Harry Potter
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Harry Potter, fictional character, a boy wizard created by British author J.K. Rowling. His coming-of-age exploits are the subject of seven enormously popular novels (1997–2007), which were adapted into eight films (2001–11); a play and a book of its script appeared in 2016.
Series summary
Harry Potter was first introduced in the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997; also published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), as an orphan who is mistreated by his guardian aunt and uncle and their son. On his 11th birthday Harry discovers that his parents were a witch and a wizard and that he, a wizard himself, has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He also learns that his parents had not perished in a car accident, as his aunt and uncle had told him, but that they instead had been murdered by an evil wizard named Voldemort. Harry was the only person to have ever survived an attack by Voldemort—by somehow rebounding the latter’s “killing curse”—which left him with a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Indeed, Harry’s mysterious survival had all but killed Voldemort, who was left disembodied, and the young boy was thus already a celebrated figure in the “wizarding” community.
At Hogwarts Harry becomes fast friends with classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and finds a rival in Draco Malfoy. He is taken under the wing of the school’s headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. These relationships persist throughout the series, especially as the young wizards and witches grow older and are called upon to take sides in a growing wizard war.
Unbeknownst to Harry, and to much of the wizarding world in general, Voldemort is planning a return to power. Although at first feeble and living as a parasite in a follower’s body, Voldemort makes attempts on Harry’s life beginning in the first book and continuing throughout the series. In the fourth volume, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Voldemort regains his body and former strength through a magic ritual, and thereafter his army greatly increases in number. Harry and those who side with him—including some of his teachers, several classmates, and other members of the wizarding community—are forced on multiple occasions to battle Voldemort and his disciples, including the Malfoy family. The epic saga culminates with Harry accepting his role as the iconic “boy who lived” and facing almost certain death in the struggle against the evil wizard. With help from those who love him and believe in him, he is able to emerge victorious.
Harry’s story continues in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which premiered in 2016. In the production, which was based on a story cowritten by Rowling, Harry is married to Ginny Weasley, and they are the parents of James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Although working for the Ministry of Magic, Harry continues to struggle with his past, while Albus must contend with his father’s legacy.
Influence
The Harry Potter series proved incredibly popular with both children and adults worldwide. All the books were best sellers, available in more than 200 countries and some 60 languages. The phenomenon introduced new terms—such as a new definition for the word muggle, a person who possesses no magical powers—into the common lexicon. The books were transformed into a blockbuster series of eight films (the final book, some 750 pages long, was adapted into two films) released over 10 years, which grossed more than $7 billion worldwide. Together, the book and movie series spawned a huge amount of related merchandise, and in 2010 a theme park inspired by the franchise opened in the United States.
(Read Britannica’s article “Famous Literary Fandoms: 10 Notable Works of Fan Fiction.”)
Books in the Harry Potter series
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997; also published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; film 2001, also released under both titles)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998; film 2002)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999; film 2004)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000; film 2005)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003; film 2007)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005; film 2009)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007; film part 1 2010, part 2 2011)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016; play 2016); although a script and not a novel, it was advertised as the eighth story in the series
On film Harry Potter was portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, at the time a relatively unknown child actor. His friends Ron and Hermione were played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, respectively. Irish actor Richard Harris assumed the role of Dumbledore for the first two films and was replaced after his death by Michael Gambon for the remainder of the series. Voldemort was played by Ralph Fiennes, and his followers included Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy and Helena Bonham Carter as the mad witch Bellatrix Lestrange, among others.
Alison Eldridge