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==Trivia==
* The Hogwarts Express train—used by students to get to the school—is located at platform "nine and three-quarters" at [[King's Cross Station]] in [[London]]. This location is based on a popular British [[legend]] which states that the body of the Celtic leader [[Boadicea]] is buried under platform ten.
* [[Miranda Richardson]] will play journalist [[Rita Skeeter]] in ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (movie)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'': following her appearance in the [[Comic Relief]] sketch, this makes her the second actress to have portrayed two J.K. Rowling characters in separate productions on film to date. The first was [[Dawn French]] who played Harry Potter in the same sketch and the "Fat Lady" in ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''. Also, in the first film (Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone), Warwick Davis played two characters, Prof. Flitwick (Charms professor) and Griphook (un-named in the movie itself), the Gringott's Bank employee who escorts Harry and Hagrid to their vaults.
* [[Albus Dumbledore]]'s partner in the Philosopher's Stone is [[Nicolas Flamel]], an alchemist. An alchemist of the same name lived in Paris and is a well known historical figure. [[Nicolas Flamel]] is also referenced as a secret head of the Priory of Sion in Dan Brown's book [[The Davinci Code]].
* Not counting Nicolas Flamel, the only other real person named in the ''Harry Potter'' books is Natalie McDonald, who was sorted into Gryffindor in ''Goblet of Fire''. This girl, an avid Harry Potter fan, e-mailed J.K. Rowling, but tragically died of cancer the day before the author responded. Since her death Rowling has struck up a friendship with Natalie's mother, and decided to add the girl's name to her then-unfinished fourth book.
* Many of the scenes at the Hogwarts School were actually filmed at the [[University of Oxford]] including scenes at the Hogwarts dining hall, and of the stairway and school interior. In ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' the [[Divinity School]] and [[Duke Humfrey|Duke Humfrey's Library]] in the [[Bodleian]] served as the setting for the sanatorium and library scenes respectively.
* The sixth book was once rumoured to be called "Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storge," but this rumour was publicly discredited by Rowling.


===Similarities with real people===
* Supporters of [[Vladimir Putin]] have often accused the makers of the Harry Potter [[films]] of having deliberately modelled [[Dobby]] after the [[Russia]]n [[president]].
* Canadian Cabinet Minister [[Pierre Pettigrew]] entered federal politics the same year (1994) that, in the books, traitor [[Peter Pettigrew]] escapes Harry and his friends.
* [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Prime Minister]] (2002—) [[Jan Peter Balkenende]] is known for his resemblance to Harry Potter.
* A similar nickname was given to the [[Bulgaria|Bulgarian]] politician Nikolay Vassilev who started his political career as Minister of Economy, and was later re-assigned Minister of Transport and communications.
* [[Simon Ammann]], [[Swiss]] [[ski jump]] athlete who won double Gold medals at the [[2002]] [[Olympic Games]] in [[Salt Lake City]], is affectionately nicknamed "Harry Potter" because he likes to wear big round spectacles.

===Other Harry Potters===
* A sketch from the British television series ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' featured a character named Harold Potter. The sketch was "Science Fiction Sketch," from episode 7, series one, "You're No Fun Anymore."
* The gravesite in Jerusalem of a British soldier named Harry Potter has become a tourist attraction.
* [[P. G. Wodehouse]]'s [[1948]] novel ''[[Uncle Dynamite]]'' includes a character named Police Constable Harold Potter, and another called Hermione (not Granger, but Bostock).
* A news presenter on [[Channel 10]] News Gold Coast, Australia, is called Harry Potter.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 22:48, 17 July 2005

This article is about the Harry Potter book series. For information about the character, see Harry Potter (character).
File:Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.jpg
Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This original edition was distributed throughout the English-speaking world outside of the United States (within the U.S., it was distributed as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).

Harry Potter is the name of a series of fantasy and wizardry novels by J. K. Rowling and the movies based on them. The main character is a fictional young wizard Harry Potter. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), was released in 1997, but takes place in 1991 (see Dates in Harry Potter).


Overview

To read a complete synopsis of the first six books, and an incomplete synopsis of the seventh, see Harry Potter (plot).

The Harry Potter books are primarily aimed at older children (because they have progressively darker themes), but have fans of all ages, as demonstrated by the publication of editions of each book with cover artwork intended for adults. There is also a series of Warner Brothers films based directly on the books, the first of which was released in 2001.

According to the author, J.K. Rowling, the stories appeared in her head, fully formed, while she was on a train from Manchester to London. Her favourite place to write the first book was at an Edinburgh café table, while drinking endless cups of coffee. Sales from the books, as well as royalties from films and merchandise, have made Rowling a billionaire and the 552nd wealthiest person in the world [1]. Rowling is richer than Queen Elizabeth II.

Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he learns to use magic, brew potions, and play Quidditch. Harry also learns to overcome many obstacles, both magical and social, as he struggles through his adolescence.

Rowling has announced that seven books are planned, each a little darker than its predecessor, as Harry ages and his nemesis, Lord Voldemort, gains power. As of July 2005, six books have been published, the latest being Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, published in its English language version on 16 July 2005. Rowling has revealed hints about the plot of the book on her personal website [2].

The books are written in third person limited omniscient mode, with Harry as the central character. The books are generally written from Harry's point of view, with short exceptions in Philosopher's Stone, Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince. This is one reason that readers feel such a strong kinship to Harry; the story is told through his character.

The books have been compared to many well-known novels, including C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. They also fit into a British genre of novels about boarding school life, and sections involving the Dursleys, Harry's relatives, remind some readers of Roald Dahl's works.

Aspects of the Harry Potter series have even entered the real world, such as Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which inspired an actual product of that name, marketed by the Jelly Belly Company.

The novels

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
  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. Title unknown

Harry is expected to leave the school in mid-1998, shortly before his eighteenth birthday — supposing, of course, that he lives to do so (as Rowling likes to remind her readers when asked about Harry's career after school).

The books have become popular enough that bookstores now hold "midnight release parties" on the day Harry Potter books are released, since the earliest time the books can be sold at retail is 12:01 am local time at the point of sale.

The Harry Potter books have been translated into many languages (see List of titles of Harry Potter books in other languages and Harry Potter in translation series). For the English language, there exists an adapted American English version of each book, with lexical changes like "football" to "soccer", "video recorder" to "VCR", or "do his nut" becoming "go ballistic".

In 2001 two books supposedly reproduced from copies owned by Harry (complete with notes scribbled in the margins by Harry and his friends) were published. They were Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp. These books were written by J. K. Rowling with proceeds going to Comic Relief.

Regarding the existence of Harry Potter novels beyond the seventh, Rowling has said that she might write an eighth book some day. 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' plot to be included in them. 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 backstory will have been revealed.

Book sales

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone

  • Hardcover: 6.1 million
  • Paperback: 10.9 million

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  • Hardcover: 7.1 million
  • Paperback: 7.5 million

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

  • Hardcover: 7.6 million
  • Paperback: 5.2 million

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

  • Hardcover: 8.9 million
  • Paperback: 3.4 million

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  • Hardcover: 12.2 million
  • Paperback: 1.5 million

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • Hardcover: 10.8 million first print (released July 16 at 12:01 am)
  • Paperback: (not yet released)

The films

For details of which actor plays which character in the various movies, see the Harry Potter cast article.
  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
  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
    • Release: Expected around Spring or Fall 2007.
    • Director: David Yates

All three of the currently released films were among the top ten grossing films of their year, with all three films being among the top 50 domestic grossing films of all time list. [3]

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

File:Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.jpg
Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This original edition was distributed throughout the English-speaking world outside of the United States (within the U.S., it was distributed as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).

Harry Potter is the name of a series of fantasy and wizardry novels by J. K. Rowling and the movies based on them. The main character is a fictional young wizard Harry Potter. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), was released in 1997, but takes place in 1991 (see Dates in Harry Potter).


Themes

Like many works of science fiction and fantasy, the Harry Potter series presents events in the form of analogies with regard to real issues, confronting social issues in an indirect manner.

Class prejudice and racism

Rowling utilises the obsession of some in the wizard world with "blood purity" as an analogy for class prejudice and racism. The wizard world is composed of a small number of "pure-blood" families, and the majority heralding from "half-blood" or "muggle-born" ancestry. (See blood purity in Harry Potter). These categories, while irrelevant to many within the book, are frequently cited by the more intolerant characters as a measure of personal worth.

Some believe that the concept of "blood purity" within the wizard world is a reference to elements of the class-system that was previously a feature of British society, particularly within educational institutions such as universities or public schools similar in nature to Harry's school, Hogwarts.

Harry Potter makes statements about real issues of prejudice by assuming that they do not exist. For example, it is taken for granted that every profession in Rowling's world has personnel who are both male and female; even the sports teams are mixed.

Even families who ignore the concept of "blood purity" are generally prejudiced against "non-humans" or "half-breeds". This theme is explored with characters such as Remus Lupin, a werewolf and Rubeus Hagrid, a half-human, half-giant. Additionally, house-elves are considered fit only for subjugation and slavery, despite their human-like feelings and their own powerful magic (demonstrated by Dobby in Chamber of Secrets).

Rowling also uses the Weasleys, an extremely tolerant "pure-blood" family, as examples of people that hold prejudices without even realising it. Harry's friend, Ron Weasley, is shocked to learn of Lupin's affliction in Prisoner of Azkaban, and Hagrid's ancestry in Goblet of Fire. Ron's mother, Molly Weasley, also unwittingly expresses open prejudice against werewolves in Order of the Phoenix.

Choices

Rowling has stated that, rather than intentionally placing themes in her books, she lets them "grow organically". One of the most significant recurring themes is that of choice. In Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore makes perhaps his most famous quote on this issue: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." He confronts the issue again in Goblet of Fire, when he tells Cornelius Fudge that what one grows up to be is far more important than what one is born. Rowling has commented that Dumbledore often speaks for her.

Also, through the novels, Harry must choose between what is right and what is easy. This theme is expected to arise more and more frequently as the choices Harry must make become more and more difficult.

Humility

The novels also focus on the importance of humility. Harry has to spend many tedious years in the muggle world with his abusive relatives, who treat him very poorly. When Harry learns that he is the famous "Boy Who Lived", he is more concerned about living up to his reputation than using it to his own advantage, contrasting with his counterpart, Draco Malfoy. Harry turns out to be a highly skilled Quidditch player with a talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Instead of basking in the glory of his abilities, he is humble, and even bashful, when complimented on his skills.

Love

Albus Dumbledore constantly tells Harry that his advantage over Lord Voldemort is love. He knows that Harry will find the strength to battle Voldemort from his love for those around him. He encourages Harry to embrace his emotions, even that of despair, when he loses someone close to him. Voldemort, on the other hand, loves no one; he is merely a social climber, making friends to enhance his power and using his charm to get his way.

Dumbledore knows that love is something Voldemort will never understand, as shown by his severe under-estimation of its power throughout the novels. Voldemort makes his most glaring mistake when, while attempting to kill Harry as a baby, he ignores the ancient magic mark of love (resulting from his mother's death) that protects Harry.

Controversy

The books have provoked various kinds of controversy.

Accusations of promoting witchcraft

According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter novels have been among the most frequently challenged in school libraries since 1998. The complaints allege that the books have occult or Satanic themes, are violent, and are anti-family.

Some Christian groups in the United States have denounced the series for promoting witchcraft or Satanism. "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, a national Christian group based in Colorado Springs. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in scripture." [4]. The official exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, believes that the Harry Potter books can be a bad influence on some children by getting them interested in the occult (see Christian views on witchcraft).

It has been argued that when the current Pope, Benedict XVI, was a cardinal, he also condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." [5]. However no evidence is provided that those "they" which are "a subtle seduction" actually refers to the Harry Potter books, nor is this at all clear from the original German text of the Cardinal's letter, which in any case shows signs of being dashed off in rather a hurry. (For example, the ungrammatical use of "dies" rather than "diese".) Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, wrote that the these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely written by an assistant of the then-cardinal. [6].

In contrast, other members of the Catholic Church gave the series their approval, saying that it is imbued with Christian morals, and that the good versus evil plot is very clear. The late Pope John Paul II praised the books for their message about the evils of racism and genocide. Christian Congregationalist minister John Killinger also argued that rather than corrupting children's minds, the novels encourage young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. The book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels, written by John Granger, a Reader in the Orthodox Church, claims to uncover Christian themes in its analysis of the story. Granger also cites the fact that Rowling is a professed member of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Much less controversy has occurred in the United Kingdom, where religion plays a smaller role in public affairs than in the United States.

The controversy was spoofed on the television show The Simpsons. In one episode, ultra-Christian Ned Flanders "reads" Harry Potter to his son and says "…and Harry Potter and all his wizard friends…went straight to Hell for practising witchcraft". His son cheers and Ned throws the book into the fireplace.

Accusations of plagiarism

Rowling prevailed in a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, filed by Nancy Stouffer, writer of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and allegedly of Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly. The first book features creatures called "muggles". U.S. District Judge Allen G. Schwartz rejected Nancy Stouffer's claims that she was plagiarised, and fined Stouffer $50,000 for "submission of fraudulent documents" and "untruthful testimony", but stopped short of having Stouffer criminally charged with perjury. Stouffer was required to pay a portion of the attorney's fees incurred by Rowling, her U.S. publisher Scholastic Press, and Warner Bros. Films.

Other analogous works

Comic book fans have noted that a comic book series first published in 1990 by DC Comics called The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman, shares many similarities to Rowling's book. These include a dark haired young boy with glasses, named Tim Hunter, who discovers his own potential as the most powerful wizard of his age after being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom gifts him with a pet owl. Rowling officially denies being aware of this series, and Gaiman has gone on record stating that he believes similarities to be either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes.

Recent viewers of the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, scripted by Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies, have noticed similarities between its characters, setting, events and tone, and those of the Harry Potter series.

The Ken Akumatsu manga Mahou Sensei Negima is often regarded as a Harry Potter clone, despite the only similarity being a 10-year-old wizard from England.

Injunction against purchasers of early copies

A grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction (PDF copy) from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injuction's restriction on fundamental rights [7] [8]. Canadian law professor Michael Geist has posted commentary on his weblog [9]. Richard Stallman has posted on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology [10]. Some versions of this screed have been circulated by email including a spoiler for one of the major plot points in the novel; whether this was actually the original posted version and was modified by Stallman is as yet unclear, though the tone of the sentence is substantially the same as that of the rest of the message.




See also

Controversy

The books have provoked various kinds of controversy.

Accusations of promoting witchcraft

According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter novels have been among the most frequently challenged in school libraries since 1998. The complaints allege that the books have occult or Satanic themes, are violent, and are anti-family.

Some Christian groups in the United States have denounced the series for promoting witchcraft or Satanism. "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, a national Christian group based in Colorado Springs. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in scripture." [11]. The official exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, believes that the Harry Potter books can be a bad influence on some children by getting them interested in the occult (see Christian views on witchcraft).

It has been argued that when the current Pope, Benedict XVI, was a cardinal, he also condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." [12]. However no evidence is provided that those "they" which are "a subtle seduction" actually refers to the Harry Potter books, nor is this at all clear from the original German text of the Cardinal's letter, which in any case shows signs of being dashed off in rather a hurry. (For example, the ungrammatical use of "dies" rather than "diese".) Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, wrote that the these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely written by an assistant of the then-cardinal. [13].

In contrast, other members of the Catholic Church gave the series their approval, saying that it is imbued with Christian morals, and that the good versus evil plot is very clear. The late Pope John Paul II praised the books for their message about the evils of racism and genocide. Christian Congregationalist minister John Killinger also argued that rather than corrupting children's minds, the novels encourage young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. The book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels, written by John Granger, a Reader in the Orthodox Church, claims to uncover Christian themes in its analysis of the story. Granger also cites the fact that Rowling is a professed member of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Much less controversy has occurred in the United Kingdom, where religion plays a smaller role in public affairs than in the United States.

The controversy was spoofed on the television show The Simpsons. In one episode, ultra-Christian Ned Flanders "reads" Harry Potter to his son and says "…and Harry Potter and all his wizard friends…went straight to Hell for practising witchcraft". His son cheers and Ned throws the book into the fireplace.

Accusations of plagiarism

Rowling prevailed in a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, filed by Nancy Stouffer, writer of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and allegedly of Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly. The first book features creatures called "muggles". U.S. District Judge Allen G. Schwartz rejected Nancy Stouffer's claims that she was plagiarised, and fined Stouffer $50,000 for "submission of fraudulent documents" and "untruthful testimony", but stopped short of having Stouffer criminally charged with perjury. Stouffer was required to pay a portion of the attorney's fees incurred by Rowling, her U.S. publisher Scholastic Press, and Warner Bros. Films.

Other analogous works

Comic book fans have noted that a comic book series first published in 1990 by DC Comics called The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman, shares many similarities to Rowling's book. These include a dark haired young boy with glasses, named Tim Hunter, who discovers his own potential as the most powerful wizard of his age after being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom gifts him with a pet owl. Rowling officially denies being aware of this series, and Gaiman has gone on record stating that he believes similarities to be either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes.

Recent viewers of the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, scripted by Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies, have noticed similarities between its characters, setting, events and tone, and those of the Harry Potter series.

The Ken Akumatsu manga Mahou Sensei Negima is often regarded as a Harry Potter clone, despite the only similarity being a 10-year-old wizard from England.

Injunction against purchasers of early copies

A grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction (PDF copy) from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injuction's restriction on fundamental rights [14] [15]. Canadian law professor Michael Geist has posted commentary on his weblog [16]. Richard Stallman has posted on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology [17]. Some versions of this screed have been circulated by email including a spoiler for one of the major plot points in the novel; whether this was actually the original posted version and was modified by Stallman is as yet unclear, though the tone of the sentence is substantially the same as that of the rest of the message.




See also

External links

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

For further fandom links, including "unofficial" websites, see Harry Potter fandom.

Official websites


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