J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as it is otherwise known was released on June 26 in 1997. It was first published in the United Kingdom and appeared in the United States the following year. The Harry Potter series continues to cast a spell on all Potterheads even after 26 years, and is a massive cultural phenomenon to date for children and adults alike.
To mark the day, here are some lesser-known facts for newer Potterheads as well as muggles:
Origin
Author J.K Rowling or Joanne Kathleen Rowling, who goes by the pen name of Joanne Rowling, first got the idea for Harry Potter while delayed on a train travelling from Manchester to London’s King’s Cross station, in 1990, as stated by the first book’s publisher, Bloomsbury.
Books
By 1993, Rowling had three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ready. Over the next five years, the author began to plan out the seven books of the series. She wrote mostly in longhand and had piled up innumerous notes, many of which were on scraps of paper.
Inspiration
Rowling found inspiration for the series in Edinburgh, Scotland, her place of residence. The inspiration is clearly reflected in the book. For example, George Heriot`s School, a private institution is an inspiration that gave birth to Hogwarts.
Birthday
Both J.K Rowling and Harry Potter share the same birthday, which is on July 31 every year.
Names and characters
The author named the characters in the series that aptly reflect their roles. Each of their names has a meaning and relevance. For instance, Harry’s name is reflective of his leadership role throughout the series. “Harry” is the middle-English version of “Henry,” a name that has been popular among English kings through the centuries.
According to her tweet, Rowling first jotted down the words Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff on the back of an airplane vomit bag.
Although Rowling is known for coming up with imaginative and whimsical names, the name for all the magical plants in the series comes from a real-life compendium of flora called “The Complete Herbal.”
According to media reports, only one character in the entire Harry Potter series is an individual from the Muggle world. Nicolas Flamel, the sorcerer from “Sorcerer`s Stone,” was a French businessman and scribe born in the 14th century.
Rowling invented dementors drawing from her past experiences with depression. As mentioned by the media, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the author spoke of having suffered from depression in her 20s and that the dementors were based on the “hollowed-out feeling” of depression.
In 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fastest-selling book ever after selling 2.65 million copies in the first 24 hours in the United Kingdom.
According to Bloomsbury, the Harry Potter series is now published in 80 languages, and over 500 million copies have been sold across the world.
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