The magic of Harry Potter

On the advent of the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Aileen Hickie celebrates the spellbinding series by JK Rowling

JK Rowling in 1997 with her first book, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone Pic: Rex

The youngest child started reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone last week.

Before he began, I explained that he himself was named Harry after the protagonist of those most famous wizarding books.

I had to make him think that he was magic too, and it is a great way of encouraging the youngest to read all the exploits of his namesake. It also completes the Harry Potter cycle in our house. The eldest, ...