The first book in the

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

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 of Harry’s parents, Lily and James Potter, and Harry’s miraculous survival.

2035 words

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