Harry Potter marked it’s 20th Anniversary this Month, so we’re taking a moment to reflect back on the hugely successful fantasy novels and the film franchise that followed.
The first novel of the series; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published back on June 26 1997 – a novel that almost never hit the shelves after J.K Rowling was knocked back multiple times can you believe. After many publishers read and rejected Rowling’s manuscript of Harry Potter she finally struck lucky with Bloomsbury UK, who published the entire series.
The first review of Harry Potter after release was printed by The Scotsman:
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has all the makings of a classic. Rowling uses classic narrative devices with flair and originality and delivers a complex and demanding plot in the form of a hugely entertaining thriller.” – Lindsey Fraser.
Many more reviews soon flooded in, praising the imagination of Rowling and the fact that children and adults alike were unable to put the book down. However it goes without saying there were a few scathing reviews which tore the first book apart. One stated:
“Her books are entertaining but the lessons are shallow… besides, the chief motivation for most characters in the books, including Harry, appears to be revenge, whether it’s getting back at Lord Voldemort or the school bully.”
As we all know the books went on to be a huge success, gaining fans across the globe. The series made J.K Rowling one of the world’s first billionaire authors, and the films that followed made the success of Harry Potter and Hogwarts even bigger.
The Real Life Inspiration Behind It All
Rowling modelled Harry on childhood, neighbourhood friend, Ian Potter. He lived just four doors down from Rowling. Ian, a damp-proofer, was apparently a mischievous trickster when he was young, with antics such as placing slugs on his friends’ plates. Many other characters Rowling has expressed have been created from the inspiration of real life people, not just Harry.
George Heriot’s School, a former hospital built in a Scottish Renaissance style in 1628 served as Rowling’s visual inspiration for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While she was working on the first book she could see the school from her window in the Elephant house, apparently inspiring her creation of Hogwarts.
Rowling once said in an interview that the absence of any meaningful relationship with her father and the loss of her mother had been the two of the most important influences on her writing.
“I had been writing for six months before she died and, the weird thing is, the essential plot didn’t change after my mother died, but everything deepened and darkened. Harry was always going to lose his parents. And it was always going to be a quest really to avenge them, but to avenge everyone against this, this creature — this being who believes that he can make himself immortal by killing other people. So that’s, that that’s something I’d created before she died, but yes, its seeped into every part of the books. I think, in retrospect now I’ve finished I see just how much it informed everything.” – J.K Rowling
Rowling locked herself in Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel back in 2006 to write the final chapters of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – the final Harry Potter book. As the most anticipated new book of the century neared completion, it marked the end of a personal journey for Rowling, who had been immersed in the magical world of Harry Potter and all the characters for seventeen years.
When completed, Rowling said it was time to focus on her family and her own well-being.
