Some things that rowling *might* have copied from other authors

[Grimward]

Good connection, Antu, with or without resourced help. I liked this thread originally for the links to similar such stories/characters/settings (regardless of how well they use the English language, by the way), and the Groosham Grange stuff is more of the same. I also like the blurb about the first book on Horowitz's site:

A school on an island that teaches magic. A boy with magical powers living with unpleasant relatives. Heard it all before? This one was written first!

And it was, even before Gaiman's work. Good digging, Antu!

 

[Antubis]

And it was, even before Gaiman's work. Good digging, Antu!

Thanks

But I didn't need to dig; when I read the first HP book, the Groosham books were the first to come to mind. I read probably nearly all of his (children) books to that date and did not think that HP would be such a succes at all. I didn't think the first book was that great. I was proven so very, very wrong

And Horowitz himself has written a book (Granny), which I thought was somewhat similar to Roald Dahl's "The witches".

I forgot to add to the list of possible similarities, that David is older in the second book, similar to how Harry ages with each book.

 

[Grimward]

Roald Dahl, now there's one of my favorites! The 2 Wonka books (am surprised no one came back with a movie about the Glass Elevator; thrids would be cool!), James and the Giant Peach, and now I learn that one of his first works, The Gremlins, was the inspiration for a campy 1970's horror movie Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, (posted elsewhere in a "I can't remember the name of this" thread on this site, too!).

OK, I'll stop hijacking the thread now....

 

[Lith]

I heard somewhere that Rowling claimed Dahl as one of her inspirations. As well as claiming a love of Monty Python.

The Anthony Horowitz thing is interesting, as is the picture of point #3 of the OP, but I'm not sold on the rest. There's just too much of this kind of stuff in so many authors. A teenage boy with glasses is nothing special for YA fiction- it instantly creates an awkward, bookish feel that many writers and readers can identify with (though Harry himself isn't bookish, his readers often are). And magic schools- for children that are in school, it's something they can relate to.

It may not be original, but it falls short of plagiarism.

 

[LJonesy]

Additionally, you can draw a few parallels between the HP Series and David Eddings The Belgariad. Major difference here is that Pawn of Prophecy was first released in 1981 (or earlier, can't remember) and The Pilosophers Stone was released in 1997.

Garion is, much like Harry, the "Special One" who in the end has "Special Powers". There is a grand Enemy within both stories (although it's a common trend to have such an enemy in most books) who has not yet revived, and has many agents still working for him, whether it be Torak One-Eye or Voldermort.

There's obviously more i can say but my memory on both books is quite foggy, i'm sure another Eddings fan can take over for me lol...

 

[Boneman]

Now read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A kid's parents are killed, he fends for himself, then enters a college to study all sorts of things magical, there's a tutor who hates him on sight, and they continually battle against each other as he progresses through the years, (the tutor aided by an evil student who also hates the hero) and there's an unexplored basement with hundreds of tunnels etc etc. It's Harry Potter for adults, and you know what? I couldn't give a damn, I loved them both equally for different reasons, and I don't care where they get their ideas from they are both (All?) writers of stupendous talent, and I, for one, salute them both. In creative writing it's always taught that there are only 7 stories, and everything is a derivative of one of them. Hell, can't we just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy? I know I want to read and be transported to someone else's world without analysing the whys and wherefors and spoiling my enjoyment. Curl up with a book? That's me......