Image © Bloomsbury, Aashfaria A. Anwar
We’re sure UK-based Harry Potter fans remember the first book well – that big scarlet train, Harry’s inquisitive face... and now, you can revisit it, 25 years on, with this special version produced by Bloomsbury, with some additional features, such as drawings from J.K. Rowling’s archive and the original iconic cover art by Thomas Taylor.
You can learn more about this edition from Bloomsbury here.
Bloomsbury also asked a selection of fans to dig into their Pensieves and extract their early memories of the first book, some of which you can watch below.
In the video, we meet fans such as Ben, who learnt to ‘accept yourself, love yourself’ from the books. Charlotte talks about her dyslexia growing up but says that Harry Potter helped her get through it. “That book opened up a relationship for me with literature. I will forever be grateful for the accessibility the Harry Potter books offered me,” she says.
Bloomsbury also chatted to fans like Catie, who reminisced about “struggling to fit in at school because I was more interested in books and knowledge than sport”, while Amy told a moving tale about finding the books after falling behind at school after heart surgery. “I had never read a full book before (outside of school) and the thought of reading was daunting. But I decided to give it a go. I slowly read the 1st book, which took me about 3 months (my reading and writing was still very behind back then) but I loved every word.”
Inspired, we also decided to take a little trip down memory lane and asked our followers for some of their memories too. We just simply can’t have enough of your stories!
Susan on Facebook picked a favourite moment we’re sure you can relate to: “I was hooked from the first page but my favourite part is when Hagrid blasts the door open on that island shack, tells Harry he is a wizard and tells Dursley to go stuff it. Then off they go in that row-boat to the start of Harry's amazing new life.”
Laura on Instagram said: “I picked up my copy from a school car boot sale wen the third book had just been released and I got hooked on the magic. I found out years later this was a first edition.”
Vale on Twitter said: “I was 7 years old when I found Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone under the Christmas tree. I read it during holidays, and I was so into it that I played scenes with my sister. We used what we had for costumes and props (magic wands were straws wrapped in aluminium paper.”
25 years on, and people still remember the exact moment they entered the wizarding world. Here’s to a very special silver anniversary – and onwards to the next!
Please note: the answers to this article have been edited for spelling/grammar/clarity.
