The Harry Potter books

By John Griffiths, C. Commons

They are a series of seven fantasy novels written by J.K. Rowling. Although she was born in England, she has lived in Scotland for many years. She might have been inspired by the ancient history of Edinburgh and, therefore, written all her magical stories.

The Harry Potter books dominate the best seller lists on both sides of the Atlantic. For this reason, despite her humble origin, she has become one of the richest women in Britain.

The plot is exciting. The books tell the adventures in the lives of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his friends from the Hogwarts School. The book series has sold more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages.

After the first novel was published in 1997 (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), the books have acquired such popularity that some were made into films. When the author was offered to make a film on the first story, she accepted on two conditions: first, that it should be true to the original and, second, that it should be filmed in Britain.

Thus the first film was released in November 2001, followed by the next books of the series.