Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Coming on July 21
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Amazon said on Monday that demand for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” passed the previous record of 1.5 million copies ordered online before the release of the previous book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
The retailer predicted that the number of orders for the seventh book would rise by “many more hundreds of thousands of copies.”
The figures underline the huge international demand among readers for the final adventures of the boy wizard, which has been heightened by speculation over which characters Rowling will kill off at the end.
She has said that at least two characters will die in “Deathly Hallows,” but has been careful not to name them.
The six Harry Potter books already published have sold around 325 million copies worldwide, and Rowling is known as the first ever dollar-billionaire author.
The books have also spawned a successful film franchise that has earned around $3.5 billion in global ticket sales from the first four movies.
The fifth, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” is released later this month and the final picture is due for release in 2010.
Harry Potter is published by Bloomsbury in Britain and distributed in the United States by Scholastic Corp.
Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the main protagonist of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter fantasy series of books. In 2002, Harry Potter was voted No. 85 among the “100 Best Fictional Characters” by Book magazine and also voted the 35th “Worst Briton” in Channel 4’s “100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate” program.
The novels concern events at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry’s best friends are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. His most intriguing physical characteristic is his lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, the result of the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort attempt to murder Harry as a baby with The Killing Curse. Voldemort also killed Harry’s parents and destroyed their home in the village of Godric’s Hollow on October 31st. Harry is famous throughout the wizarding world for being the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse and, in doing so, bringing about Lord Voldemort’s downfall.
In the novels, Harry, the only child of James and Lily Potter, is often told that he resembles his father, with similar perpetually untidy jet-black hair. However, he is more like his mother in personality and character and inherited her green eyes. Harry is described as being small and skinny for his age in the first few novels, but by the fifth he is described as tall. He also has a thin face and a rather quiet voice, except when he is angry. His appearance is characterised by round glasses.
Harry shares his birthday, July 31, with author J. K. Rowling. The books generally avoid giving exact dates for events, but it has been gathered that Harry was born in the same year as Draco Malfoy who’s date of birth was given on a family tree, written by JK Rowling for a charitable auction.
In the Harry Potter film adaptations, Harry has been portrayed by British actor Daniel Radcliffe.
In the books
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, eleven-year-old Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard when Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and aide to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, hand-delivers his invitation to attend the school. Hagrid tells Harry about his magical background and his fame in the wizarding community. He also learns that his parents, James and Lily, have left him a small fortune. Harry’s first introduction to the wizarding world is Diagon Alley, a hidden wizarding district in London. There he buys a magic wand at Ollivander’s. On the Hogwarts Express, the train that takes students from London’s King’s Cross station to the school, he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who later become his closest friends. All three are “sorted” into Hogwarts’ Gryffindor, one of four school Houses. Harry joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team, becoming the youngest Seeker in over a century. Harry also becomes rivals with Draco Malfoy. Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort (long presumed dead) has secretly returned. Using the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell as a host body, he searches Hogwarts for the Philosopher’s Stone that he believes will restore his body and make him immortal. Voldemort is thwarted by Harry, with help from Ron and Hermione.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
More challenges face Harry when he is revealed to be a parselmouth, having the ability to talk with snakes. Now there is a growing suspicion that he may be the Heir of Slytherin. The Heir is believed responsible for a series of attacks on Muggle-born pupils throughout the school. Harry’s toughest challenge, however, is posed by Tom Riddle, the “memory” of a younger Lord Voldemort hidden within his old diary that has mysteriously fallen into Ginny Weasley’s possession. Controlling Ginny through the diary, Riddle uses her to release a deadly basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry proves his mettle in the book’s climax by rescuing Ginny from the Chamber and killing the Basilisk with Godric Gryffindor’s sword. Harry also tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house elf, Dobby, who has helped Harry.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry becomes the supposed target of Sirius Black, a murderous wizard who escaped from Azkaban, Britain’s wizarding prison. Hunting Black are terrifying, hooded creatures called Dementors, the guards of Azkaban. Despite the danger, Harry returns to school, but lacking his guardians’ written permission, he is barred from joining student outings to Hogsmeade, the nearby wizarding village. Fred and George Weasley give him their Marauder’s Map, a magical document showing secret passageways in and out of Hogwarts, as well as every person’s location within the castle. Harry uses a tunnel to slip into Hogsmeade wearing his Invisibility Cloak. At Christmas, Harry receives a Firebolt racing broom from an anonymous benefactor after his Nimbus 2000 is destroyed by the Whomping Willow during a Quidditch match. Harry learns Black is believed to have divulged his parents secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend, Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggle bystanders. Harry vows to find and kill Black only to discover that he never betrayed his parents—it was Peter Pettigrew, who faked his own death and framed Black for the crimes. Harry is ecstatic that his godfather will be exonerated and can become his legal guardian. However, Pettigrew—and the truth—escape, forcing Black back into hiding.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, a recently revived inter-school competition. The Beauxbaton Academy and the Durmstrang Institute also participate. After one champion from each school is selected, Harry is mysteriously chosen as a fourth competitor, even though he is underage and never entered his name into the Goblet of Fire. The champions face three dangerous challenges on their way to the Triwizard Cup. During the final event, Cedric and Harry help each other and agree to grab the Cup simultaneously, unaware it is actually a Portkey. They are transported to a graveyard where Lord Voldemort awaits. On Voldemort’s order, his servant Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) murders Cedric with the Killing curse. Harry is bound to a tombstone and forced to witness a ritual (which uses his blood) that restores Lord Voldemort’s body. When Voldemort engages Harry in a duel, their wands’ magical streams interlock, creating an effect called Priori Incantatem that momentarily shields Harry, allowing him time to grab the Portkey and escape back to Hogwarts. Voldemort’s servant, Barty Crouch Jr is unmasked; he has been posing as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher “Mad-Eye” Moody by using polyjuice potion. Crouch’s soul is sucked out by Dementors before he repeats his confession to officials, causing the Ministry of Magic to dispute Harry and Dumbledore’s claims that Voldemort has returned.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry is attacked by Dementors while staying with the Dursleys for the summer. He performs a Patronus Charm to defend himself and his Muggle cousin, Dudley. Harry is charged with performing underage magic and must appear at a hearing at the Ministry of Magic and may be expelled from Hogwarts. Dumbledore has him taken to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, a dilapidated house in London owned by his godfather Sirius Black, that now serves as headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Harry is cleared thanks to testimony from Dumbledore and Harry’s neighbor, Arabella Figg, a Squib who has secretly gurarded Harry since he was a baby. In retaliation against Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge appoints Dolores Umbridge as the new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher so she can spy on the school. She is also appointed High Inquisitor, empowered to arbitrarily change and impose school rules. Urged by Hermione, Harry secretly trains students in real defensive magic. The group calls themselves, “Dumbledore’s Army” (D.A.). When Voldemort implants a false vision in Harry’s mind that Sirius is being tortured at the Ministry office in London, Harry and D.A. members Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, rush to his rescue. Lured into the Department of Mysteries, the students are ambushed by Voldemort’s Death Eaters. Order of the Phoenix reinforcements arrive in time, although Sirius is killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Voldemort appears and attempts to fatally curse Harry, but Dumbledore arrives, and the two fiercely duel. Voldemort grabs Bellatrix and disapparates, but not before being seen by the Minister and Ministry employees, vindicating both Harry and Dumbledore.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the wizarding population now calls Harry “The Chosen One”. Harry learns he has inherited Sirius Black’s entire estate, including the house at Grimmauld Place that is currently being used as the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. Back at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned when Professor Snape is announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. His vacant position has been filled by former Potions Master, Horace Slughorn. Slughorn lends Harry an old potions textbook once belonging to a student identified only as “The Half-Blood Prince.” The book’s copious handwritten notes help Harry excel in Potions class. Dumbledore begins giving Harry private lessons which are actually trips into various individuals’ memories concerning Voldemort. In these memories Harry and Dumbledore find evidence that Voldemort has made Horcruxes, splitting his soul into multiple parts. Harry and Dumbledore retrieve one Horcrux, a locket, hidden inside a secret cave, although Dumbledore is seriously weakened in the effort. They return to find the school invaded by Death Eaters. Dumbledore is killed by Snape as Harry, helplessly petrified under his Invisibility Cloak, looks on. Released from the spell, Harry pursues Snape, who identifies himself as the Half-Blood Prince, and escapes with Draco Malfoy. Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore’s body, but a note inside reveals it is a fake; the real Horcrux has been stolen by someone whose initials are R.A.B..
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows it is unknown what will happen, however Harry already stated he would not return to Hogwarts, even if it reopens.
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about an adolescent boy named Harry Potter. The story is mostly set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards, and focuses on Harry Potter’s fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents as part of his plan to take over the wizarding world.
Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games and assorted merchandise. The six books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies and have been translated into more than 63 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2007. Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone.
The success of the novels has made Rowling the highest earning novelist in literary history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia and Raincoast Books in Canada.
The first four books have been made into highly successful motion pictures by Warner Bros. The fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, began filming in February 2006, and is scheduled for release on 11 July 2007.
Origins and publishing history
In 1990, J. K. Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry simply “popped” into her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:“ I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn’t know he was a wizard became more and more real to me. ”
In 1995, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was completed and the manuscript was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other publishers had rejected Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a ?3,000 advance for its publication.
Despite Rowling’s statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when she began to write the Harry Potter books, the publishers initially targeted them at children age nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Joanne Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name, in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother’s name as her second name, because she has no middle name.
The first Harry Potter book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury in July 1997 and in the United States by Scholastic in September of 1998, but not before Rowling had received $105,000 for the American rights – an unprecedented amount for a children’s book by an unknown author. Fearing that American readers would either not understand the word “philosopher” or not associate it with a magical theme (as a Philosopher’s Stone is alchemy-related), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the American market.
Word-of-mouth buzz, especially amongst young males, has been even more important than positive media reviews and Rowling’s publishers’ marketing strategies in the tremendous success of the series. This is notable because for years, interest in literature among this group had lagged behind other pursuits like video games and the Internet. Rowling’s publishers were able to capitalise on this buzz by the rapid, successive releases of the first four books that allowed neither Rowling’s audience’s excitement nor interest to wane while she took a break from writing between the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and also quickly solidified a loyal readership. The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to two editions of each Harry Potter book being released (in Canada and the United Kingdom, not the United States), identical in text but with one edition’s cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.
5 Comments »
FYI- The first book is NOT Harry Potter and the Philospers Stone it IS, Harry Potter and the Sorcers Stone.
Comment by Kayla Swanson — July 11, 2007 @ 00:12
oops. never mind my first comment. im sorry.
Comment by Kayla Swanson — July 11, 2007 @ 00:18
harry potter is awesome and i cant wait until the book number 7 comes out!!!!!!
Comment by kayla — July 14, 2007 @ 23:19
harry potter and the philosifer’s stone in england means harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone in america
Comment by kayla mellor — July 14, 2007 @ 23:20
harry potter rules!!!!!!!!! =D
Comment by kayla mellor — July 14, 2007 @ 23:21