Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the Harry Potter series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school, and with the help of his friends, he faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.
Introduction
Timeline
1997
The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997 by Bloomsbury.
1998
It was published in the United States the following year by Scholastic Corporation under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
1999
It won most of the British book awards that were judged by children and other awards in the US.
1999-2000
The book reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in August 1999 and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and 2000.
2001
It has been translated into at least 73 other languages, and has been made into a feature-length film of the same name, as have all six of its sequels.
Now
The novel has sold in excess of 120 million copies.
Reviews
Most reviews were very favourable, commenting on Rowling's imagination, humour, simple, direct style and clever plot construction, although a few complained that the final chapters seemed rushed. The writing has been compared to that of Jane Austen, one of Rowling's favourite authors; Roald Dahl, whose works dominated children's stories before the appearance of Harry Potter; and the Ancient Greek story-teller Homer. While some commentators thought the book looked backwards to Victorian and Edwardian boarding school stories, others thought it placed the genre firmly in the modern world by featuring contemporary ethical and social issues, as well as overcoming obstacles like bullies.
Religious Controversies
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, along with the rest of the Harry Potter series, has been attacked by some religious groups and banned in some countries because of accusations that the novels promote witchcraft under the guise of a heroic, moral story. Other religious commentators have written that the book exemplifies important viewpoints, including the power of self-sacrifice and the ways in which people's decisions shape their personalities. The series has been used as a source of object lessons in educational techniques, sociological analysis and marketing.
Plot
Harry Potter has been living a difficult life, constantly abused by his cold aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley and bullied by their spoiled son Dudley since the death of his parents ten years prior. His life changes on the day of his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, delivered by a half-giant named Rubeus Hagrid after previous letters had been destroyed by Vernon and Petunia. Hagrid details Harry's past as the son of James and Lily Potter, who were a wizard and witch respectively, and how they were murdered by the most evil and powerful dark wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort, which resulted in the one-year-old Harry being sent to live with his aunt and uncle. Voldemort was not only unable to kill Harry, but his powers were also destroyed in the attempt, forcing him into exile and sparking Harry's immense fame among the magical community.
Hagrid introduces Harry to the wizarding world by bringing him to Diagon Alley, a hidden street in London, where Harry uncovers a fortune left to him by his parents at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He also receives a pet owl, Hedwig, various school supplies, and a wand (which he learns shares a core from the same source as Voldemort's wand). There, he is surprised to discover how famous he truly is among witches and wizards as "The Boy Who Lived". A month later, Harry leaves the Dursleys' home to catch the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross railway station's secret Hogwarts platform, Platform 9 3⁄4. On the train, he quickly befriends fellow first-year Ronald Weasley and the two boys meet Hermione Granger, whose snobbiness and affinity for spells initially causes the two boys to dislike her. There, Harry also makes an enemy of yet another first-year, Draco Malfoy, who shows prejudice against Ron for his family's financial difficulties.
Arriving at Hogwarts, the first-years are assigned by the magical Sorting Hat to Houses that best suit their personalities, the four Houses being Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Harry hears from Ron about Slytherin's dark reputation which is known to house potential dark witches and wizards, and thus objects to being sorted into Slytherin despite the Hat claiming that Harry has potential to develop under that House. He winds up in Gryffindor with Ron and Hermione, while Draco is sorted into Slytherin like his family before him.
As classes begin at Hogwarts, Harry discovers he has a talent for flying on broomsticks, and is recruited into his House's team for Quidditch (a sport sharing similarities to football) as a Seeker. He also comes to dislike the school's Potions master, Severus Snape, who is also the Head of Slytherin House who acts with bias in favour of members of his House while perpetually looking for opportunities to fail Harry and his friends. Malfoy tricks Harry and Ron into a duel in the trophy room to get them out of their rooms at night and secretly tells Filch, the school's caretaker, where they will be. Hermione unintentionally is forced to come along after her failed attempts to stop them, and they find Gryffindor student Neville Longbottom asleep outside the common area because he had forgotten the password to get in. After realizing the duel was a set-up to get them in trouble, they run away. They then discover a huge three-headed dog standing guard over a trapdoor in a forbidden corridor. The school's Halloween celebrations are interrupted by the entrance of a troll into the school, which enters the girls' bathroom where Hermione was. However, she is saved by Harry and Ron and, as a result, Hermione is grateful and the three become best friends. Coupled with Snape's recent leg injury as well as behaviour, the recent events prompt Harry, Hermione and Ron to suspect him to be looking for a way to enter the trapdoor.
Hermione forbids the boys from investigating for fear of expulsion, and instead makes Harry direct his attention to his first ever Quidditch game, where his broomstick begins to lose control and threatens to throw him off. This leads Hermione to suspect that Snape had jinxed Harry's broom, due to his strange behaviour during the match. After the excitement of winning the match has died down, Christmas arrives and Harry receives an invisibility cloak from an anonymous source claiming that the cloak belonged to Harry's father. Using the cloak to explore the school at night to investigate what is under the trapdoor, he discovers the Mirror of Erised, in which the viewer sees his or her deepest desires come true. Within the Mirror, Harry sees himself standing with both of his parents.
A visit to Hagrid's hut at the foot of the school leads the trio to find a newspaper report stating there had been an attempted robbery of a Gringotts vault—the same vault that Hagrid and Harry had visited when the latter was getting his school supplies. A further indiscretion from Hagrid allows them to work out that the object kept under that trapdoor is a Philosopher's Stone, which grants its user immortality as well as the ability to turn any metal into pure gold. Harry is also informed by a centaur named Firenze in the forest that a plot to steal the Stone is being orchestrated by none other than Voldemort himself, who schemes to use it to be restored back to his body and return to power. When the school's headmaster Albus Dumbledore is lured from Hogwarts under false pretences, Harry, Hermione and Ron fear that the theft is imminent and descend through the trapdoor themselves.
They encounter a series of obstacles, each of which requires unique skills possessed by one of the three, one of which requires Ron to sacrifice himself in a life-sized game of wizard's chess. In the final room, Harry, now alone, finds Quirinus Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who reveals he had been the one working behind the scenes to kill Harry by first jinxing his broom and then letting a troll into the school, while Snape had been trying to protect Harry instead. Quirrell is helping Voldemort, whose face has sprouted on the back of Quirrell's head but is constantly concealed by his oversized turban, to attain the Philosopher's Stone so as to restore his body. Quirrell uses Harry to get past the final obstacle, the Mirror of Erised, by forcing him to stand before the Mirror. It recognises Harry's lack of greed for the Stone and surreptitiously deposits it into his pocket. As Quirrell attempts to seize the stone and kill Harry, his flesh burns on contact with the boy's skin and breaks into blisters. Harry's scar suddenly burns with pain and he passes out.
Three days later, he awakens in the school's infirmary, where Dumbledore explains his survival against Voldemort is due to his mother's sacrificing her life in order for him to live. This left a powerful protective charm on Harry that lives in his blood, which caused Quirrell's hands to burn on contact with Harry due to him being possessed by hatred and greed. He also reveals himself as the one who sent Harry his father's invisibility cloak, while Quirrell has been left to die by Voldemort, who still lives, and the Stone has now been destroyed. The eventful school year ends at the final feast, during which Gryffindor wins the House Cup. Harry returns to Privet Drive for the summer, neglecting to tell the Dursleys that the use of spells is forbidden by under-aged wizards and witches and thus anticipating some fun and peace over the holidays.
Main characters
Harry Potter
is an orphan whom Rowling imagined as a "scrawny, black-haired, green eyed and bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard." She developed the series' story and characters to explain how Harry came to be in this situation and how his life unfolded from there. Apart from the first chapter, the events of this book take place just before and in the year following Harry's eleventh birthday. Voldemort's attack left a lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, which produces stabbing pains whenever Voldemort is present. Harry has a natural talent for Quidditch and became the first person in a century to get on their team in their first year.
Ronald Weasley
is Harry's age and Rowling describes him as the ultimate best friend, "always there when you need him." He is freckled, red-haired and quite tall. He grew up in a fairly large pure-blood family as the sixth born of seven children. Although his family is quite poor, they still live comfortably and happily. His loyalty and bravery in the face of a game of Wizards Chess plays a vital part in finding the Philosopher's Stone.
Hermione Granger
the daughter of an all-Muggle family, is a bossy girl who has apparently memorised most of the textbooks before the start of term. Rowling described Hermione as a "very logical, upright and good" character with "a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure beneath her swottiness". Despite her nagging efforts to keep Harry and Ron out of trouble, she becomes a close friend of the two boys after they save her from a troll, and her magical and analytical skills play an important role in finding the Philosopher's Stone. She has bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.
Neville Longbottom
is a plump, diffident boy, so forgetful that his grandmother gives him a Remembrall, to remind him if he forgets something. Neville's magical abilities are weak and appeared just in time to save his life when he was eight. Despite his timidity, Neville will fight anyone after some encouragement or if he thinks it is right and important.
Draco Malfoy
is a slim, pale boy who speaks in a bored drawl. He is arrogant about his skill in Quidditch, and despises anyone who is not a pure-blood wizard – and wizards who do not share his views. His parents had supported Voldemort, but changed sides after the dark wizard's disappearance, claiming they had been bewitched. Draco avoids direct confrontations and tries to get Harry and his friends into trouble.
Oliver Wood
is Harry's Quidditch captain and keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Professor Quirrell is a twitching, stammering and nervous man who teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts. Reputedly he was a brilliant scholar, but his nerve was shattered by an encounter with vampires. Quirrell wears a turban to conceal the fact that he is voluntarily possessed by Voldemort, whose face appears on the back of Quirrell's head.
Rubeus Hagrid
a half-giant nearly 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, with tangled black hair and beard, was expelled from Hogwarts and his wand was snapped in half (resulting in him never to use a wand again), however Professor Dumbledore let him stay on as the school's gamekeeper, a job which enables him to lavish affection, care and even pet names on even the most dangerous of magical creatures. Hagrid is fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and quickly becomes a close friend of Harry, Ron and, later, Hermione, but his carelessness makes him unreliable.
Professor Albus Dumbledore
a tall, thin man who wears half-moon spectacles and has silver hair and a beard that tucks into his belt, is the headmaster of Hogwarts, and thought to be the only wizard Voldemort fears. Dumbledore, while renowned for his achievements in magic, shrugs off praise, though he is aware of his own brilliance. Rowling described him as the "epitome of goodness".
Professor Minerva McGonagall
a tall, severe-looking woman with black hair tied in a tight bun, teaches Transfiguration, and is able to transform herself into a cat. She is Deputy Headmistress, and Head of Gryffindor House and, according to the author, "under that gruff exterior" is "a bit of an old softy".
Professor Severus Snape
who has a hooked nose, sallow complexion and greasy black hair, teaches Potions, but would prefer to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Snape favours pupils in Slytherin, his own House, and seizes every opportunity to humiliate others, especially Harry. Several incidents, beginning with the shooting pain in Harry's scar during the start-of-term feast, lead Harry and his friends to think Snape is aiding Voldemort.
Argus Filch
the school caretaker who knows the school's secret passages better than anyone else except, perhaps, the Weasley twins. His cat, Mrs. Norris, aids his constant hunt for misbehaving pupils.
Petunia Dursley
the sister of Harry's mother Lily, is a thin woman with a long neck that she uses for spying on the neighbours. As a muggle, she regards her magical sister as a freak and tries to pretend that she never existed.
Vernon Dursley
the husband of Petunia Dursley, is a heavily built man whose irascible bluster covers a narrow mind and a fear of anything unusual..
Dudley Dursley
is an overweight, spoiled bully and Harry's cousin.