"One reason why it is a phenomenon is because it could take them through so much of their lives in a way most other books for children and young people can't.
"So many Harry Potter fans now in their 20s and 30s have such a great attachment to it because every year when they were younger another book would come out," Dr Smith says, adding that, in the same way the books brought back fantasy, they also popularised series again. The series element, too, helped keep Harry Potter in children's lives. "Now we see so many series, whether they're based on more Gothic themes like Twilight or set in a future dystopia like the Hunger Games," Dr Smith says. That magic element would prove to have quite an impact, with fantasy becoming the dominant genre in children's literature. Harry Potter fans queue two days before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "Nobody wanted to touch fantasy stories - they were seen as old-fashioned," she says. To put in plainly, Harry Potter was not widely expected to be a hit, with JK Rowling receiving "loads" of rejection letters before finding success.įantasy stories had fallen out of favour by the 1990s, senior lecturer in literature at Deakin University Michelle Smith says, with popular books firmly rooted in reality.
In the 20 years since the first novel was published, the world of Harry Potter has grown to be worth more than $25 billion.īut what was it about this skinny, bespectacled 11-year-old with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead that so captured the imagination - and wallets - of children and adults around the world? 'Nobody wanted to touch fantasy stories' The series has been translated into 73 languages and adapted into eight hugely popular films, as well as spurring spin-off books and films and a lucrative body of merchandise. The books have collectively sold more than 500 million copies, making them the best-selling series of all time - with the final four novels consecutively setting records for the fastest selling book in history. Glowing as they were, those early reviews almost undersell the eventual success of the book and its six sequels.
If you have a copy of one of these titles that meets all these requirements below, and that you would like to sell, please contact us.Ĭhamber of Secrets must have been published in 1998 by Bloomsbury with no mention of subsequent edition, publisher, or later date on the copyright page, and have a printing number sequence of “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone turns 20 this year. For the other titles, it is only the first hardback edition with the dust jacket that have collectable value. Though both the paperback and hardback first editions of the Philosopher’s Stone are of value, this is not the case with the other books in the series.
To see the Harry Potter books we currently have for sale please click here. If you’re interested in selling it, or would like to have a custom protective box made to house it, then please contact us. If your book meets all these requirements then congratulations, you have a first edition! Depending on the binding and condition, it could be worth anywhere from many hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds.