The Philosopher’s Stone Is 20 Years Old, Here’s What The Harry Potter Book Series Taught Us

Much has changed over the last 20 years. Governments have come and gone, new innovations, each more dizzying and advanced than the last have been rendered attainable realities, rather than distant dreams. Yet the popularity and adoration for Harry Potter book series has remained a constant. The Boy Who Lived, somewhat fittingly, has endured the passing of time without any hint of his popularity waning, in fact with the opening of theme parks and a new series of films based in the Potter universe, his fame his arguably at a zenith to rival the absolute pinnacle of Potter mania. Since that heady, momentous day, the series has gone on to dominate popular culture in hitherto unprecedented fashion. J.K. Rowling released seven astonishing books that managed to capture the imagination of children and adults alike, whipping them up into an effervescent, coruscating glow that still shows no signs of abating all these years later. 20 years after Harry's inception, then, let's examine some things we learned at the hands of Potter.

1. Patience is a virtue

The publishing of the first Harry Potter book was less the colossal moment it would appear in hindsight and more a footnote in the literary world that year (1997). Of course, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

2. First editions are worth a fortune

As just 500 hardback first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were printed, they are extremely rare, and as a consequence worth an eye watering sum of money. If you have a copy with the print line 10987654321, writes the Guardian, your copy of the book could be worth at least £30,000.

3. Children's books could introduce adult themes

As the books went on and Harry and co got older, so too did the themes that permeate Rowling's writing. Of course, her genius was to age her characters at the same rate as her audience, allowing for a progressively darker narrative arc in subsequent books. Themes of race, mental illness, love and death are covered with skill and reverence by Rowling.

4. But that doesn't mean some won't miss the point altogether

Despite the fact that the Harry Potter books ostensibly had very little to do with religion, the mere fact that the stories covered the endeavours of a wizard was too much for some fundamentalist Christians, who deemed Rowling to be promoting witchcraft through her writing.

5. The value of seeing the good in people

Though some considered it his greatest flaw, it was, in fact, Albus Dumbledore's ability to see the best in everyone that would help to bring about the death of Lord Voldemort. Professor Snape, whose actions were seemingly irredeemable, was given a second chance by the headmaster, who saw the good in the former death eater through his love for Lily Potter.

6. Some secrets simply cannot be shared

Such was the mania surrounding new Harry Potter books as time went on, that not even translators would be privy to the manuscripts until after the famed midnight release in the UK.

7. Put the Potter name on anything and it will sell

This theory has been proved correct hundreds of times over, though one might want to be careful of copyright infringement, as the manufacturer of Potter condoms might attest.

8. Boarding schools made a comeback

Boarding schools enjoyed an uplift in popularity at the height of Potter mania, a phenomenon that became known as the "Harry Potter effect", writes the Guardian.

9. It taught us new words, and put them in the dictionary

Though it typically takes a consideration period of 10 years before a new word is added to the dictionary, an exception was made in the case of Harry Potter, when "muggle" made it into the Oxford English Dictionary in less than half the usual time.

10. It has inspired many academic works

Astonishingly, Harry Potter has become something of a phenomenon for academic writers, with titles such as The Hippogriff in Harry Potter As a Prime Example for Intertextuality, No Grace for James: James Potter and the Noble Heathen, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: A Psychoanalytic Viewpoint and the popular Harry Potter and Philosophy.

11. Enough is simply never enough

Though Rowling has furnished readers with a not inconsiderable number of extra stories based in the world of Potter; including a new series of films based around Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and a whole wealth of information on Pottermore, one feels certain that fans' voracious appetite for the Harry Potter book series will never truly be sated. 20 years on from Potter's initial release, the world that J.K. Rowling so brilliantly created continues to confound us all. The books have come to defy generic boundaries, adored by adults and children alike, and Potter's popularity shows no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Here's to another 20 years basking in the effervescent glow of one of literature's finest creations.