Harry Potter's Series of Books and Films
May 17, 2006 | 6:01AM
Harry Potter is the name of a popular series of fantasy novels by British writer J. K. Rowling. Six of the seven planned books have been published to date. The books depict a world of witches and wizards, the main character being a young wizard named Harry Potter. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), was released in 1997. The first four books have been made into films, and the fifth movie began filming in February 2006. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury, Scholastic Press, and Raincoast Books.
Overview
Each book chronicles approximately one year in Harry's life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 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.
There are seven books in the series, each a little darker than its predecessor, as Harry ages and his nemesis, Lord Voldemort, gains power. As of 2006, six books have been published. The latest, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was published in its English-language version on 16 July 2005. Since the publication of book five, Rowling has revealed hints about the plot of future books on jkrowling.com, her official website.
Publishing history
The first Potter book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury, a fairly small independent publisher, in July 1997. Before the book was released, Rowling received a six-figure sum for the American publishing rights, an unprecedented sum for a children's book. The books have fans of all ages, and in the United Kingdom, two editions of the Harry Potter books have been released, identical in text, with cover artwork aimed at children in one edition and adults in the other.
According to J.K. Rowling, the character of Harry Potter appeared in her head while she was on a train from Manchester to London in 1991. Her favourite place to write the first book was at an Edinburgh café table . This cafe, she has revealed many times, was Nicholson Street Cafe, nearby Blackwells Nicholson Street. This cafe has since been converted into a Chinese restaurant, although a commemorative plaque remains. Sales from the books, as well as royalties from the films and merchandise, have made Rowling a billionaire and the 746th wealthiest person in the world. Rowling is believed to be richer than Queen Elizabeth II (see J.K. Rowling for an explanation). As of 4 October 2005, more than 300 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide .
The first three books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, all won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for the 9 to 11 age group . By the time the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was published in 2000, the series had become very high-profile, making headlines of newspapers and covers of major magazines. Around the same time, Warner Brothers began work on a series of films based on the books.
In 2001, two slim spin-off volumes called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp were published. All proceeds went to the British charity organization "Comic Relief" (not to be confused with the American organization of the same name).
Rowling wrote the last chapter of the seventh book some time ago, before writing the third book. She has also stated that the last word of the book would be "scar". In a July 2005 interview with fan sites Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron she cast doubt on this, saying "I wonder if it will remain that way".
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 encyclopædia of the wizarding world, containing concepts and snippets of information that were not relevant enough to the novels' plots 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 back story will have been revealed.
The books
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
* Story timeline: 1981, 1991 to 1992
* Release date: 26 June 1997 (UK); 1 September 1998 (US)
* US sales: 17 Million. Hardcover 6.1 million, Paperback 10.9 million
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Story timeline: 1943, 1992 to 1993
* Release date: 2 July 1998 (UK); 2 June 1999 (US)
* US sales: 14.7 million. Hardcover 7.3 million, Paperback 7.5 million
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
* Story timeline: 1993 to 1994
* Release date: 8 July 1999 (UK); 8 September 1999 (US)
* US sales: 12.8 million. Hardcover 7.6 million, Paperback 5.2 million
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Story timeline: 1944, 1981, 1994 to 1995
* Release date: 8 July 2000 (UK/US)
* US sales: 12.3 million. Hardcover 8.9 million, Paperback 3.4 million
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Story timeline: 1976, 1995 to 1996
* Release date: 21 June 2003 (UK/US)
* US sales: 13.7 million. Hardcover 12.2 million, Paperback 1.5 million. 5 million in first 24 hours, initial printing 8.5 million copies.
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Story timeline:1926, 1937, 1960, 1970, 1996 to 1997
* Release date: 16 July 2005 (UK/US)
* US Sales: 20 million. 7 million in 24 hours, initial printing 10.8 million copies.
7. Book 7: title unknown
* Story timeline: 1997 to ????
* Release date: unknown
The films
1. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
* Release: 16 November 2001
* Director: Chris Columbus
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Release: 15 November 2002
* Director: Chris Columbus
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
* Release: UK: 31 May 2004, USA: 4 June
* Director: Alfonso Cuarón
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Release: 2005; Philippines and Indonesia: 16 November; Singapore, Malaysia, Sweden: 17 November; UK, USA, and other countries: 18 November; Australia: 1 December; Hong Kong: 22 December; Russia: 23 December
* Director: Mike Newell
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Release: UK, and USA: July 13, 2007 Germany: July 12, 2007 Australia: September 6, 2007
* Director: David Yates
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Release: 2008
* Director: Unknown
The first movie (The Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone) is the highest grossing, at #3 for all-time worldwide box office, then Goblet of Fire at #8 (may change), Chamber of Secrets at #9, and Prisoner of Azkaban at #16.
|
Grab.com
