LongtimeHarry Potterfans who feel like first - years at heart may receive it hard to believe , but the books have been around for X . This year mark the 20th anniversary of the exit ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , thethird installmentinJ.K. Rowling ’s fantasy series , which follows Harry as he faces Dementors , investigates the deep Sirius Black , and gets through his third year at Hogwarts .
From Rowling ’s writing cognitive operation to how it deepen The New York Times Best Sellers list , here are some fact you should know about the wildly popular book .
1.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanwas J.K. Rowling’s “best writing experience.”
In a 2004 consultation withUSA Today , Rowling report the creation ofPrisoner of Azkabanas “ the best composition experience I ever had . ” This had more to do with where Rowling was at in her professional life than the content of the literal story . By book three , she was successful enough where she did n’t have to worry about finances , but not yet so famous that the she felt the stress of being in the public heart .
2. The Dementors represent depression.
Readers who live with depression may see something conversant inPrisoner of Azkaban ’s soul - sucking Dementors . Accordingto the book , “ Get too near a Dementor and every good impression , every well-chosen memory will be sucked out of you . If it can , the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself … soulless and evil . You will be left with nothing but the spoiled experiences of your life . "
Rowling hasstatedthat she found the Dementor ’s effects on her own experience with depression . " [ Depression ] is that absence of being able-bodied to envisage that you will ever be pollyannaish again , " she toldThe Timesin 2000 . " The absence of hope . That very deaden look , which is so very unlike from feeling sad . Sad injury but it ’s a healthy touch . It ’s a necessary affair to feel . Depression is very different . "
3. Rowling regretted giving Harry the Marauder’s Map.
InPrisoner of Azkaban , the Marauder ’s Map is introduced as a manner for Harry to track Sirius Black and learn of the endurance of Peter Pettigrew . But this plot gimmick provedproblematicfor Rowling subsequently on this series . InHogwarts : An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide , she write , “ The Marauder ’s Map afterwards became something of a bane to its true originator ( me ) , because it tolerate Harry a little too much exemption of info . ” She went on to say that she sometimes wish she had made Harry miss the map for good in the late books .
4. Rowling was excited to introduce Remus Lupin.
One of the aspects Rowling most enjoyed about writingPrisoner of Azkabanwas insert Remus Lupin . The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and confidential werewolf is one of the author ’s favorite fiber in the series , and as she toldBarnes & Noblein 1999 , “ I was looking forward to writing the third book from the start of the first because that ’s when Professor Lupin appears . ”
5. Crookshanks is based on a real cat.
Harry had Hedwig the bird of Minerva , Ron had his favored rat Scabbers , and in book three , Hermione got a pet of her own : an intelligent half - Kneazle bozo name Crookshanks . J.K. Rowling is sensitised to computerized axial tomography , and she let in on herwebsitethat she prefers dog , but she does have fond memories of a guy that roamed the London neighbourhood where she worked in the 1980s . When writing Crookshanks , she kick in him that cat ’s sniffy attitude and smushed - face visual aspect .
6.Prisoner of Azkabanwas the last Harry Potter book Americans had to wait for.
Harry Potter fans found in America will no doubt remember waitingmonthsafter a Word ’s initial release in England to buy it from their local bookstore . Prisoner of Azkabanwas the last Harry Potter book with a staggered publication date : Beginning withHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , the relaxation of the books in the series were publish in both market on thesame day of the month .
7.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanbroke sales records.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabansold 68,000 copies in the UK within three Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of its release , making it thefastest - sellingBritish record book of all time in 1999 . The al-Qur’an has since gone on to betray more than65 millioncopies worldwide and helped makeHarry Potterthebestselling Bible seriesever .
8. It changedThe New York TimesBest Sellers List.
For part of 1999 , the first three Harry Potter books — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer ’s Stone(which is known asHarry Potter and the Philosopher ’s Stonepretty mucheverywherebesides America),Chamber of Secrets , andPrisoner of Azkaban — occupied thetop three slotsonThe New York TimesBest Sellers list . It did n’t stay that way for farsighted , though : Prisoner of Azkabanwas the Quran that advertise the paper to create aseparate listjust for children ’s literature , leaving more way on the original inclination for booksaimed at adult . That ’s whyHarry Potteris missing from the celebrated bestsellers roundup during the 2000s , despite reign volume sales at this fourth dimension .
