Harry Potter is one of the most successful movie franchises in history, bringing in over $9 billion in the worldwide box office. However, before the movies ruled the world, J.K. Rowling’s book series was an even bigger success story.
Rowling released the first novel in the Harry Potter world in 1997 and soon developed a giant franchise known as The Wizarding World, which includes Harry Potter novels, the world of movies, the stageplays based on her work, and an entire world on the Internet. With so much to love about Harry Potter, here is a look at all the Harry Potter books in chronological order for those wanting to discover the world of the written word.
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE (1997)
It all started in 1997. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone about a young boy who learns that his parents were wizards, and he is invited to study at the wizarding school of Hogwarts, the same school that trained his parents.
The United States changed the name of the novel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and introduced the world to Harry and his young friends, as well as the amazing world of wizards at the British school. The book won several awards and sat on top of the New York Times bestseller list for most of 1999 and 2000.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (1998)
Released one year later, J.K. Rowling brought fans Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In this book, Potter continued his studies at Hogwarts while learning more about his history and how Lord Voldemort not only killed his parents but also linked himself to the baby Harry — something that ties them together to the end.
This chapter showed a great deal about Voldemort as a child and introduced some key characters, including Dobby. The book was a major success, skyrocketing to the top of three different major U.S. book charts and winning Rowling the British Book Awards Children Book of the Year honors for the second straight time.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (1999)
Things really began to change in the third book of the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This was the book that introduced Harry’s godfather Sirius Black for the first time and also brought in some key warriors that would help Harry in the future, including Remus Lupin.
This book was where Harry Potter began to drift into more adult themes, as death and loss became more common for the boy wizard and his readers. This novel sold 68,000 copies in its first three days of release and was adapted as arguably the best film in the series.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (2000)
Possibly the most bloated book of the series came in 2000 with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There was a lot that author J.K. Rowling wanted to accomplish in this novel, and it was the longest book to that point in the series. The main plot had Harry take part in an Olympic styled game for wizards.
The book really showed that death was real, as one of Harry’s friends was killed in a shocking scene in the books. This book was also where Lord Voldemort returned from the dead and declared war on Harry and all the good wizards in the world. Everything changed in this book.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2003)
It took three years after the release of Goblet of Fire before J.K. Rowling returned with the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The title of the book refers to the fighting force building its forces in preparation to take the fight to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Harry is 15 by the time this book takes place and finds that he is spending more time fighting and training other students to fight than continuing his education at Hogwarts. While Goblet of Fire seemed bloated at times, Order of the Phoenix was the longest book in the series. It sold five million copies in the first 24 hours it was on sale.
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2005)
Two years after the last book, J.K. Rowling was back with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2005. This book saw everything in Harry’s life fall apart as Albus Dumbledore helped Harry prepare for his final battle with Lord Voldemort. However, it ended with Snape killing Dumbledore in front of Harry.
This was the book that caused Harry and his friends to flee Hogwarts and go on the run in preparation for the final war with the Death Eaters. The book continued to show how popular Harry Potter had become, selling nine million copies in just 24 hours.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (2007)
The final book in the main Harry Potter series came out two years later in 2007. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows have Harry, Hermoine, and Ron on the run while Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters attack Hogwarts. The final battle sees all the surviving wizards prepare for battle, and Harry finally faces his destiny.
This final book in the series holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies of a book sold in 24 hours, with 10.95 million sold between the U.S. and U.K. It ended up split into two movies to finish the story of the Boy Wizard.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (2016)
There was one more book in the Harry Potter series, and it came in 2016. This book moved the story a great deal into the future. The son of Harry and Ginny attended Hogwarts with the daughter of Ron and Hermoine and the son of Draco and Astoria.
The children then get into trouble as Albus Severus Potter is never able to live up to the reputation of his father, who is now the Head of Magical Law and Enforcement. When he tries to go back in time to illegally change the past, he creates a new future where everything Harry did could end up unraveling. This book was published in script format.
