Harrius Potter Et Philosophi Lapis [Paperback]

J K Rowling (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: NY (1980)
• ASIN: B000N6MM2K
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

More About the Author

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Ston"e was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and was published as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998.The second title in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in America) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists.The fourth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. The fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series - 766 pages - and broke the records set by "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" as the fastest selling book in history. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales.The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA and sales have contributed to breaking the 375 million copies mark worldwide.J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through The Ages" were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Harry Potter books have sold 400 million copies worldwide. They are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Do the Rest of Them!, July 15, 2003

By 

E. Schechter (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Latin edition) (Hardcover)

This is a smooth and clever translation, perfect for the person who wants an enjoyable quick read to refurbish fluency in the language. The bright style of the original is preserved, and it is obvious that the translator has his own sense of humor as well, playing with words and phrasing without sacrificing accuracy. This book would make an excellent supplementary text for students at about second-year level.

I would like to see the other books in the series put into Latin, although I know that is too much to hope for; however, these books would be a wonderful study series if translated in accord with the level of the book in English, each becoming more complex.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and useful. Can we have more, please?, July 20, 2005

By 

Tom Leoni (Alexandria, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Latin edition) (Hardcover)

As far as length and complexity, Harrius Potter provides a much-needed middle-ground between the simple works such as Fabulae Mirabiles and the less challenging of the Classics.

Sensing that such was the case, I bought this book for a specific reason. I had studied Latin in my younger years and, having recently taken it up again, I wanted to teach myself to read and understand a longer work directly without translating it (even subconsciously) in my mind.

The simple but engaging subject of this book, together with the impeccable Latin in which it is written, proved to be a perfect combination for my puspose. As I turned the pages of Harrius Potter, the dictionary became less and less necessary, until I realized that I was able to *taste* the language directly off the page.

Apart from this personal anecdote, I enjoyed Harrius Potter for many reasons. The Latin is simple yet quite elegant; virtually all verb-moods and tenses are employed along the most orthodox rules of the "consecutio temporum," together with all the pronouns and a good syntactical variety of clauses and case-usage. The necessary neologisms are tastefully chosen in a way that does not sound far-fetched. The size of the book is manageable, and the story is truly a jolly good one.

Actually, had it not been for its being available in Latin, I probably would not have read any of Rowling's novels - as I have now found out, she is a truly great storyteller deserving of the notoriety she has earned. And if anything, the Latin language bestows Harrius Potter even more of a timeless aura.

I sincerely hope that more works such as this will become available in the near future.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bene exeat, December 31, 2005

By 

Edwin J. Firmage (SLC, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Latin edition) (Hardcover)

Great book, great translation.

Since this is the first modern book that I've read in Latin, the thing that initially surprised me most is the fact that it could be done at all. It's a testament to the timeless quality of J. K. Rowling's writing, as well as to the brilliance of her translator, Peter Needham, that the book reads beautifully and fluently despite the occasional appearance of twentieth-century problems such as Uncle Vernon's car (autocinetum), the trafffic jam (vehicula impedita) in which it gets stuck, and motorcycles (birotulae automatariae), flying and earth-bound.

What I began to realize as I read Needham's delightful translation is that reports of the demise of Latin have, as they say, been exaggerated. One of my Greek professors used to joke about a student of his who went on to study at Oxford after getting a degree in classics here in the U.S. The report came back that his tutor at Oxford was pleased with this student's Latin, to which the response from his teachers here was, "That's high praise coming from a native speaker." As you read Needham's translation, it seems indeed that Latin is his native tongue.

That Harry Potter could be translated so convincingly into Latin also says a lot about the indebtedness of our culture to the Romans--the Romanness of European culture if you will--even this far down the road from Cicero and Caesar. In ways so deep and broad that we entirely overlook them, our culture is unthinkable without the Romans. Indeed, despite advances in science, technology, and general knowledge, Roman culture still feels remarkably modern and offers enough points of similarity and contact with our own that it's not absurd to imagine Harry Potter transposed to ancient Rome. How different it would be reading Harry Potter in Sumerian or ancient Egyptian or even biblical Hebrew.

Here's to hoping Needham will continue on with the rest of the series!

Original review date: 12/31/05. Updated 3/6/07. The much-hoped-for, and equally delightful, second installment of the Latin series was released in late 2006. I have reviewed this book as well.