This article is about the fantasy book series. For the titular character, see Harry Potter (character).

For the film series, see Harry Potter (film series). For related topics, see List of Harry Potter related topics. For other uses, see Harry Potter (disambiguation).

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter logo was first used for the American edition of the novel series (and some other editions worldwide), and then the film series.

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author

J. K. Rowling

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Genre

Fantasy, young-adult fiction,mystery, thriller, Bildungsroman,coming of age, magical realism

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Arthur A. Levine Books (US)

Published

29 June 1997 21 July 2007 (initial publication)

Media type

Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook E-book (as of March 2012)[1]

No. of books 7

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of a wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The mainstory arc concerns Harry's quest to overcome the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, whose aims are to become immortal, conquer the wizarding world, subjugate non-magical people, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books [2] have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern for the increasingly dark tone. As of June 2011, the book series has sold about 450 million copies, making it the best-selling book series in history, and has [3][4] been translated into 67 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. A series of many genres, including fantasy, coming of age, and the British school story (with elements of mystery, thriller, adventure, andromance), it has many cultural meanings and [5][6][7][8] [9] references. According to Rowling, the main theme is death. There are also many other themes in [10] the series, such as prejudice and corruption. The series was originally printed in English by two major publishers, Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press in the United States. The books have since been published by many publishers worldwide. The books, with the seventh book split into two parts, have been made into an eight-part film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, the highest-grossing film series of all time. The series also originated [11] much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth in excess of $15 billion. Also, due to the success of the books and films, Harry Potter has been used for a theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Parks & Resorts' Islands of Adventure.
Contents
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1 Plot

o o o

1.1 Early years 1.2 Voldemort returns 1.3 Supplementary works

2 Structure and genre 3 Themes 4 Origins and publishing history

o o

4.1 Translations 4.2 Completion of the series

5 Achievements

o o o

5.1 Cultural impact 5.2 Commercial success 5.3 Awards, honours, and recognition

6 Reception

o o o

6.1 Literary criticism 6.2 Social impacts 6.3 Controversies

7 Adaptations

o o o

7.1 Films 7.2 Games 7.3 Audiobooks

8 Attractions

o o

8.1 United States 8.2 United Kingdom

9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

Plot
Further information: Harry Potter universe The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers at the age of eleven that he is a [12] wizard, living within the ordinary world of non-magical people, or Muggles. His ability is inborn and such children are invited to attend a school that teaches the necessary skills to succeed in the wizarding [13] world. Harry becomes a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardryand it is here where most of the novels' events take place. As Harry develops through his adolescence, he learns to overcome the problems that face him: magical, social and emotional, including ordinary teenage challenges such as [14] friendships and exams, and the greater test of preparing himself for the confrontation that lies ahead.

Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life with the main narrative being set in the years 1991 [16] 98. The books also contain many flashbacks, which are frequently experienced by Harry viewing the memories of other characters in a device called a Pensieve. The environment Rowling created is completely separate from reality yet intimately connected to it. While the fantasy land of Narnia is an alternative universe and the Lord of the Rings' Middle-earth a mythic past, the wizarding world of Harry Potter exists in parallel within the real world and contains magical versions of the ordinary elements of everyday life. Many of its institutions and locations are recognisable, such as [17] London. It comprises a fragmented collection of overlooked hidden streets, ancient pubs, lonely country [13] manors and secluded castles that remain invisible to the Muggle population.

[15]

Early years
When the first novel of the series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (published in some countries as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) opens, it is clear some remarkable event has taken place in the wizarding world, an event so very remarkable, even the Muggles notice signs of it. The full background to this event and to the person of Harry Potter is only revealed gradually, through the series. After the introductory chapter, the book leaps forward to a time shortly before Harry Potter's eleventh birthday, and it is at this point that his background begins to be revealed. Harry's first contact with the wizarding world is through a half-giant, Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of grounds [18] and keys at Hogwarts. Hagrid reveals some of Harry's history. Harry learns that as a baby he witnessed his parents' murder by the power-obsessed dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, who then attempted [18] to kill him also. For reasons not immediately revealed, the spell with which Voldemort tried to kill Harry rebounded. Harry survived with only a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead as a memento of the attack, and Voldemort disappeared. As its inadvertent saviour from Voldemort's reign of terror, Harry has become a living legend in the wizarding world. However, at the orders of the venerable and well-known wizard Albus Dumbledore, the orphaned Harry had been placed in the home of his unpleasant Muggle (non-wizard) relatives, the Dursleys, who had him safe but hid his true heritage from [18] him in hopes that he would grow up "normal". With Hagrid's help, Harry prepares for and undertakes his first year of study at Hogwarts. As Harry begins to explore the magical world, the reader is introduced to many of the primary locations used throughout the series. Harry meets most of the main characters and gains his two closest friends: Ron Weasley, a fun-loving member of an ancient, large, happy, but hard-up wizarding family, and Hermione Granger, a [18][19] gifted and hardworking witch of non-magical parentage. Harry also encounters the school's potions master, Severus Snape, who displays a deep and abiding dislike for him. The plot concludes with Harry's second confrontation with Lord Voldemort, who in his quest for immortality, yearns to gain the power of [18] the Philosopher's Stone, a substance that gives everlasting life. The series continues with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets describing Harry's second year at Hogwarts. He and his friends investigate a 50-year-old mystery that appears tied to recent sinister events at the school. Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley, enrols in her first year at Hogwarts, and finds a notebook which turns out to be Voldemort's diary from his school days. Ginny becomes possessed by Voldemort through the diary and opens the "Chamber of Secrets", unleashing an ancient monster which begins attacking students at Hogwarts. The novel delves into the history of Hogwarts and a legend revolving around the Chamber. For the first time, Harry realises that racial prejudice exists in the wizarding world, and he learns that Voldemort's reign of terror was often directed at wizards who were

descended from Muggles. Harry also learns that his ability to speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes, is rare and often associated with the Dark Arts. The novel ends after Harry saves Ginny's life by destroying a basilisk and the enchanted diary which has been the source of the problems. The third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, follows Harry in his third year of magical education. It is the only book in the series which does not feature Voldemort. Instead, Harry must deal with the knowledge that he has been targeted by Sirius Black, an escaped murderer believed to have assisted in the deaths of Harry's parents. As Harry struggles with his reaction to the dementorsdark creatures with the power to devour a human soulwhich are ostensibly protecting the school, he reaches out to Remus Lupin, a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who is eventually revealed to be a werewolf. Lupin teaches Harry defensive measures which are well above the level of magic generally shown by people his age. Harry learns that both Lupin and Black were close friends of his father and that [20] Black was framed by their fourth friend, Peter Pettigrew. In this book, another recurring theme throughout the series is emphasisedin every book there is a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, none of whom lasts more than one school year.

Voldemort returns

"The Elephant House" The caf in Edinburgh in which Rowling wrote the first part of Harry Potter.

During Harry's fourth year of school (detailed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) Harry is unwillingly entered as a participant in the Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous contest where Harry must compete against a witch and a wizard "champion" from visiting schools as well as another Hogwarts [21] student. Harry is guided through the tournament by Professor Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, who turns out to be an impostor one of Voldemort's supporters namedBarty Crouch, Jr in disguise. The point at which the mystery is unravelled marks the series' shift from foreboding and uncertainty into open conflict. Voldemort's plan to have Crouch use the tournament to bring Harry to Voldemort succeeds. Although Harry manages to escape, Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion in the tournament, is killed and Voldemort re-enters the wizarding world with a physical body. In the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry must confront the newly resurfaced Voldemort. In response to Voldemort's reappearance, Dumbledore re-activates the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society which works from Sirius Black's dark family home to defeat Voldemort's minions and protect Voldemort's targets, especially Harry. Despite Harry's description of Voldemort's recent activities,

the Ministry of Magic and many others in the magical world refuse to believe that Voldemort has [22] returned. In an attempt to counter and eventually discredit Dumbledore, who along with Harry is the most prominent voice in the wizarding world attempting to warn of Voldemort's return, the Ministry appoints Dolores Umbridge as the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. She transforms the school into a dictatorial regime and refuses to allow the students to learn ways to defend themselves against dark [22] magic. Harry forms "Dumbledore's Army", a secret study group to teach his classmates the higher-level skills of Defence Against the Dark Arts that he has learned. An important prophecy concerning Harry and [23] Voldemort is revealed, and Harry discovers that he and Voldemort have a painful connection, allowing Harry to view some of Voldemort's actions telepathically. In the novel's climax, Harry and his friends face off against Voldemort's Death Eaters. Although the timely arrival of members of the Order of the Phoenix [22] saves the children's lives, Sirius Black is killed in the conflict. In the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort begins waging open warfare. Harry and friends are relatively protected from that danger at Hogwarts. They are subject to all the difficulties of adolescence; Harry eventually begins dating Ginny Weasley. Near the beginning of the novel, Harry is given an old potions textbook filled with annotations and recommendations signed by a mysterious writer, "the Half-Blood Prince". This book is a source of scholastic success, but because of the potency of the spells that are written in it, becomes a source of concern. Harry takes private lessons with Dumbledore, who shows him various memories concerning the early life of Voldemort. These reveal that Voldemort, to preserve his life, has split his soul into pieces, creating a series of horcruxes, evil enchanted items hidden [24] in various locations, one of which was the diary destroyed in the second book. Harry's snobbish adversary, Draco Malfoy, attempts to attack Dumbledore, and the book culminates in the killing of Dumbledore by Professor Snape, the titular Half-Blood Prince. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series, begins directly after the events of the sixth book. Voldemort has completed his ascension to power and gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione drop out of school so that they can find and destroy Voldemort's remaining horcruxes. To ensure their own safety as well as that of their family and friends, they are forced to isolate themselves. As they search for the horcruxes, the trio learns details about Dumbledore's past, as well as Snape's true motiveshe had worked on Dumbledore's behalf since the murder of Harry's mother. The book culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, in conjunction with members of the Order of the Phoenix and many of the teachers and students, defend Hogwarts from Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and various magical creatures. Several major characters are killed in the first wave of the battle. After learning that he himself is a horcrux, Harry surrenders himself to Voldemort, who casts a killing curse at him. However, the defenders of Hogwarts do not surrender after learning this, but continue to fight on. Having managed to return from the dead, Harry finally faces Voldemort, whose horcruxes have all been destroyed. In the subsequent battle, Voldemort's curse rebounds off of Harry's spell and kills Voldemort. An epilogue describes the lives of the surviving characters and the effects on the wizarding world.

Supplementary works
See also: J. K. Rowling: Philanthropy Rowling has expanded the Harry Potter universe with several short books produced for various [25][26] charities. In 2001, she released Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (a purported Hogwarts

textbook) and Quidditch Through the Ages (a book Harry reads for fun). Proceeds from the sale of these [27] two books benefitted the charity Comic Relief. In 2007, Rowling composed seven handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of fairy tales that is featured in the final novel, one of which was auctioned to raise money for the Children's High Level Group, a fund for mentally disabled children in [28][29] poor countries. The book was published internationally on 4 December 2008. Rowling also wrote an [30] 800-word prequel in 2008 as part of a fundraiser organised by the bookseller Waterstones. All three of these books contain extra information about the Wizarding World not included in the original novels. In [31] 2011, Rowling launched a new website announcing an upcoming project called Pottermore. Pottermore [32] opened to the general public on 14 April 2012. Pottermore allows users to be sorted, be chosen by their wand and play various minigames. The main purpose of the website however was to allow the user to journey though the story with access to content not revealed by JK Rowling previously, with over [33] 18,000 words of additional content.

Structure and genre

See also: Harry Potter influences and analogues The Harry Potter novels fall within the genre of fantasy literature; however, in many respects they are [34] also bildungsromans, or coming of age novels, and contain elements of mystery, adventure, thriller, and romance. They can be considered part of the British children's boarding school genre, which includes Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co., Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, St. Clare's and the Naughtiest Girl series, and Frank Richards's Billy Bunter novels: the Harry Potter books are predominantly set in Hogwarts, a fictional British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use [35] of magic. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School [36][37] Days and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life". They are also, in the [38] words of Stephen King, "shrewd mystery tales", and each book is constructed in the manner of a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery adventure. The stories are told from a third person limited point of view with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of Philosopher's Stone, Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows and the first two chapters of Half-Blood Prince). In the middle of each book, Harry struggles with the problems he encounters, and dealing with them often involves the need to violate some school rules. If students are caught breaking rules, they are often disciplined by Hogwarts professors. However, the stories reach their climax in the summer term, near or just after final exams, when events escalate far beyond in-school squabbles and struggles, and Harry must confront either Voldemort or one of his followers, the Death Eaters, with the stakes a matter of life and deatha point underlined, as the series progresses, by one or more characters being killed in each of [39][40] the final four books. In the aftermath, he learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with head teacher and mentor Albus Dumbledore. In the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and his friends spend most of their time away from Hogwarts, and only return [39] there to face Voldemort at thednouement.

Themes
According to Rowling, a major theme in the series is death: "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 [9] conquer death. We're all frightened of it."

Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts. Themes such as normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the [41] series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and "going over one's most [42] harrowing ordealsand thus coming to terms with them" has also been considered. Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" and that also pass on a message to "question authority and... not assume that the [43] establishment or the press tells you all of the truth". While the books could be said to comprise many other themes, such as power/abuse of power, love, prejudice, and free choice, they are, as 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 [10] such ideas to her readers. 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 [44] Harry, as she put it, "stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence". 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 ... is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and [45] taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble."

Origins and publishing history

The novelist, J. K. Rowling.

In 1990, Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly [46] "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."

Rowling completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1995 and the manuscript was sent off to [47] several 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, [48][49] 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 beginning to write the Harry Potter books, the [50] publishers initially targeted children aged nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, 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 [49][51] her second name because she has no middle name. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all Harry [52] Potter books in the United Kingdom, on 30 June 1997. It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998 by Scholasticthe American publisher of the booksas Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's [53] Stone, after Rowling had received US$105,000 for the American rights an unprecedented amount for [54] a children's book by a then-unknown author. Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with a magical theme (although the Philosopher's Stoneis alchemy-related), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market. The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year [55] later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999. Harry Potter and the Goblet of [56] Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury andScholastic. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series at 766 pages in the UK version and 870 pages [57] [58] in the US version. It was published worldwide in English on 21 June 2003. Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince was published on 16 July 2005, and it sold 9 million copies in the first 24 hours of its [59][60] worldwide release. The seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was [61] published 21 July 2007. The book sold 11 million copies in the first 24 hours of release, breaking down [60] to 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US.

Translations
Main article: Harry Potter in translation The series has been translated into 67 languages, placing Rowling among the most translated [63] authors in history. The books have seen translations to diverse languages such asAzerbaijani, Ukrainian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Welsh, Afrikaans, Albanian, Latvian and Vietname [64] se. The first volume has been translated into Latin and even Ancient Greek, making it the longest [65] published work in Ancient Greek since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD. Some of the translators hired to work on the books were well-known authors before their work on Harry Potter, such as Viktor Golyshev, who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. The Turkish translation of books two to seven was undertaken by Sevin Okyay, a popular literary critic [66] and cultural commentator. 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 led to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking
[3][62]

countries. Such was the clamour to read the fifth book that its English language edition became the first [67] English-language book ever to top the best-seller list in France. The United States editions have been adapted into American English, to make them more [68] understandable to a young American audience.

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 [69] the Harry Potter series." Updates then 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: "J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) [70] on 11 January 2007." Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in [71][72] 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. On 28 March 2007, the cover art for the [73][74] Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released. In September 2012, Rowling mentioned in an interview that she might go back to make a "director's cut" [75] of two of the existing Harry Potter books.

Achievements
Cultural impact
For more details on this topic, see Harry Potter fandom.

"Platform 9" sign on London King's Cross railway station

Fans of the series were so eager for the latest instalment that bookstores 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 highly s