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Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter theory. For today’s video, I wanted to share
something very special with you guys which pertains to the existence of the Harry Potter
world as a whole. I am of course talking about the ORIGINAL synopsis written by JK Rowling
for the Harry Potter book- a huge piece of Potter history. This was the same synopsis
that JK Rowling submitted to Bloomsbury publishing before the book was ever known- this was the
synopsis that helped Bloomsbury publishing to understand why this is something that they
should publish. THIS synopsis eventually persuaded Bloomsbury to offer Rowling her first contract-
and I think that it’s interesting to see the ‘roots’ of Harry Potter- and what
caused it to become the huge franchise that it is. The first Harry Potter book - The Philosopher’s
Stone - was published in 1997, and this synopsis dates back to 1995- meaning this predated
the definitive existence of the magical world by 2 years. There were a full 2 years, and
probably even more, when Harry Potter existed- the world just didn’t know it yet. All it
was at that time, was a crumpled piece of paper with folded corners and tea stains.
It’s also worth mentioning that ORIGINAL original synopsis, i.e the original paper
is actually on display at the History of Magic exhibit.
Without further ado, let’s begin to take a look at the original Harry Potter synopsis:
“Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin because his parents died in a car-crash
— or so he has been told. The Dursleys don’t like Harry asking questions; in fact, they
don’t seem to like anything about him, especially the very odd things that keep happening around
him (which Harry himself can’t explain).
The Dursleys’ greatest fear is that Harry will discover the truth about himself, so
when letters start arriving for him near his eleventh birthday, he isn’t allowed to read
them. However, the Dursleys aren’t dealing with an ordinary postman, and at midnight
on Harry’s birthday the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid breaks down the door to make sure Harry
gets to read his post at last. Ignoring the horrified Dursleys, Hagrid informs Harry that
he is a wizard, and the letter he gives Harry explains that he is expected at Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a month’s time.”
This was a great way to open things up- because in just a few short lines it introduces a
bit of mystery and a bit of magic. How did his parents actually die? What are the odd
things that keep happening around him? Why do the Dursleys hate him so much? What do
they mean not an ordinary postman? What is..Hogwarts?
To the Dursleys’ fury, Hagrid also reveals the truth about Harry’s past. Harry did
not receive the scar on his forehead in a car-crash; it is really the mark of the great
dark sorcerer Voldemort, who killed Harry’s mother and father but mysteriously couldn’t
kill him, even though he was a baby at the time. Harry is famous among the witches and
wizards who live in secret all over the country because Harry’s miraculous survival marked
Voldemort’s downfall.
So Harry, who has never had friends or family worth the name, sets off for a new life in
the wizarding world. He takes a trip to London with Hagrid to buy his Hogwarts equipment
(robes, wand, cauldron, beginners’ draft and potion kit) and shortly afterwards, sets
off for Hogwarts from Kings Cross Station (platform nine and three quarters) to follow
in his parents’ footsteps.
This is where things get juicy. A dark sorcerer? FAME? A new Life? What’s a platform Nine
and ¾? You’ve got my attention.
Harry makes friends with Ronald Weasley (sixth in his family to go to Hogwarts and tired
of having to use second-hand spellbooks) and Hermione Granger (cleverest girl in the year
and the only person in the class to know all the uses of dragon’s blood). Together, they
have their first lessons in magic — astronomy up on the tallest tower at two in the morning,
herbology out in the greenhouses where the mandrakes and wolfsbane are kept, potions
down in the dungeons with the loathsome Severus Snape. Harry, Ron and Hermione discover the
school’s secret passageways, learn how to deal with Peeves the Poltergeist and how to
tackle an angry mountain troll: best of all, Harry becomes a star player at Quidditch (wizard
football played on broomsticks).
What are all the uses of Dragons blood? MAGIC LESSONS in the tallest tower of the building?
Herbology lessons with...Mandrakes and Wolfsbane? Potions in the dungeons of the school? Secret
passageways? Poltergeists? Angry mountain trolls? Quidditch the ‘wizard football’?
This paragraph is jam packed.
What interests Harry and his friends most, though, is why the corridor on the third floor
is so heavily guarded. Following up a clue dropped by Hagrid (who, when he is not delivering
letters, is Hogwarts’ gamekeeper), they discover that the only Philosopher’s Stone
in existence is being kept at Hogwarts, a stone with powers to give limitless wealth
and eternal life. Harry, Ron and Hermione seem to be the only people who have realized
that Snape the potions master is planning to steal the stone - and what terrible things
it could do in the wrong hands. For the Philosopher’s Stone is all that is needed to bring Voldemort
back to full strength and power...It seems Harry has come to Hogwarts to meet his parents’
killer face to face - with no idea how he survived last time…”
What’s in the third floor corridor? What is the Philosopher’s Stone? Why hasn’t
anyone else noticed that Snape is crooked- who is going to stop him? Who..is Voldemort..and
how is Harry Potter- the young boy who didn’t even know what magic was the week prior- going
to stop him?
And that’s the synopsis that SOLD Bloomsbury on Rowling, and well Harry Potter in general.
The day that Bloomsbury accepted Rowling is certainly an iconic piece of history, as the
cultural impact that Harry Potter has had worldwide has been a phenomenon. However,
in addition to the synopsis, what also sold Bloomsbury on Rowling was the daughter of
Bloomsbury’s founder and executive chief Nigel Newton, who took the book home and gave
it to his eight year old daughter, Alice. Alice read the existing chapters of the book-
which went as far as Diagon Alley- and then wrote her verdict on a piece of paper.
The original piece of paper, shown here, says the following:
“The excitement in this book made me feel warm inside. I think it is possibly one of
the best books an 8/9 year old could read.”
Coming from an 8 year old- that is pretty much the best review that you could get for
your own novel. It’s short, to the point, and basically gave Bloomsbury the best feedback
they could have expected to hear- it basically gave them the green light to publish Rowling.
However, Alice’s gleaming review didn’t prompt immediate action from Bloomsbury- and
it wasn’t until Nigel’s daughter Alice began to pester her father for the remaining
chapters of the original manuscript that he really began to take notice. The day after
mentioning to her father that she wanted more, Bloomsbury held an acquisitions meeting, and
in that meeting Nigel Newton approved editor Barry Cunningham’s proposal that the Philosopher’s
Stone be published by Bloomsbury. This was the biggest decision in children’s publishing
history- as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has sold more than 120 million- that’s
right MILLION copies worldwide.
And that’s it for this video! Had you guys already seen this massively important piece
of Harry Potter history? Or is this news to you? For today- leave a comment related to
your favourite aspect from the first Harry Potter book.
Until next time
There is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher: what not to do, how not to be