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June 26, 1997
J. K. Rowling
Fantasy
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Draco Malfoy, Oliver Wood, Professor Quirrell, Professor Severus Snape, Argus Filch
26 June 1997, by J. K. Rowling
Fantasy novel
The first novel in the Harry Potter series, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school and with the help of his friends, he faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.
Several themes that are crucial to a child’s development are tackled in this book. Themes like love, friendship, and life lessons to tell apart absolute good and evil form a major part of the wide roster of themes that reside in this book.
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Draco Malfoy, Oliver Wood, Professor Quirrell, Professor Severus Snape, Argus Filch
In 1990, Jo Rowling, as she preferred to be known, wanted to move with her boyfriend to a flat in Manchester and in her words, "One weekend after flat hunting, I took the train back to London on my own and the idea for Harry Potter fell into my head... A scrawny, little, black-haired, bespectacled boy became more and more of a wizard to me... I began to write Philosopher's Stone that very evening. Although, the first couple of pages look nothing like the finished product." Then, Rowling's mother died and, to cope with her pain, Rowling transferred her own anguish to the orphan Harry.
The novel has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it the third best-selling novel of all time. An almost immediate critical and popular success, it was translated into some 60 languages. The six later novels about Harry’s further adventures at Hogwarts were equally popular. The film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) was also a blockbuster.
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
