By Morgan Harlan | Assistant News Editor
500 million copies. 68 languages. 7 books. Two words: Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter series is a worldwide phenomenon and holds the crown as the best series ever written.
The first novel, in the seven-book installment, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” written by J.K. Rowling, was released on June 26, 1997. Since then, children, teens and adults alike have fallen in love with the wizarding world.
Years before the first book was released, J.K. Rowling was a single mother whose first Harry Potter manuscript was rejected 12 times.
Rowling now sits at no. 13 on Forbes’ celebrity 100 list with earnings of $92 million.
Despite the monetary success of the series, Harry Potter also holds a wealth of knowledge and literary prowess. The seven books span over thousands of pages and embed imagination with analysis of human nature.
Harry Potter, an orphan boy adopted by his cruel aunt and uncle, has unbeknownst magical powers. At the age of eleven, he is introduced to his wizarding gifts and is taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Rowling seizes readers on a journey through the mind of an unconfident boy, and illustrates his growth to an accomplished and thoughtful man. Throughout the series, Harry endures first love, death of family and friends, the battle of good versus evil and passage to adulthood.
In addition to the themes of life, the books introduce giant dragons, magical creatures, deadly wizarding duels, flying brooms (and cars) and other imaginative magical elements.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is creatively unparalleled to any other fantasy series or novel, it immerses readers into a realm of pure ingenuity and irreplaceable magic. So much so that Disney opened two theme parks based on the Harry Potter series.
The big screen adaption of the movies introduced the wizarding world to those who are less literary inclined. In 2001, the first movie was released with seven more to follow.
According to Fortune, “Every film in the series except Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time with Deathly Hallows (Part 2) coming in at No. 8 with $1.34 billion. As of 2015, the Harry Potter series is the second-highest grossing film franchise of all time. Its eight films have grossed more than $7.7 billion worldwide.”
This Wizarding World of Harry Potter immerses readers into a realm of pure ingenuity and irreplaceable magic. Harry Potter is the series that has marched right into our houses, hearts, book shelves and big screens.
Harry Potter can never be duplicated or replaced. It contains stories of friendship, loss and sacrifice. It is a series that has stood for nearly two decades, and will continue to do so for tens more.
