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Series · fantasy

Harry Potter

by J. K. Rowling

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling has 7 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997).

Books
7 books
First published
1997
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    Novel

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  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

    Novel

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  3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    Novel

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  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

    Novel

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  5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

    Novel

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  6. Quidditch Through the Ages

    Novel

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  7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    Novel

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  8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

    Novel

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  9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

    Novel

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  10. The Tales of Beedle the Bard

    Novel

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  11. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

    Novel

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  12. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

    Novel

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  13. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay

    Novel

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  14. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay

    Novel

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About the Harry Potter series

Harry Potter follows an orphaned boy who discovers, on his eleventh birthday, that he is a wizard — and that the hidden magical world has been waiting for him. Whisked from a miserable cupboard under the stairs to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry finds friendship with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, a talent for the broomstick sport of Quidditch, and a destiny tangled with the dark wizard who murdered his parents.

Across seven novels, J. K. Rowling grows the story up alongside its readers. The early books are boarding-school mysteries full of moving staircases, house points and midnight duels; the later volumes darken into a war story about loyalty, sacrifice, propaganda and the cost of standing up to power. Each book covers one school year, building toward the final confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort that leaves no corner of the wizarding world untouched.

The series' great pleasure is its density of invention — a whole society running parallel to our own, with its own bank, sport, government and prejudices — anchored by characters who age, grieve and make real mistakes. It has become the best-selling book series in history, and it remains the natural gateway series for young readers moving into longer fiction, while rewarding adults with its increasingly sophisticated plotting. Companion volumes (a fairy-tale collection, two Hogwarts 'textbooks' and a stage-play script) extend the world without being required reading.

Frequently asked questions

How many Harry Potter books are there?

There are seven main novels, published between 1997 and 2007, from Philosopher's Stone to Deathly Hallows. Seven companion volumes also exist — The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the stage-play script Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the three published Fantastic Beasts film screenplays — but they are optional.

What order should I read Harry Potter in?

Publication order, which is also chronological: Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows. Save the companion books until after you finish the novels.

Is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child part of the series?

It is an official continuation, but it is the script of a stage play (co-written with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany) set nineteen years after Deathly Hallows, not a novel by J. K. Rowling alone. Read it as an optional epilogue rather than 'book eight'.

What age are the Harry Potter books for?

The early books suit readers of about 8 and up; the series darkens noticeably from Goblet of Fire onward, with character deaths and war themes better suited to ages 10–12+. Many families read one book per year as the child ages with Harry.

Is the Harry Potter series finished?

Yes. The main series was completed with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. No eighth novel is planned; later additions have been companion pieces, films and stage or television adaptations.

Are the Fantastic Beasts film screenplays published as books?

Yes. J. K. Rowling wrote the Fantastic Beasts films as original screenplays, and all three published entries -- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022, co-written with Steve Kloves) -- were released as screenplay books. They're set in the same wizarding world decades before Harry's story but follow Newt Scamander rather than Harry Potter, and aren't required reading for the main series.

Reading order last verified .