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Question Why Did They Change the Title of the first Harry Potter Book to "Sorcerers Stone" in the United States??

ChemicallyEnhanced

ChemicallyEnhanced

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
Messages
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Just a question that's irked me for like 20 years and nobody has ever been able to tell me. Anyone on here know why they changed the name both with the book and the movie?

[in case anyone doesn't know about this, the actual title is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" both in the UK - where J.K. Rowling is from - and as far as I know, every other country, but in the U.S. the word was changed to "Sorcerer"]
 
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Pretty sure it was just a decision by the US publisher, who thought US kids wouldn't be as enticed to read quite so much by 'philosopher'. Tbh I think sorcerer does convey a little bit more meaning.

OK here you go:

When did they change the name of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?

Scholastic's Arthur Levine thought that "philosopher" sounded too archaic for readers and after some discussion (including the proposed title "Harry Potter and the School of Magic"), the American edition was published in September 1998 under the title Rowling suggested, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
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ChemicallyEnhanced said:
had to google it before I posted this to make sure I had it right (I did, but I wasn't confident about it) so I didn't look remedial in my post lol
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You'd better edit your first post then because it shouldn't have a U in it. Sourceror means something else.
 
Because the general public is put off by anything intellectual-sounding, plus 'sorcerer' is way more cool and magicky, y'know.

PS I wanna read 'Harry Pothead & the Stoned Philosopher'
 
Apparently censorship is a thing here in the USA.

Another British book (A Clockwork Orange) was originally released in the USA with the final chapter of the book missing so that the end of the book would match up with the end of the film.

I would've been pissed if I had read that version and later found out that what I thought was the end wasn't really the author's intended ending of the book.
 
CFC said:
Pretty sure it was just a decision by the US publisher, who thought US kids wouldn't be as enticed to read quite so much by 'philosopher'. Tbh I think sorcerer does convey a little bit more meaning.

OK here you go:
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OMG they LITERALLY had to dumb it down for US readers.
Keep in mind this is a childrens book :ROFLMAO:
 
simstim said:
Apparently censorship is a thing here in the USA.

Another British book (A Clockwork Orange) was originally released in the USA with the final chapter of the book missing so that the end of the book would match up with the end of the film.

I would've been pissed if I had read that version and later found out that what I thought was the end wasn't really the author's intended ending of the book.
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Oh, I remember that about A Clockwork Orange. Only because I saw reviews where people complained some versions of the book are missing the last chapter. I don't live in the U.S., but I remember specifically going out to a bookstore to buy a copy of it instead of amazon, 'cause I wanted to make sure I got the full version. Also, with the (is it Nadsat? something like that) glossary in the back 'cause good luck trying to understand the book without one*


*A lot of Americans think it's like archaic British slang. Not the case. The author made up the dialect completely so being British offers no help here.
 
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