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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first volume in an ongoing series for children written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series stars Harry Potter, an eleven-year-old wizard. After his parents are killed by the evil Lord Voldemort, 15-month-old Harry Potter was sent to live with his abusive Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. They force him to live in a cupboard under the stairs, while they spoil their son Dudley with constant toys and treats. The week of his 11th birthday, Harry starts getting letters, delivered by owls, inviting him to come and study at a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After an intervention by the gigantic Hagrid, Hogwarts' groundskeeper, he is finally permitted to attend, although his aunt and uncle tell everyone that he is attending St. Brutus' School for Incurably Criminal Boys.

At Hogwarts, he befriends Ron Weasley, the youngest son of a poor wizarding family, and Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born girl (not of a wizarding family) who is the smartest witch of her age, and develops a rivalry with brat-prince Draco Malfoy.

Spoilers warning!

The main plot revolves around the contents of a forbidden room, which Harry and friends eventually discover and contains the philosopher's stone. Using it, the evil sorcerer Lord Voldemort will be able to resurrect himself from his mysterious death and attack the infant Harry. It remains for the three protagonists to prevent this.

The book was so popular that the movie rights were sold, and the first picture was released during 2001. The second book has also been filmed, and it is planned that the rest of the series will follow, using the same main cast for continuity purposes.

The film made in excess of $950 million at the worldwide box office (second only to Titanic) and received several Oscar nominations.

Both the motion picture and book were released in the United States under the name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as the producers were concerned that most Americans were not familiar enough with the term "philosopher's stone" to gain the correct impression from the title. (The renaming of books for international distribution is a common practice, even for highly known and internationally recognised authors.)

Whatever the reasons for the change, it had no effect on the sales figures, and the Harry Potter series rapidly became one of the most-in-demand among young readers, who seemed to be undaunted by the ever-increasing length and complexity of the volumes.

Harry Potter terms and Characters

Sequels