It is hard to believe that it is just over 20 years since the first Harry Potter book was published! A quick summary will cover the unfolding story that encompasses all 7 books, each set chronologically, the first starting with his 11th birthday and the last finishing with him aged 17 and finally victorious. To say anything further would be unfair to readers.
Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and muggles (non-magical people).
Now I must admit that I had never read a Harry Potter book or seen one of the movies until January 2018 when I was talked into reading the first book by an English friend who was staying with us.
Over the next 3 months, I read all 7 books and found them more and more interesting and enjoyable as they went. But be warned, they do get darker as they go - which suits me! What starts out as a lightweight story line in book one develops in complexity and gravity year by year. I can now see why so many people queued each year to get the new book in the series. They are indeed addictive.
How are these for book statistics:
As of February 2018, the books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into eighty languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly eleven million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release.
And now you can buy the 7 Book Box Set from KMart Australia for $65. What a bargain!
I next did the rounds of the local Opportunity shops, sourcing the 8 Harry Potter movies in DVD format. I have watched the first 3 so far. The first was pretty bad but the second improved and the third was better still. Just as the books get better as they get further into the story and as the characters develop, so I expect the movies to do the same thing.
Harry Potter films
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
J. K. Rowling has more recently extended the Wizarding Francise to include two more films, for which she has written the screenplays. They are part of what is now known aas the Fantastic Beasts films
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
The plan is for three further sequel movies to come in future years.
In December 2013, J. K. Rowling announced that she was working on a Harry Potter–based play, and in June 2015 it was officially titled Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. The big news is that it is coming to Melbourne's Princess Theatre in early 2019. Now that will be a must-see.
Obviously Rowling is not yet finished with the world of Harry Potter.
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