Harry potter and the sorcerers stone book publish date

When it hit shelves: June 30, 1997

What happens in the book: After murdering Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, evil Lord Voldemort puts a killing curse on Harry, then just a baby. The curse inexplicably reverses, defeating Voldemort and searing a lightning-bolt scar in the middle of the infant's forehead. Harry is then left at the doorstep of his boring but brutish aunt and uncle, the Dursleys.

For 10 years, Harry lives in the cupboard under the stairs and is subjected to cruel mistreatment by Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and their son Dudley. On his 11th birthday, Harry receives a letter inviting him to study magic at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry discovers that not only is he a wizard, but he is a famous one. He meets two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and makes his first enemy, Draco Malfoy. At Hogwarts the three friends are all placed into the Gryffindor house. Harry has a knack for the school sport, Quidditch, and is recruited onto the Gryffindor team as its star Seeker.

Perusing the restricted section in the library, Harry discovers that the Sorcerer's Stone produces the Elixir of Life, which gives its drinker the gift of immortality. After realizing that Voldemort might be after the stone, Albus Dumbledore had it moved it to Hogwarts for safekeeping.

Harry finds out that when she died, Lily Potter transferred to her son an ancient magical protection from Voldemort's lethal spells. This protection is what allowed Harry as an infant to survive Voldemort's attack. It also helps Harry keep Voldemort from possessing the Stone, which Dumbledore agrees to destroy.

The Players:

Albus Dumbledore: Headmaster of Hogwarts. He becomes Harry's mentor and father figure
Ron Weasley: Harry's friend who comes from a large and economically struggling family
Hermione Granger: Another friend of Harry's and a smart witch, though her parents are Muggles (non-magical folk)
Draco Malfoy: Harry's nemesis. Comes from a lineage of wealthy wizards who not only support Voldemort, but also believe that magic should be performed by pure-bloods alone
Rubeus Hagrid: Half-wizard, half-giant and Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. Develops a close friendship with Harry, Ron and Hermione
Severus Snape: Professor of Potions. An unfair teacher to those he doesn't like. Has a strong dislike for and animosity toward Harry
Lord Voldemort: A dark wizard. At one time the most powerful wizard, second only to Dumbledore

The Magic Gadgets:

Wands: Personalized sticks for performing magic
Broomsticks: Primary means of transportation, also used in the game of Quidditch
Invisibility cloak: A rare and expensive item that makes the wearer invisible. Harry inherits one from his father
Remembrall: Clear orb that turns red if a wizard or witch has forgotten something
Sorting Hat: Magically determines which house (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin) a new student is assigned to. The hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts
Owls: Serve as mail messengers for wizards and witches

— Miral Sattar

Next Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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J.K. Rowling is best-known as the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which were published between 1997 and 2007. The enduringly popular adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione have gone on to sell over 600 million copies, be translated into over 80 languages and made into eight blockbuster films.

Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, followed by the USA and Australia.

In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in April 2022.

The screenplays, as well as the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, are also available as books.

Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018 and Troubled Blood in 2020. All of the books have been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO. The sixth book in the series, Ink Black Heart, is published in August 2022.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

In 2020, J.K. Rowling released in free online instalments, The Ickabog, an original fairy tale, which she wrote over ten years ago as a bedtime story for her younger children. She decided to share the personal family favourite to help entertain children, parents and carers confined at home during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The story is now published as a book (hardback, ebook and audio) in the English language, and is translated into 26 languages, each edition with its own unique illustrations by children. J.K. Rowling is donating her royalties from The Ickabog to her charitable trust, The Volant Charitable Trust, to assist vulnerable groups who have been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK and internationally.

J.K. Rowling’s latest children’s novel, The Christmas Pig, is out now. Illustrated by Jim Field, it’s the story of a little boy called Jack, and his beloved toy, Dur Pig, and the toy that replaces Dur Pig when he’s lost on Christmas Eve – the Christmas Pig. Together, Jack and the Christmas Pig embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.

www.jkrowling.com

Image: Photography Debra Hurford Brown © J.K. Rowling

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