding world of Harry Potter exists alongside ours and contains magical elements analogous to things in the non-magical world. Many of its institutions and locations are in towns and cities, including London for example, that are recognisable in the primary world. It possesses a fragmented collection of hidden streets, overlooked and ancient pubs, lonely country manors and secluded castles that remain invisible to the non-magical population (known as "Muggles" e.g.: The Dursleys). Wizard ability is inborn, rather than learned, although one must attend schools such as Hogwarts in order to master and control it. However it is possible for wizard parents to have children who are born with little or no magical ability at all (known as "Squibs" e.g.: Mrs. Figg, Argus Filch). Since one is either born a wizard or not, most wizards are unfamiliar with the Muggle world, which appears stranger to them than their world does to us. The magical world and its many fantastic elements are depicted in a matter-of-fact way. This juxtaposition of the magical and the mundane is one of the principal themes in the novels; the characters in the stories live normal lives with normal problems, for all their magical surroundings.

Structure and genre

The novels are very much in the fantasy genre; however, in many respects they are also a Bildungsroman, a novel of education, set in Hogwarts, a British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of magic. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life".[15] They are also, in the words of Stephen King, a "shrewd mystery tale".[16], and each book is constructed in the manner of a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery adventure; the books leave a number of clues hidden in the narrative, while the characters pursue a number of suspects through various exotic locations, leading to a twist ending that often reverses what the characters had been led to believe. The stories are told from a third person limited point of view; with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of Goblet of Fire and Philosopher's Stone and the first two chapters of Half-Blood Prince), the reader learns the secrets of the story when Harry does. The thoughts and plans of other characters, even central ones such as Hermione and Ron, are kept hidden until revealed to Harry.

The books tend to follow a very strict formula. Set over the course of consecutive years, they each begin with Harry at home with the Dursleys in the Muggle world, enduring their ill-treatment. Subsequently, Harry goes to a specific magical location (Diagon Alley, the Weasleys' residence or Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place) for a period before beginning school, which he commences by boarding the school train at Platform 9¾. Once at school, new or redefined characters take shape, and Harry overcomes new everyday school issues, such as difficult essays, awkward crushes, and unsympathetic teachers. The stories reach their climax near or just after final exams, when Harry confronts either Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters. In the aftermath, he learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with Albus Dumbledore.

Recurrent elements

Blood purity
Wizards in general tend to view Muggles with a combination of condescension and suspicion; however, for a few, this attitude has evolved into bigotry. These characters tend to class those around them based on the number of magical ancestors they had, with "pure-blood" wizards (those with an entirely-magical bloodline) at the top of the hierarchy, "half-blood" wizards in the middle (those with both wizard and Muggle ancestry), and "Muggle-borns" (those with no magical ancestors) at the very bottom. Supporters of blood purity believe pure-bloods should control the wizarding world, and don't consider Muggle-borns real wizards. Some have even gone so far as to murder them or demand that they should not be taught magic. Most blood-purity-believers are pure-blood themselves, though it should be noted that Voldemort, one of the most radical supporters of blood purity ever known, is himself half-blood. Also, very few, if any, true "pure-blood" families actually exist as many have intermarried into the Muggle-born population to stop the families from dying out. Many of these families have covered this up, however. One example of this is the removal of certain members on the Black family tree.Template:HP5
Owls
Owls are perhaps the most visible aspect of the Wizarding world. They appear at the start of the first novel, presaging what is to come, and play a very visible role in every novel following. They act as the principal form of communication among wizards (somewhat like carrier pigeons) and also as pets. Harry has a snowy owl named Hedwig.
Houses
Like most boarding schools, Hogwarts is divided into four separate houses, named after the four Hogwarts founders, and students are sorted into their respective houses at the start of their first year. They are Gryffindor, named after Godric Gryffindor, which favours courage; Ravenclaw, named after Rowena Ravenclaw, which favours cleverness; Hufflepuff, named after Helga Hufflepuff, which favours fairness and loyalty; and Slytherin, named after Salazar Slytherin, which favours ambition and Blood Purity (See above). Upon arrival, Harry, along with his friend Ron, and Hermione, who would later be their friend, are sorted into Gryffindor.Template:HP1
Quidditch
A spectator sport in the Wizard world, played up in the air on brooms, Quidditch is similar in style to polo and association football. Harry is a great player at Hogwarts and has helped Gryffindor win a number of games. Harry is the Seeker for his team whose role is to try to find and catch the Golden Snitch.Template:HP1 The quidditch matches at Hogwarts were usually commentated by Lee Jordan until he graduated from school. J.K. Rowling has stated that there will be no Quidditch matches in book 7, unlike all the previous books.[17]

Themes

According to Rowling, a major theme in the series is the theme of death. She says:[18]

My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry's parents. There is Voldemort's obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We're all frightened of it.

While the books could be said to comprise many other themes, such as love, prejudice, and choice, they are, as J.K. Rowling states, "deeply entrenched in the whole plot"; the writer prefers to let themes "grow organically", rather than sitting down and consciously attempting to impart such ideas to her readers.[19] Along the same lines is the ever-present theme of adolescence, in whose depiction Rowling has been purposeful in acknowledging her characters' sexualities and not leaving Harry, as she put it, "stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence".[20]

J.K. Rowling says she is "left wing" and that there is a certain amount of "political stuff" in Harry Potter, but that "every reader will bring his own agenda to the book."[21]

Rowling said that to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious." The key for her was the choice between what is right and what is easy, "because that, that is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble."[22]

Chronology

Main article: Chronology of the Harry Potter series

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. In particular, that Harry is born in 1980, and the first book commences 1991. A timeline was first suggested by HP-Lexicon, and has since been confirmed by publication of an official version on the DVDs of the films by Warner Bros., from comments by Rowling and by her separate donation of a copy of the Black family tree to a charity auction.

Criticism and praise

Literary

Early in its history, Harry Potter received overwhelmingly positive reviews, which helped the series to quickly grow a large readership. Upon its publication, the first volume, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was given unanimous praise by most of Britain's major newspapers: the Mail on Sunday rated it as "the most imaginative debut since Roald Dahl"; a view echoed by the Sunday Times ("comparisons to Dahl are, this time, justified"), while The Guardian called it "a richly textured novel given lift-off by an inventive wit" and The Scotsman said it had "all the makings of a classic".[23] Following the 2003 release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix however, the books received strong criticism from a number of distinguished authors and academics.

Yale professor and literary scholar and critic Harold Bloom raised pungent criticisms of the books' literary merits, saying “Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing." Moreover, Bloom disagreed with the common notion that Harry Potter has been good for literature by encouraging children to read, contending that "Harry Potter will not lead our children on to Kipling's Just So Stories or his Jungle Book. It will not lead them to Thurber's Thirteen Clocks or Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows or Lewis Carroll's Alice."[24]

In a widely quoted article in the Wall Street Journal (7/11/2000) Bloom says Rowling's work appeals "to millions of reader non-readers because they sense her wistful sincerity, and want to join her world, imaginary or not" in their desire to feed "a vast hunger for unreality." Although this may not be bad in itself, Bloom concedes, he also asks, "Why read, if what you read will not enrich mind or spirit or personality?" He observes that "anything goes" when, as now, "public judgment is no better and no worse than what is proclaimed by the ideological cheerleaders who have so destroyed humanistic study." So, whereas Rowling's fans may always outnumber her detractors, Bloom asks, "Can more than 35 million book buyers, and their offspring, be wrong?" "Yes," he answers, "they have been, and will continue to be for as long as they persevere with Potter."[25]

A. S. Byatt authored a New York Times op-ed article calling Rowling's universe a “secondary world, made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature [...] written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip". Byatt went on to analyse the series' widespread appeal and concluded that the appeal of this "derivative manipulation of past motifs" is for adult readers driven by a desire to regress to their "own childish desires and hopes" and for younger readers, by "the powerful working of the fantasy of escape and empowerment, combined with the fact that the stories are comfortable, funny, just frightening enough". The end result is the levelling "of cultural studies, which are as interested in hype and popularity as they are in literary merit".[26] Likewise, author Fay Weldon took issue with the series, saying that it was "not what the poets hoped for, but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose".[27]

Charles Taylor of Salon.com took issue with Byatt's criticisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point – a teeny one – about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art", he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious literary merit and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers. Taylor stressed the progressively darker tone of the books, shown by the murder of a classmate and close friend and the psychological wounds and social isolation each causes. Taylor also pointed out that Philosopher's Stone, said to be the most lighthearted of the six published books, disrupts the childhood reassurances that Byatt claims spur the series' success: the book opens with news of a double murder, for example. Taylor specifically cites "the devastating scene where Harry encounters a mirror that reveals the heart's truest desire and, looking into it, sees himself happy and smiling with the parents he never knew, a vision that lasts only as long as he looks into the glass, and a metaphor for how fleeting our moments of real happiness are", then asks rhetorically if "this is Byatt's idea of reassurance?" Taylor concludes that Rowling's success among children and adults is "because J.K. Rowling is a master of narrative".[28]

Stephen King seems to be in agreement with Taylor; he calls the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable," and declares "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humour" to be "remarkable." However, he does write that despite the story's being "a good one," he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle," the formulaic beginning of each of the six books published to date[16]. King has also joked that "[Rowling]'s never met an adverb she didn't like!" He does however predict that Harry Potter "will indeed stand time's test and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept; I think Harry will take his place with Alice, Huck, Frodo, and Dorothy and this is one series not just for the decade, but for the ages[29]." King also said that, "If these kids are reading Harry Potter at 11 or 12, then when they get older they will go on to read Stephen King[30]." Interpreting this in the context of other King remarks is difficult, as King has been known to describe his work as "the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries[31]." Readers must decide for themselves whether King has tongue in cheek discussing Potter's quality, his own, both, or neither.

A Telegraph review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and of the series as a whole, observed that Rowling's success was entirely self-made and not due to hype of her books by the publishing world, which has instead followed in her wake. [32]

Feminist

Yet another vein of criticism comes from some feminist circles, Christine Schoefer prominent among them, who contended that the novels are patriarchal and chauvinistic. According to Schoefer the series presents a world filled with stereotypes and adherence to "the conventional assumption that men do and should run the world." Schoefer cites Harry's courage in dangerous situations in contrast to Hermione's apparent emotional frailty when confronting the same, along with her need for Harry and Ron's approval. Similarly, she contrasts the female Professor McGonagall and her similar frailty under stress compared to the composed and farsighted Dumbledore. In addition to this is the attachment of fraud to females (Professor Trelawney, Professor Umbridge), immaturity (constantly giggling, naïve and catty school girls), and a general lack of daring, bold heroines. She also criticised the fact that the young Ginny Weasley is described as "the foolish little brat" and how boring it would be to listen to "the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl", although she did not mention that these views are those of the young Voldemort, rather than that of Joanne Rowling herself. [33]

On conservative vs. liberal values

The critic Anthony Holden wrote in The Observer on his experience of judging Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the 1999 Whitbread Awards. His overall view of the series was very negative – "the Potter saga was essentially patronising, very conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain", and he adds that "several of the Whitbread judges agreed with me".[34]

However, conservative groups such as the John Birch Society, whose articles are referred to by Rowling's Christianity-based opponents, have criticised her for a supposed liberal/socialist bent and for her admiration for "unrepentant socialist and death-fetishist extraordinaire" Jessica Mitford, who has been her heroine since the age of 14.[35] "The Potter books read in places like diatribes against the modern middle class, especially whenever Harry confronts his ludicrously dysfunctional and downright abusive adopted family, the Dursleys."[36]

According to liberal writer Mike Hersch, the books' heroes "defy adults, break rules, and exemplify bold courage in the face of oppressive authority. Their "subversive" attitudes refute rigid right wing dogma....This is the right wing's worst nightmare, because right wingers see the world – especially morality – in stark, simplistic black and white."[37]

Main articles: Religious opposition to the Harry Potter series and Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series

The series has been involved in some legal controversies.

The books have been the subject of a number of legal proceedings, largely stemming either from claims by the American religious groups that the magic in the books promotes witchcraft among children, or from various conflicts over copyright and trademark infringements.

The books' immense popularity and high market value has led Rowling, her publishers, and film distributor Warner Bros. to take legal measures to protect their copyright, which have included banning the sale of Harry Potter imitations, targeting the owners of websites over the "Harry Potter" domain name, and suing author Nancy Stouffer to counter her accusations that Rowling had plagiarised her work.

Awards and honours

J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series have been the recipients of a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher's Stone including four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997-1999), two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), the inaugural Whitbread children's book of the year award, (1999), the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others. In 2000 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for Best Novel in the Hugo Awards while in 2001 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won said award. Honours include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a shortlisting for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly.[38]

Commercial success

The popularity of the Harry Potter series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other Harry Potter related license holders. The books have sold over 325 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by Warner Bros., all of which have been successful in their own right with the first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, ranking number four on the list of all-time highest grossing films and the other four Harry Potter films each ranking in the top 20.[39] The films have in turn spawned five video games and have in conjunction with them led to the licensing of over 400 additional Harry Potter products (including an iPod) that have, as of July 2005, made the Harry Potter brand worth an estimated 4 billion US dollars and J.K. Rowling a US dollar billionaire[40], making her, by some reports, richer than Queen Elizabeth II.[41][42]

On 2007 12 April, Barnes & Noble declared that Deathly Hallows has broken its preorder record, with over 500,000 copies preordered through its site.[43]

Translations

File:Harry Potter en de Steen der Wijzen Uitgeverij De Harmonie 2001 edition.jpg
The cover of Harry Potter en de Steen der Wijzen – the Dutch language translation of the first book, jointly published by De Harmonie and Standaard.
Main article: Harry Potter in translation

The series is popular around the world in its more than 63 translations. The first translation was into American English, as many words and concepts used by the characters in the novels would have been incomprehensible or misleading to a young American audience. Subsequently the books have seen translations in languages as diverse as Ukrainian, Hindi, Welsh and Vietnamese. The first volume has been translated into Latin and even Ancient Greek,[44] making it the longest published work in that language since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD.[45]

The high profile and huge public demand for a decent local translation means that a great deal of care is often taken in the task. In some countries such as Italy, the first book was revised by the publishers and issued in an updated edition, in response to feedback from readers. In countries such as China and Portugal, the translation is conducted by a group of translators working together so as to save time. Some of the translators hired to work on the books were quite well known prior to their work on Harry Potter, such as Viktor Golyshev, who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. Golyshev was previously best known for translating William Faulkner and George Orwell [46]; his tendency to snub the Harry Potter books in interviews and refer to them as inferior literature may be the reason he did not return to work on later books in the series. The Turkish translation of books two to five was undertaken by Sevin Okyay, a popular literary critic and cultural commentator.[47] For reasons of secrecy, translation can only start when the books are released in English; thus there is a lag of several months before the translations are available. This has lead to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking countries. Such was the clamour to read the fifth book that its English language edition became the first English-language book ever to top the bookseller list in France.[48]

Cultural impact

Further information: Harry Potter fandom

Since the publishing of Philosopher's Stone a number of societal trends have been attributed to the series.

The most notable trend attributed to Harry Potter has been an increase in literacy among the young. Anecdotal evidence suggesting such an increase was seemingly confirmed in 2006 when the Kids and Family Reading Report (in conjunction with Scholastic) released a survey finding that 51% of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 said that while they did not read books for fun before they started reading Harry Potter, they now did. The study further reported that according to 65% of children and 76% of parents, they or their children's performance in school improved since they started reading the series.[49] Charlie Griffiths, director of the National Literacy Association, said "Anyone who can persuade children to read should be treasured and what [Rowling has] given us in Harry Potter is little short of miraculous."[50] British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a long time fan, said, "I think JK Rowling has done more for literacy around the world than any single human being."[51][52]

Book Word length
(US English edition)		 Fraction of
first book
I 76,944 100%
II 85,141 110%
III 107,253 139%
IV 190,637 247%
V 257,045 334%
VI 168,923 219%
VII N/A

Indeed as the series progresses, each book gets progressively longer, developing along with the reader's literary abilities. A word-count comparison shows how each book, save the sixth, is longer than it's predecessor, requiring greater concentration and longer attention spans to complete. This fact in itself can be seen as contributory to improved literary abilities in children who tackle the series.

In 2005, doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford reported that their research of the weekends of Saturday 21 June2003 and Saturday 16 July 2005 (the dates of the two most recent book releases of the series) found that only 36 children needed emergency medical assistance for injuries sustained in accidents, as opposed to other weekends' average of 67.[53]

Crowds wait outside a Borders store in Newark, Delaware for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Notable also is the development of a massive following of fans. So eager were these fans for the latest series release that book stores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been incredibly successful at attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold in the first 24 hours.[54][55] Among this large base of fans are a minority of "super-fans", similar to the trekkies of the Star Trek fandom. Besides meeting online through blogs, podcasts, and fansites, Harry Potter super-fans can also meet at Harry Potter symposiums. These events draw people from around the world to attend lectures, discussions and a host of other Potter themed activities.

The Harry Potter books have inspired the "Wizard Rock" movement, where a number of bands were formed whose names, image and song lyrics relate to the Harry Potter world. Examples include Harry and the Potters and The Cruciatus Curse.

Harry Potter has also brought changes in the publishing world, one of the most noted being the reformation of the New York Times Best Seller list. The change came immediately preceding the release of Goblet of Fire in 2000 when publishers complained of the number of slots on the list being held by Harry Potter and other children's books. The Times subsequently created a separate children's list for Harry Potter and other children's literature.[56]

The word muggle has spread beyond its Harry Potter origins, used by many groups to indicate those who are not in the know or are lacking in some skill. In 2003, "muggle", entered the Oxford English Dictionary with that definition.[57]

There is an accredited course at California State University, Bakersfield devoted to the literature of Harry Potter titled "The World of Harry Potter."[58]

Future

Template:Future

There are currently two more Harry Potter films yet to be released: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (due in November 2008[59]) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the adapted versions of the final two books.

In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site that "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 had been 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.”[60]

Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the seventh book was completed some time ago, before writing the third book.

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 in order to stop other writers from writing books about Harry's life after Hogwarts.[61]

On 28 March, 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released.[62]

Regarding the existence of Harry Potter novels beyond the seventh, Rowling has said that she might write another book some day, but it will not continue the life of Harry and his friends. If she does, she intends it to be a sort of encyclopaedia of the wizarding world, containing concepts and snippets of information that were not relevant enough to the novels' plots to be included in them. Any future Harry Potter books, she said, would also be written for charity, just as Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were.[63] She has also said that she will not write any sort of prequel to the novels, since by the time the series ends all the necessary back story will have been revealed.[64]

Theme park

On 31 May 2007 Warner Bros., Universal Studios and Leavesden Studios announced that a Harry Potter area will be built in Orlando, Florida at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure.[65] The announcement described "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" as "the world's first immersive Harry Potter themed environment." According to the Warner Bros. press release, the section is "Expected to open in late 2009. The new environment will feature immersive rides and interactive attractions, as well as experiential shops and restaurants that will enable guests to sample fare from the wizarding world’s best known establishments. Also debuting will be a state-of-the-art attraction that will bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in an exciting way that guests have never before experienced."[66] In an online announcement it was revealed that plans have been in place for over a year and a half; with contributions from J.K. Rowling and Stuart Craig[65]

Series

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997) (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998)
  3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999)
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000)
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003)
  6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005)
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007)
  • All seven books in the series have an audiobook format. The UK editions are performed by Stephen Fry, while the American versions are performed by Jim Dale.

Supplementary books

Other media

Films

Main article: Harry Potter (films)

Games

These games follow the plotlines of the books:

In addition, an unauthorised and unlicensed Famicom game made in China called Harry's Legend exists.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Special stamps to mark Potter book release". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-22-05. Retrieved 2007-06-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Dearbáil Jordan (2007). "Time comes for Harry to fly to the rescue". Times UK. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  3. ^ "Global Potter sales top 300m mark". BBC. 2005-10-04. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  4. ^ "Publication Date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Joanne Rowling. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  5. ^ McLaren, Elsa (2007-03-15). "Harry Potter's final adventure to get record print run". The Times. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  6. ^ Watson, Julie and Kellner, Tomas. "J.K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire". Forbes.com, 26 February 2004. Accessed 19 March 2006.
  7. ^ "Dan signed on for last two films". MuggleNet. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2007-03-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Rowling, J.K. "Biography". JKRowling.com. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
  9. ^ Lawless, John. "Nigel Newton". BusinessWeek Online. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  10. ^ http://www.kidsreads.com/harrypotter/jkrowling.html
  11. ^ Savill, Richard. "Harry Potter and the mystery of J K's lost initial". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  12. ^ Rozhon, Tracie (2007-04-21). "A Brief Walk Through Time at Scholastic". The New York Times. p. C3. Retrieved 2007-04-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Books' Hero Wins Young Minds". New York Times. 12 July 1999. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "OOTP is best seller in France - in English!". BBC. 1 July 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "J. K. Rowling" by Leslie Ellen Jones, NoveList/EBSCO Publishing, 2003, retrieved 9 September 2005
  16. ^ a b ""Wild About Harry"". New York Times. 23 July 2000. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Accio Quote: Luna commentated last Quidditch match
  18. ^ "'There would be so much to tell her...'". Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  19. ^ "Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling". Quick Quotes Quill. February 2003.
  20. ^ "About the Books: transcript of J.K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com". Scholastic.com. 16 October 2000. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Jeff Jensen (2000). "'Fire' Storm". ew.com. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ JK Rowling (1998). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury. p. 253.
  24. ^ Bloom, Harold. "Dumbing down American readers". Boston.com. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
  25. ^ Bloom, Harold. "Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  26. ^ "Harry Potter and the Childish Adult". New York Times. 7 July 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Rowling books 'for people with stunted imaginations'". The Guardian. 11 July 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "A. S. Byatt and the goblet of bile". Salon.com. 8 July 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Fox, Killian (2006-31-12). "JK Rowling:The mistress of all she surveys". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Bloom, Harold. "Dumbing down American readers". Boston.com. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  31. ^ "Stephen King". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  32. ^ "It smacks of the dark arts". Telegraph.co.uk. 27 May 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ Schoeffer, Christine. "Harry Potter's girl trouble". Salon.com. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
  34. ^ "Why Harry Potter doesn't cast a spell over me". The Observer. 25 June 2000. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Steve Bonta (2002). "Harry Potter's Hocus Pocus". The Free Republic. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
  36. ^ Steve Bonta (2002). "Tolkien's Timeless Tale". The New American. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
  37. ^ Mike Hersh (2003). "Harry Potter Lessons in Action". Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  38. ^ Arthur, Levine. "Awards". Arthur A. Levine Books. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
  39. ^ "Potter book sales top 325 million". USA Today. 4 February 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ The World's Billionaires: #891 Joanne (JK) Rowling. Forbes.com. March 8, 2007.
  41. ^ "J.K. Rowling Richer than the Queen". BBC. 27 April 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ "Harry Potter Brand Wizard". Business Week. 21 July 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "New Harry Potter breaks pre-order record". RTÉ.ie Entertainment. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  44. ^ HP in Ancient Greek. Accessed 25 November 2006.
  45. ^ Greek Harry Accessed 25 November 2006.
  46. ^ Steven Goldstein (2004). "Translating Harry — Part I: The Language of Magic". GlobalByDesign. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  47. ^ EMRAH GÜLER (2005). "Not lost in translation: Harry Potter in Turkish". Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  48. ^ "OOTP is best seller in France - in English!". BBC. July 1 2003. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ "New Study Finds That the Harry Potter Series Has a Positive Impact on Kids' Reading and Their School Work". Scholastic. 2006-25-07. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ Stephen, McGinty (18 June, 2003), "The legacy of Harry: The JK ROwling Story - Part III", The Scotsman, retrieved 2007-05-29 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ "Chancellor praises Potter books". BBC News. 14 July, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ Land, Jon (28 May, 2007). "Harry Potter tops Godron Brown's summer reading list". 24dash.com. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. ^ "Reading 'cuts childhood injuries'". BBC News. 23 December 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  54. ^ "Harry Potter casts spell at checkouts". Times Online. 18 July 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ^ "Potter book smashes sales records". BBC. 18 July 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  56. ^ "Why 'Harry Potter' did a Harry Houdini". CNN. 21 July 2000. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ Meg McCaffrey (2003). "'Muggle' Redux in the Oxford English Dictionary". Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  58. ^ "The World of Harry Potter". Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  59. ^ "Confirmed: HBP movie release date". MuggleNet. 2006-08-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  60. ^ "Potter author signs off in style". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-02-02.
  61. ^ JKR On Richard & Judy – Transcript
  62. ^ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Cover Art". Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  63. ^ = 2007-05-06 Will you write more Harry Potter books after the seventh?
  64. ^ Edinburgh Book Festival
  65. ^ a b The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Orlando Resort
  66. ^ Majendie, Paul (2007-05-31). "All aboard for the Harry Potter rollercoaster". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  67. ^ "Confirmed  : 'Phoenix' flies on [[13 July]] [[2007]]". HPANA. 2006-04-05. Retrieved 2006-10-23. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  68. ^ "Confirmed: HBP movie release date". MuggleNet. 2006-08-04. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  69. ^ "Developers showcase future games". BBC. 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2007-04-11.

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Harry Potter.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harry Potter.

Official sites

Other resources

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