The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ( Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the USA) was published in 1997 and, since then, the seven-book-series has gone on to break all kinds of records, selling over 500 million copies worldwide. The fact that Harry and his friends are casting spells and fighting evil against the backdrop of normal school life, whilst dodging teachers, doing homework and navigating friendships, conflicts and even romance, makes them all the more thrilling. These adventures are just part of the books’ appeal.

Harry is pitched into many hair-raising adventures, but the friends’ courage, loyalty and curiosity mean they triumph time and again. However, Harry cannot escape his tragic past: as “the Boy Who Lived” his destiny is tied to that of the evil Lord Voldemort (or “You Know Who”). The boy wizard meets his first real friends on the Hogwart’s Express - serious but kind Hermione Granger and fun and fiery-haired Ron Weasley - and feels like he has come home at last. Harry enters the magical world via the legendary platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross station and never looks back. The shocking news that Harry is a wizard is the start of an exciting adventure to meet his destiny. But on Harry’s eleventh birthday, any illusion of normality is rudely shattered when half-giant Rubeus Hagrid bursts into the house to deliver Harry a letter from Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After all, his bedroom is the cupboard under the stairs, his cousin Dudley is a moron and his aunt and uncle treat him as an inconvenience. Harry Potter’s life with the “perfectly normal” Dursleys at Number 4 Privet Drive leaves a lot to be desired. Stage Play Script: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016)

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)īook 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)īook 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)īook 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)īook 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)īook 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)īook 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

Harry potter first book