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What Was The First Harry Potter Book Called In America

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American Versus British English

The Weirdest Things Cut From the Harry Potter Books | OSSA Movies

A curious difference between the British and American editions is that the words, as is usually the case, were Americanized and the spelling of some common words were changed. But not all the changes were so obviously justified. In the British editions, the head of the Ministry of Magic is referred to as the Minster for Magic, but in the American edition, the position becomes the Minister of Magic. Similarly, the Divination teachers name is Sybill in the UK and Sibyll in the US.

Some people get a kick out of spotting the Britishisms, although if you dont have the time or inclination to compare editions yourself theres a great crowd-sourced list of the differences in each of the books online

Harry Potter Series Complete Deluxe Set. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows

Offered by Raptis Rare Books.

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The first book in the Harry Potter series was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in the United Kingdom in 1997. It was first published in the United States a year later as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The American rights for the book were bought by the Scholastic Corporation. They made a few changes to the original book to make it more appealing for an American audience. The most obvious change would be the title itself. The American publishers felt that children wouldn’t really appreciate a book with the word “philosopher” in the title. As the book was an adventure story involving a boy wizard, they thought it would be better to replace the word “philosopher” with “sorcerer.” This change, it was thought, would better reflect the content of the book as well as making it sound more exciting to its target audience.

Chapter : The Vanishing Glass

Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.
Description of the Dursleys’ son

Dudley counting his presents

Ten years pass since the Dursleys have awoken to find Harry Potter lying on their doorstep, and Privet Drive and the Dursleys’ house has not changed since that day. The only difference is the vast number of pictures of Dudley Dursley throughout his life. There is no sign that Harry Potter lives there, however, in the Cupboard Under the Stairs, Harry sleeps, in a very cramped space with a lot of spiders. Petunia comes to his door and wakes him with a shrill voice. Harry is trying to think about the dream he had been having. It was about a flying motorbike, and he thinks he has had the same dream before. Aunt Petunia tells him to make some bacon, as she wants everything perfect for Dudley’s 11th birthday. Harry dresses into a pair of Dudley’s old clothes and goes into the kitchen, where the table is covered in Dudley’s presents.

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The Fantastic Beasts Screenplays

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this entire time, you’ve probably heard of the two new Wizarding World movies that have hit Hollywood in the past few years. Led by actor Eddie Redmayne and an all-star ensemble cast, the Fantastic Beasts films tell the story of Newt Scamander, Albus Dumbledore, and the dark battle against Gellert Grindelward in the blackened days before Lord Voldemort entered the scene.

Of course, you can choose to simply watch the continuation of the Wizarding World on-screen but reading the screenplays of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: the Original Screenplay and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald The Original Screenplay will undoubtedly give you that extra level of depth and insight into the characters.

Chapter : The Letters From No One

2 First American Edition Harry Potter Hard Books
Dudley: “Dad! Look, Harry’s got a letter!
Uncle Vernon: “What? Who’d be writing to you?
Vernon Dursley taking Harry’s letter from him

Hundreds of letters arriving at the fireplace

Ever since the boa constrictor escaped from the zoo, Harry was locked in his cupboard for the longest time ever. When Harry is finally allowed out, it’s the beginning of the summer holidays. Even though he is not at school, Harry still can’t escape Dudley and his gang, who regularly visit the house. To keep out of their way, Harry usually wanders around Privet Drive. He is glad, however, that Dudley and Piers are going to Smeltings Academy, while Harry is going to attend Stonewall High. One day during the summer, Harry is told to get the post for Uncle Vernon. When Harry goes to get the mail, there are three letters: a postcard from Uncle Vernon’s sister, who is on holiday in the Isle of Wight, a letter that looks like a bill, and a letter for Harry. Harry takes the letter, studies the yellow parchment it is made of, then reads the address:

Mr H. Potter

Surrey

Hagrid telling Harry that he is a wizard

Rubeus Hagrid enters the cabin

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Most Of The World Knows The First Novel By Jk Rowling As Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone Why Do People In The States Know It As The Sorcerers Stone

Take your mind back 20 years. What were you doing? Many were getting ready for the first Harry Potter novel from J.K. Rowling. It had already been a success in the UK and Scholastic quickly acquired the rights for an American version. While the rest of the world called it Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, the book eventually came out as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone in the U.S.

Cue a lot of questions why. What was the point in changing the name of the book? It all comes down to Scholastics Arthur A. Levine. He didnt think the term Philosopher would do well in the country, sounding far too archaic for the readers, so he wanted something different.

Harry Potter First Editions Are They Valuable

Gen X and Millennials love their books and toys, but dont we all? My generation loves their Barbies and G. I. Joes. The 70s and 80s collectibles of Star Wars toys are also setting records. My nieces fell in love with Harry Potter books when their grandmother bought them the first American printing of J. K. Rowlings, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone in October 1998. Each new release MeMe bought them the new book. That American first printing of The Sorcerers Stone is now worth about $6500 .

I happen to have a client who has a US first printing of this fourth book for sale for $150. Let me know if you are interested.

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Why Is There Two Names For The First Harry Potter

JK Rowling agreed to change the title of the book from « Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone » to « Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone » because the publishers thought that American readers wouldnt pick up a book called « Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone » because they would associate the word Philosopher .

What Is The First Harry Potter Called

What JK Rowling said about the first Harry Potter book – BBC News

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in America.

In America and a few other countries the title was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because the American publisher believed American children would not know what a Philosopher was. J.K Rowling later stated that she regrets allowing them to change it but didn’t mind at the time because it was her first book and she was being published.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

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Why Did The First Harry Potter Book Get A Title Change In The Us

One of the ongoing anomalies of the Harry Potter series is the differing title of the first adventure. In America, the first outing of J.K. Rowling’s most famous creation is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but pretty much everywhere else on the planet, it’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

So why did the name change?

It dates back to when the rights were sold for the first book: Scholastic Corporation bought the U.S. publishing rights for what was then known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, forking out a comparably high $105,000 for the privilege. Arthur A. Levine, who headed the Scholastic children’s imprint that would publish the book, knew he had a winner on his handshe just had some reservations about the title.

In Philip W. Errington’s biography on Rowling, he wrote that Levine wanted a title that said magic more overtly to American readers.” Levine was concerned that Philosopher’s Stone would feel “arcane,” so one of the proposed alternatives was Harry Potter and the School of Magic, which Rowling shot down. Eventually, the author suggested Sorcerer’s Stone, and that’s how the book is known in the U.S. market where Scholastic had the rights.

The change in title would also be reflected in the first film when it came out in 2001. However, the inconsistencies ended there as the remaining six books all had uniform names.

Publication And Reception In The United Kingdom

Bloomsbury accepted the book, paying Rowling a £2,500 advance, and Cunningham sent proof copies to carefully chosen authors, critics and booksellers in order to obtain comments that could be quoted when the book was launched. He was less concerned about the book’s length than about its author’s name, since the title sounded like a boys’ book to him, and he believed boys preferred books by male authors. Rowling therefore adopted the nom de plumeJ.K. Rowling just before publication. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher’s Stone with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, three hundred of which were distributed to libraries. Her original name, “Joanne Rowling”, can be found on the copyright page of all British editions until September 1999. The short initial print run was standard for first novels, and Cunningham hoped booksellers would read the book and recommend it to customers. Examples from this initial print run have sold for as much as US$33,460 in a 2007 Heritage Auction.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone won two publishing industry awards given for sales rather than literary merit, the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year and the Booksellers’ Association / Bookseller Author of the Year. By March 1999 UK editions had sold just over 300,000 copies, and the story was still the UK’s best-selling title in December 2001. A Braille edition was published in May 1998 by the Scottish Braille Press.

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All The Harry Potter Books In Order: Your Jk Rowling Reading List

Of all the zeitgeist-defining fiction to come out of the past twenty years, perhaps none has been more universally beloved than the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. An incredibly imagined fantasy bildungsroman, it follows the eponymous boy wizard as he attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and contends with his destiny to fight the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Fortunately, he always has clever, loyal friends Ron and Hermione by his side plus the invaluable mentorship of eccentric but wise Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore.

As fellow Potterheads will know, its virtually impossible to rank these books from best to worst, since each one is brilliant in its own way. Thats why weve decided to simply present all the Harry Potter books in order of chronology/publication, hitting the highlights for longtime fans to happily reminisce and to help budding fans get a taste of the series genuine magic.

Heres a quick catalog of the series, so that you know what youre in for:

Completion Of The Series

Why does the first Harry Potter book have a different ...

In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site, “2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series.” Updates then followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the release date of 21 July 2007. The book itself was finished on 11 January 2007 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, where she scrawled a message on the back of a bust of Hermes. It read: “J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room on 11 January 2007.”

Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book was completed “in something like 1990”. In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show Richard & Judy, announced that the chapter had been modified as one character “got a reprieve” and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. On 28 March 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released.

In September 2012, Rowling mentioned in an interview that she might go back to make a “director’s cut” of two of the existing Harry Potter books.

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Chapter : The Potions Master

Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new celebrity.
Severus Snape

A Potions book

Harry finds life at Hogwarts unfamiliar and strange. Everyone talks about him, and an adult always seems to be around when he is doing something wrong. It is hard to find his way to classes due to the hundred and forty-two changing staircases and tricky doorways. The people in the Hogwarts portraits have been no help to him, for they ignore some students and visit each other, nor have the ghosts, who always scare Harry when they glide through a door he is trying to open. Only Nearly-Headless Nick points new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves is worth two locked doors and a tricky staircase whenever Harry runs into him when late for class. Even worse than Peeves if anyhow possible is the school caretaker Argus Filch, who both Harry and Ron get on the bad side of on their very first morning, when he finds them trying to force their way through a door which turns out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds Third-floor corridor. He threatens to lock them in the dungeons, but the two boys are luckily rescued by Quirrell, who is passing by.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of five fairy wizarding tales, told by, well, Beedle the Bard! Professor Dumbledore bequeathed these age-old tales to Hermione Granger, and they turned out to be instrumental in helping Harry Potter crack the clues given to him in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now it’s your chance to read them for yourself. Though the stories in this book all have a magical twist, the themes at their cores still resonate with what we associate with fairy tales: friendship, the everlasting strength of love, and the magic that each one of us possesses.

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Chapter 1: Through The Trapdoor

I don’t know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it’s too well protected.
Professor McGonagall’s wrong statement about the stone’s security

Fluffy the three-headed dog

The next room, Professor Flitwick’s, holds a bunch of flying keys and some broomsticks. Harry finds a silver one with a broken wing that is different from the others and catches it, unlocking the next door with it. The next room is Professor McGonagall’s, and has a large chessboard, for a game of Wizard’s Chess that Ron helps them win, at the cost of having to sacrifice himself and getting knocked out. Harry and Hermione continue to the next room, Professor Quirrell’s, where they find an unconscious troll laying on the floor. Lastly, they enter Professor Snape’s room and find seven potions in bottles along with a roll of paper giving clues on which one to drink to continue, noting that three bottles have poison, two have nettle wine, one will send the drinker back, and the other will let the drinker move forward into the next room. Hermione tells Harry that it is a test of logic and not magic wherein most wizards fail. She solves the puzzle, and at Harry’s instruction, drinks the one that will allow her to head back through the purple flame, while Harry drinks the one to head into the black flame and into the final room, where he is surprised at whom he sees.

Professor Quirrell removing his turban

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN COLLECTING HARRY POTTER AMERICAN FIRST EDITIONS

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix gets political in big way: despite Voldemorts revival at the end of GoF, the Ministry of Magic continues to deny all rumors and refuse to take action, worried that theyll upset the public. This means the real adults have to take a leaf out of Harry, Ron, and Hermiones book and start fighting him themselves, through an underground vigilante group called the Order of the Phoenix.

But the Order cant do much about Dolores Umbridge, the newly instated and highly sadistic Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, who perpetuates the Ministrys lies about Voldemort. When Harry openly defies her in class, she retaliates by giving him chronic detention during which he must write lines with a blood quill that carves the words into the back of his hand. Despite this torment, he and the rest of the class do not acquiesce to Umbridge, and establish a secret defense organization for themselves called Dumbledores Army.

On top of all that, Harry keeps having frequent, harrowing visions of Voldemort when hes asleep, and must take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape to prevent them. This is a different kind of torture, with Snape forcing entry into Harrys private memories at every lesson and relishing the opportunity to cause him pain. Of course, Snapes own twisted motivations are revealed when Harry gains access to his memories one of which is a bitter altercation with Harrys father.

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