Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

ROWLING, J. K..

Item Number: 146947

New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999.

First American edition of the third novel in Rowling’s acclaimed Harry Potter series. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Mary GrandPré and David Saylor.

British novelist Joanne (J.K.) Rowling’s Harry Potter series has swiftly become the best-selling book series of all time with over 500 million copies sold. Born in Yale, Gloucestershire, England, Rowling rose to multi-millionaire status from relative poverty within a five-year period which also saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, and divorce from her first husband. Themes of loss and darkness prevail throughout the series, in which a young wizard, Harry Potter, develops his magical powers at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and heroically attempts to overthrow the evil and powerful Lord Voldemort. The third novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short-listed for other awards, including the Hugo. The story follows Harry in his third year at Hogwarts, which starts off on bad note when he learns that the legendary and deranged murderer Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and is determined to end Harry's life. The film adaptation of the novel was released in 2004, grossing more than $796 million and earning critical acclaim. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, the film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.