J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Victoria Nagy (La Trobe University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1997

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Children's Literature
- Young Adult

Resources

The first book in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling initiated a world-wide phenomenon. Never before had a children’s book, or even any other piece of fiction, garnered such attention and success in such a short period of time. Published in 1997 by Bloomsbury Press in England, the initial run of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was only 1000 copies, 500 of which ended up in libraries around England. The first work of Rowling’s to appear, it was not until the record $100,000 bid by Scholastic’s Arthur Levine in the United States for the rights of the novel that the world’s attention was drawn to the story of the orphaned wizard boy, Harry Potter.

The story opens with the news of the death …

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2035 words

Citation: Nagy, Victoria. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 November 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20231, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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