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- Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (1998) "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." In the thrilling second installment of J.K.
- Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (1999) "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." In J.K.
- Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2000) "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." In J.K.
- Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2003) "Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have." In the penultimate installment of the captivating Harry Potter series, J.K.
stupid. P otter wasn’t such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people c alled Po tter who had a son called Harry. Come to thi nk of it, he wasn’t e ven sur e his nephew w as called Harry. He’d never ev en seen the boy. It might hav e been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying
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"This is a story full of surprises and jokes; comparisons with Dahl are, this time, justified."
— The Sunday Times
is the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The book was first published on 26 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in London and was later made into a film of the same name.
The book was released in the United States under the name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone because the publishers were concerned that most American readers would not be familiar enough with the term "Philosopher's Stone". However, this decision led to criticism by the British public who felt it shouldn't be changed due to the fact it was an English book.
"Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a half-giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys: his horrible aunt and uncle and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny Cupboard Under the Stairs, he hasn't had a birthday party in ten years, and his birthday present is his uncle's old socks.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger. A letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him... if Harry can survive the encounter."
"Until now there's been no magic for Harry Potter. He lives with the miserable Dursleys and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet beneath the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in ten years. Then a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger. A letter with an invitation to an incredible place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he finds not only friends, flying sports on broomsticks, and magic in everything from classes to meals.
Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch, and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason, Harry Potter is a wizard!"
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
"To Harry Potter - The Boy Who Lived" — People meeting in secret all over the country to offer a toast to Harry Vernon and Petunia Dursley, of Number Four Privet Drive (in Little Whinging, Surrey), are proud to say they are perfectly normal. They are the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just don't hold with such nonsense. Vernon is the director of a drill-making firm called Grunnings, and Petunia keeps house and raises their one-year-old son Dudley. On Tuesday, 1 November 1981, the Dursleys begin the day by gossiping about their neighbours while Petunia wrestles the disagreeable Dudley into his high chair. None of them notice a large tawny owl flying past their window, but Vernon does see a tabby cat reading a map and a street sign outside their house. He forces himself to forget the cat, but upon arriving in town, he notices large groups of people wearing cloaks. He eavesdrops on them and hears them talking about "the Potters and their son Harry." Vernon finds this horrifying because the Potters are his in-laws, and he and Petunia wouldn't want anyone to find out about them. When he leaves work at the end of the day, he bumps into a small man wearing a cloak, but when he tries to apologise, the man hugs him and tells him that even muggles like him should be celebrating today because "You-Know-Who" has been defeated. Vernon returns home to find the cat still waiting there, and it only gives him a stern look when he tries to shoo it away. The news is full of unexplained owl sightings and fireworks displays, and Vernon nervously asks Petunia if she has heard from her sister recently. Petunia is upset but tells him that she hasn't heard from her sister and that their nephew's name is "Harry." Vernon's heart sinks. He finds it difficult to fall asleep that night but eventually manages it. After the Dursleys fall asleep, Albus Dumbledore appears in the middle of Privet Drive and siphons away the light from the street lamps with his Deluminator. He greets the cat, who has spent all day waiting outside, as "Professor McGonagall," and the cat turns into a human woman. They discuss the deaths of James and Lily Potter at the hands of Lord Voldemort at the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow and how their infant son Harry Potter miraculously survived the attack while Voldemort has seemingly died. Rubeus Hagrid arrives riding a flying motorbike and transporting Harry. He hands him over to Dumbledore, who leaves the sleeping baby and a letter to the Dursleys on the doorstep of Number Four. The three wizards are distraught about leaving the orphaned baby with his relatives, but they only give themselves a moment to mourn before they force themselves to leave. Hagrid says he will return the motorbike to its owner, young Sirius Black; McGonagall resumes her cat form and slinks around the corner at the other end of the street, and Dumbledore restores the lights to the streetlamps and bids Harry farewell before vanishing without a trace. Harry rolls over inside his bundle of blankets, and his tiny hand closes on the letter as he sleeps on. He does not know that he is special and famous, that he will be woken up the next morning by his aunt's scream when Petunia opens the front door to put out the milk bottles, that he will be spending the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley, or that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country are toasting, "To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!"
Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass
"Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig." — Description of the Dursleys' son Ten years have passed since the Dursleys have awoken to find Harry Potter lying on their doorstep, and Privet Drive and the Dursleys' house have not changed since that day. The only difference is the vast number of pictures of Dudley Dursley throughout his life displayed on the walls. There is no sign that Harry Potter lives there, as he is forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs, a very cramped space with many spiders. Petunia comes to Harry's door one morning and wakes him with a shrill voice. Harry is trying to think about the dream he has been having. It was about a flying motorbike, and he believes he has had the same dream before. Aunt Petunia tells him to make some bacon; she wants everything perfect for Dudley's 11th birthday. Harry dresses into a pair of Dudley's old clothes and enters the kitchen, where the table is covered in Dudley's presents. Harry has jet-black hair and green eyes. Tape holds his glasses together because Dudley has smashed them many times. What distinguishes Harry from others the most is the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He often wonders how he got it, and the Dursleys have told him it was from the car crash that killed Harry's parents. Harry doesn't know much more about this accident because the Dursleys' first rule is not to ask questions. Dudley comes into the kitchen and begins to count his presents, only to find 36, which he angrily recalls is one fewer than the year before. Aunt Petunia states that they will buy him two new gifts while they are out. Vernon tells Petunia that their neighbour, Arabella Figg, has broken her leg and cannot take care of Harry while they are at the zoo. They can't think of anyone else who can take care of him, so Harry has to go with them. Dudley is allowed to take a friend to the zoo and chooses his friend Piers Polkiss. Piers comes to the house with his mother. A half-hour later, Harry sits in the car with Dudley, Piers, Vernon, and Petunia. On the way, a motorbike overtakes them, and Vernon complains about them. Harry remarks that he has dreamed about a flying motorbike, and Vernon snappily reminds him that motorbikes do not fly. Harry thinks about all the strange things that have happened to him: he once jumped onto the school chimney and mysteriously grew all of his hair back the morning after a haircut. At the zoo, Dudley and Piers find the animals boring. Harry is left to watch a Boa constrictor as it sleeps, and when Dudley tries to make it move, it wakes up but still doesn't move. The snake begins to move after Dudley and Piers slink away. Moments later, Harry speaks to the snake and finds it miraculously understands him. Upon realising that it is now moving, Piers calls Dudley and Vernon back to the snake's exhibit. Dudley pushes Harry out of the way (he lands "hard on the concrete floor") and presses his face against the glass. Harry becomes angry, and somehow the glass vanishes, and the snake gets out, scaring Dudley and Piers. As the snake slithers away, Harry thinks he hears it speak back to him. Piers tattletales on Harry that he had been talking to the snake, and Uncle Vernon sends him to his cupboard –with no meals for a week as cruel punishment.
Chapter 3: The Letters from No One
Dudley: "Dad! Look, Harry's got a letter!" Uncle Vernon: "What? Who'd be writing to you?" — Vernon Dursley taking Harry's letter from him Since the boa constrictor escaped from the zoo, Harry was locked in his cupboard for the longest time ever. It's the beginning of the summer holidays when Harry is finally allowed out. Even though he is not at school, Harry still can't escape Dudley and his gang, who regularly visit the house. To keep out of their way, Harry usually wanders around Privet Drive. He is glad, however, that Dudley and Piers are going to Smeltings Academy while Harry will attend Stonewall High. One day during the summer, Harry is told to get the post for Uncle Vernon. When Harry goes to get the mail, there are three letters: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister, who is on holiday in the Isle of Wight, a letter that looks like a bill, and a letter for Harry. Harry takes the letter, studies the yellow parchment it is made of, and then reads the address: Harry can't believe it. He has never had a letter in his life. On the back is a wax seal with a Lion, a Snake, a Badger and an Eagle surrounding an H. Harry returns to the kitchen and gives Uncle Vernon the other two letters as he sits down and starts to open the letter. Dudley soon sees that Harry has a letter, and Uncle Vernon snatches it from him to read it with Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon tells Harry and Dudley to get out of the kitchen, so they both go and stand in the hall. The two fight over who gets to look through the keyhole. Dudley wins, so Harry resorts to looking through the gap between the floor and the door. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are discussing the seal on the back. Uncle Vernon says that they should just ignore it. Later, when Harry is in his cupboard, Uncle Vernon comes in and says that he has burned the letter and that they are moving him up to Dudley's second bedroom. Slightly surprised, Harry moves all of his things up to the bedroom, wishing he had his letter. The next morning at breakfast, Dudley is asked to get the post by Uncle Vernon. After banging things all the way down the hall with his Smeltings stick, Dudley calls out that another letter is addressed to Harry, this time in '''The Smallest Bedroom''' rather than '''The Cupboard Under the Stairs'''. Both Harry and Uncle Vernon rush to the hallway in an attempt to get the letter. After a minute of confused fighting, Uncle Vernon emerges, clutching the letter in his hand. Determined to see what his letter says, Harry creeps down the stairs early the following day and approaches the door. He is going to camp there until the post arrives, and then he will finally get to read his letter. When he reaches the door, however, he stands on Uncle Vernon - who has had the very same idea. Every day, letters appear addressed to Harry, doubling in number. Eventually, so many letters arrive that Uncle Vernon resorts to nailing shut the letterbox. But they begin to appear in the strangest places: under the door, squeezed through the window, and Aunt Petunia even finds some while cracking open eggs. Finally, they get attacked by thirty or forty letters being fired out of the fireplace. Despite the sender's efforts, Harry still does not manage to get his hands on one of the letters long enough to read it, and a furious Uncle Vernon states that they are leaving the house. They get into their car and leave ten minutes later. They travel for miles until they eventually stop in front of a gloomy hotel on the brink of the city. However, Vernon's attempts to shake the sender off are unsuccessful, as more letters come for Harry to the hotel the next morning. Again, they return to the car and finally stop to get on a boat that takes them to an island with a small hut. Harry remembers that the next day will be his eleventh birthday. Harry can't sleep with the raging storm outside when they get there, so he counts down the time until his birthday. When Dudley's watch turns to the next day, there is a loud knocking at the door - something wants to get in...
•J. K. Rowling came up with the idea for the book after the train she was on (which was returning to London) was delayed for four hours.
•Scholastic published in November 2000 a Collector's Edition that includes a pen-and-ink drawing by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter at no.4 Privet Drive (which was then published on Pottermore) with a unique note. A 10th Anniversary Edition featuring a drawing and a note about Severus Snape by J.K. Rowling was also published by Scholastic in 2008.
•To mark the 20th anniversary of first publication, Bloomsbury Publishing published four House Editions of the book in 2017. The 20th Anniversary Editions each feature the individual house crest on the jacket and sprayed edges in the house colours. New extra content includes fact files, profiles of favourite characters and line illustrations exclusive to each house.
•A first edition of the book containing hand drawings and annotations (with a total of 43 personal additions: 20 original illustrations as well as comments scrawled in the margins) by J.K. Rowling was sold at an auction for £150,000 in 2013. It has been on exhibit at the Edinburgh's Writers' Museum since Thursday, 8 December 2016.
•This was the only book to be written during the time the events in the books were taking place.
•This is the only book in the series to be released before the defeat of Lord Voldemort on 2 May, 1998.
English-languageTranslations (cover based on Scholastic's)Translations (alternative cover)Illustrated EditionsJim Kay was commissioned to do the full coloured illustrated edition, with all editions in over twenty languages using the same cover art. The book covers are only of slight variations due to title, text placements, and publisher's logos. The illustrated edition features over 100 full-colour illustrations. MinaLima Design was also hired to design an illustrated version.20th Anniversary Editions- Reedsy
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the book that started it all (understatement of the century), Harry Potter discovers his true identity in the wee hours of his eleventh birthday: he is a wizard, famous in the magical world for having vanquished the evil Lord Voldemort when he was only a baby.
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and friends return to Hogwarts with a bang — the bang of a flying Ford Anglia as it crashes into the Whomping Willow, that is.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The third book in the series introduces Sirius Black, a deranged mass murderer who’s just escaped from the wizard prison of Azkaban.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There’s quite a bit to unpack in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, so we’ll dive right in: after attending an eventful Quidditch World Cup with Hermione and the Weasley family, Harry returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year of school.
May 13, 2022 · Get a full list of the Harry Potter books in order to read them, plus brief summaries of each book in the Harry Potter series about the bestselling, beloved wizarding world.
Jun 30, 2020 · Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first in the series of Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. It was published in the U.S. as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone a year after being published in the UK. First British printing: July 1, 1997, Bloomsbury Books.
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by the British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the Harry Potter series and was Rowling's debut novel.
