Harry Potter

Timeline

Book	Film		Title
1997	2001		Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
1998	2002		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
1999	2004		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2000	2005		Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2003	2007		Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2005	2009		Harry Potter and the Half–Blood Prince
2007	2010		Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One
	2011		Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part Two

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was rejected by eight publishers before being accepted for publication by Bloomsbury, who granted an advance of £2,500 to the author, J. K. Rowling. It was published in the UK on 30 June 1997.

The book was an instant success, winning a National Book Award and a gold medal in the 9 to 11 year–olds category of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. The American rights were still up for grabs at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in April 1998, and were bought by Scholastic for $105,000 – an unprecedented amount for a children's book by a then–unknown author.

Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with a magical theme (despite the overt reference to alchemy in the phrase "philosopher's stone"), Scholastic insisted that the title be changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market. The book was published in the USA on 1 September 1998 – 14 months (and one day) after the UK version.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the USA eleven months later, on 2 June 1999. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the USA two months later, on 8 September 1999. The other books were published simultaneously in the UK and the USA.

The Books

The facts in this section all come from the books, and can be asked without reference to the films – although most if not all of them are true of the films as well.

Wizards' school that Harry attends

Hogwarts

School motto (Latin)		Draco dormiens nunquam tittilandus
English translation		Never tickle a sleeping dragon

Houses at Hogwarts

Gryffindor

Hufflepuff

Ravenclaw

Slytherin

Harry's house		Gryffindor
House that Lord Voldemort and all except one of the Death Eaters belonged to		Slytherin

Other

Platform at King's Cross from which the Hogwarts Express leaves			9¾
Harry's father and mother – both were killed by Lord Voldemort			James and Lily
Lily's birth surname			Evans
Harry's middle name			James
Harry's closest male friend at Hogwarts			Ron Weasley
His pet rat – who turns out to be Peter Pettigrew (the main antagonist of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) in disguise			Scabbers
Harry and Ron's female friend (she and Ron eventually marry)			Hermione Granger
Her cat			Crookshanks
Headmaster of Hogwarts – 'outed' as gay by J. K. Rowling in 2007			Professor Albus Dumbledore
Professor of Potions at Hogwarts			Severus Snape
Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmistress (later Headmistress) of Hogwarts, and Head of Gryffindor House			Minerva McGonagall
Arrives as the new teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, in Chamber of Secrets – played in the film by Kenneth Branagh			Gilderoy Lockhart
Teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, in Order of the Phoenix – played in the film by Imelda Staunton			Dolores Umbridge
Arrives as the new teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, in Prisoner of Azkaban – nicknamed 'Moony' – turns out to have been a friend and ally of James Potter and Sirius Black. Played in the films by David Thewlis			Remus Lupin
Harry's snowy owl, which carries his messages			Hedwig
Half–giant school Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, who befriends Harry & co (and first tells Harry he's a wizard)			Rubeus Hagrid
Dragon hatched from an egg given to Hagrid			Norbert
Bluebottle, Silver Arrow, Shooting Star, Cleansweep, Comet Two Ninety, Nimbus 2000 and 2001, Firebolt, and Thunderbolt VII, are all (in ascending order of speed)			Broomsticks
Aerial hockey game, played on broomsticks, at which Harry excels			Quidditch
Decides which House each new Hogwarts pupil is assigned to			Sorting Hat
Number of players on a quidditch team			7
Harry's position in his house Quidditch team at Hogwarts			Seeker
Harry's arch–enemy, whose aim is to purify the Wizarding community by eliminating the Muggle–borns (wizards or witches born to non–magical parents) and half–bloods – killed Harry's parents and scarred his head			Lord Voldemort
Group of wizards and witches led by Lord Voldemort			Death Eaters
Most faithful of the Death Eaters, and the first to be introduced; murders her cousin, and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black; played in the films by Helena Bonham Carter			Bellatrix Lestrange
Bad–tempered caretaker at Hogwarts (played in the films by David Bradley); owns an unpleasant cat named Mrs. Norris			Argus Filch
Handsome and fair–minded Hufflepuff prefect, who becomes Harry's ally but is murdered on the orders of Voldemort; played in the films by Robert Pattinson, who went on to stardom as the vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight Saga films			Cedric Diggory
Harry's "short and plump and blond" classmate – a bumbling, disorganised character and a rather mediocre student – who plays a central role in the later books, eventually leading Dumbledore's Army in Harry's absence. Played in the films by Matthew Lewis			Neville Longbottom
Snobbish, bigoted bully in Harry's year, serving as a foil to Harry – his mother is Sirius Black's cousin. Played in the films by Tom Felton			Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy's parents			Lucius and Narcissa
Ron Weasley's twin brothers			Fred and George
Youngest of the seven Weasley children and "the first girl to be born into the Weasley family for several generations" – develops a crush on Harry in Chamber of Secrets, and they marry at the end of the series. Played in the films by Bonnie Wright			Ginny
Harry and Ginny's second son – the central character in the two–part stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)			Albus Severus
Surname of the Muggle family that Harry lives with during the holidays (his 'Aunt Petunia' and 'Uncle Vernon')			Dursley
Address (in Little Whinging) where the above family live			4 Privet Drive
Three–headed dog that guards the Philosopher's Stone			Fluffy
Harry's godfather, and the title character of Prisoner of Azkhaban			Sirius Black
Divination teacher at Hogwarts, introduced in The Prisoner of Azkhaban; sacked in Order of the Phoenix, but returns – having to share classes with a centaur named Firenze			Sybill Trelawney
The only Death Eater known to have been in a House other than Slytherin while at Hogwarts (he was in Gryffindor) – a close friend of Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin, but the least intelligent and least talented of the group, who turns out to be a traitor who betrayed James and Lily. Nicknamed Wormtail			Peter Pettigrew
Phantom guards of Azkaban – 10 feet high, "soulless creatures ... among the foulest beings on Earth"			Dementors
Wizards' inn on Charing Cross Road, London			Leaky Cauldron
The only known bank in the wizarding world			Gringott's
Guards at Gringott's			Goblins
Antique shop specialising in the Dark Arts, located in Knockturn Alley			Borgin & Burke's
Rock group booked by Dumbledore to play at the Hogwarts Yule Ball, in Goblet of Fire. In the film, band members included Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp (vocals and bass) and Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead (guitar and drums)			The Weird Sisters
Britain's Minister of Magic, in books 2 to 5 – played in the films by Robert Hardy			Cornelius Fudge
Fudge's successor as Minister of Magic, in Deathly Hallows – played in the film (Part 1 only) by Bill Nighy			Rufus Scrimgeour
Hogwarts standard textbook, written by Newt Scamander: published in reality in 2001 in aid of Comic Relief; a film version was released in 2016			Fantastic Beasts (and Where to Find Them)
Book that originally appeared in the world of Harry Potter, where it was written by Kennilworthy Whisp; published in reality in 2001 in aid of Comic Relief			Quidditch Through the Ages
From the above book: Quodpot is			An American version of Quidditch
Appleby Arrows, Falmouth Falcons, Wimbourne Wasps, Ballycastle Bats, Wigtown Wanderers and Caerphilly Catapults are			Quidditch teams

The Play

Written by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany: opened at the Palace Theatre, in London's West End, in July 2016		Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Harry's second son, and the central character in the play		Albus Severus

Quidditch

Balls

The big red one (about the size of a football)		Quaffle
The two black ones – slightly smaller – that attack the players		Bludgers
The little golden one – about the size of a walnut – with silver wings (gold in the films)		Snitch

Players

Number of players in a quidditch team		7
Keep possession of the quaffle, and try to score goals by throwing it through one of the opponents' three hoops (three players)		Chasers
Protect the rest of the team from the bludgers, hitting them at the other team with a bat (similar to a baseball bat) (two players – usually the biggest and strongest in the team)		Beaters
Tries to stop the opponents from scoring goals by throwing the quaffle through their team's hoops		Keeper
The most important player: tries to catch the Golden Snitch; doing so usually wins the game		Seeker

Points scored

For scoring a goal		10
For capturing the snitch		150

Note that in most competitions, the winning team is the one that scores most points in total – not necessarily the one that wins most games.

The Films

The film rights to the first four books were bought in 1999 for a reported £1 million, by David Heyman, a previously obscure film producer, on the recommendation of his secretary and in partnership with Warner Brothers. Heyman went on to produce all eight films; his other credits include I Am Legend (2007), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) and Gravity (2013).

Title		Director	Year
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone		Chris Columbus	2001
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets			2002
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban		Alfonso Cuarón	2004
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire		Mike Newell	2005
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix		David Yates	2007
Harry Potter and the Half–Blood Prince			2009
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One			2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part Two			2011

The three leading actors were little more than children when cast for the first film. By the time the series was completed they were world–famous:

Harry Potter		Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley		Rupert Grint
Hermione Grainger		Emma Watson

When selling the film rights, J. K. Rowling insisted (according to Wikipedia) that the cast be kept strictly British, although Wikipedia also notes that there is a sizeable Irish contingent and that continental European actors were used when called for in Goblet of Fire. Even so, as a consequence of this stipulation, the cast list reads like a Who's Who of British acting from the first decade of the 21st century – or at least, those who weren't involved in Peter Jackson's Tolkien franchise.

Most of the following major characters are introduced above in the Books section. Most of them appear in all of the films, or at least in the majority of them:

Professor Dumbledore (in the first two films)		Richard Harris
Dumbledore (in the last six films, after Harris's death)		Michael Gambon
Filius Flitwick – Charms Master at Hogwarts and Head of Ravenclaw House		Warwick Davis
Rubeus Hagrid		Robbie Coltrane
Minerva McGonagall		Maggie Smith
Severus Snape		Alan Rickman
Pomona Sprout – Professor of Herbology and Head of Hufflepuff House		Miriam Margolyes
Sybill Trelawney – Divination teacher		Emma Thompson
Sirius Black (as an adult)		Gary Oldman
Lord Voldemort (as an adult)		Ralph Fiennes
Peter Pettigrew		Timothy Spall
Molly Weasley (Ron's mother)		Julie Walters
Arthur Weasley (Ron's father)		Mark Williams

The following are relatively minor characters, appearing in only one or two films, but are notable because of who played them:

Barty Crouch, Jr. – one of the Death Eaters, whose father (Barty Crouch, Sr.) sentences him to life imprisonment in Azkaban, but later rescues him as a favour to his dying wife		David Tennant
Barty Crouch, Sr.		Roger Lloyd–Pack
Frank Bryce – a reclusive Muggle World War II veteran – the caretaker of Lord Voldemort's family (the Riddles) in Goblet of Fire		Eric Sykes
Vernon Dursley – husband of Lily's sister Petunia, and thus Harry's uncle		Richard Griffiths
Marge Dursley – Vernon's sister – Harry's 'Aunt Marge'		Pam Ferris
Olympe Maxime – the headmistress of Beauxbatons, the French wizarding school		Frances de la Tour
Sir Cadogan – an armoured and rather mad knight, subject of a painting in Hogwarts		Paul Whitehouse
The Fat Lady – subject of another portait in Hogwarts (in Prisoner of Azkaban – also played in Philosopher's Stone by Elizabeth Spriggs, who died in 2008)		Dawn French
Nearly Headless Nick (the Gryffindor House ghost)		John Cleese
Peeves – a Hogwarts poltergeist		Rik Mayall
Voice of the Sorting Hat		Leslie Phillips
Mr. Borgin – proprietor of Borgin & Burke's store, which sells sinister and dangerous objects to those involved in the Dark Arts		Edward Tudor–Pole
Garrick Ollivander – proprietor of Ollivanders, a prestigious shop selling magical wands		John Hurt
Madam Rosmerta – landlady of the Three Broomsticks pub		Julie Christie
Rita Skeeter – an annoying journalist		Miranda Richardson
Voice of the shrunken head that accompanies Ernie Prang, driver of the Knight Bus		Lenny Henry

Newt Scamander was played in the 2016 film version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by

Eddie Redmayne

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23