Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

More Information & Critical Reviews

J.K. Rowling first had the idea for Harry Potter while delayed on a train travelling from Manchester to London King’s Cross in 1990. Over the next five years, she began to plan out the seven books of the series. She wrote mostly in longhand and amassed a mountain of notes, many of which were on scraps of paper. She arrived in Edinburgh in 1993 with three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in her suitcase. By now she had a baby daughter, Jessica, but she continued to write in every spare moment she could find. When Joanne had finished the manuscript, she sent the first three chapters to a number of literary agents, one of whom wrote back asking to see the rest of it. She says that it was ‘the best letter I had ever received in my life’. After finishing the first book and whilst training as a teacher, Harry Potter was accepted for publication by Bloomsbury. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone quickly became a bestseller on publication in 1997. The Harry Potter books have since broken many records. In 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fastest-selling book ever, selling 2.65 million in the first 24 hours in the UK. The Harry Potter series is now published in 80 languages, and over 500 million copies have been sold across the world. J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honours, including an OBE for services to children’s literature, France’s Légion d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

‘A considerably darker, more psychological book than its predecessors, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix occupies the same emotional and storytelling place in the Potter series as “The Empire Strikes Back” held in the first “Star Wars” trilogy. It provides a sort of fulcrum for the series, marking Harry’s emergence from boyhood, and his newfound knowledge that an ancient prophecy holds the secret to Voldemort’s obsession with him and his family.’ The New York Times – Michiku Katutani

‘A very wise decision, J.K. Rowling, to allow three years to pass before publishing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in your global sensation of a series. The fever-pitched anticipation, the media frenzy, the pilfered books, the leaked details. The book richly deserves the hype.’ USA Today – Deirdre Donahue

‘Rowling shepherds her hero’s arduous trek to maturity with her customary grace and good humor, though she has infused her story with more bone-cracking and blood-spattering than may be tolerable for many of the young readers who have followed Harry’s adventures so far.’ The Washington Post

‘There’s no doubt that Harry is growing up, and the process isn’t always pretty, although he remains wonderfully appealing and, when necessary, heroic.’
The Los Angeles Times – Michael Cart 

‘I’ve yet to meet a ten-year-old who hasn’t been entranced by its witty, complex plot and the character of the eponymous Harry’ Independent 

‘Spellbinding, enchanting, bewitching stuff’ Mirror 

‘Teachers say a chapter can silence the most rowdy of classes’ Guardian

‘One of the greatest literary adventures of modern times’ Sunday Telegraph

‘The Harry Potter stories will join that small group of children’s books which are read and reread into adulthood’ TLS

Recommended age: 12