Harry Potter influences and analogues
Overview

Harry Potter influences and analogues

Section Title: Overview
Table Section Text: None

Work	Author	Origin	Similarities

Tom Brown's School Days	Thomas Hughes	1857	A boy starts at a boarding school and makes friends but also meets bullying, cheating enemies The story is at some point ambiguous about whether the protagonist will be good or bad

The Lord of the Rings	J. R. R. Tolkien	1954	Main villain is referred to as the "Dark Lord" and his name is often avoided A giant spider as a minor villain A traitor whose name begins with "Worm-" Hooded dark spirits

X-Men	Stan Lee/Jack Kirby	1963	Teenagers study under professors to learn how to control their special powers in safety from normal humans

The Dark Is Rising	Susan Cooper	1965	A young boy discovers he has magical powers on his eleventh birthday

A Wizard of Earthsea	Ursula K. Le Guin	1968	Protagonist is a young boy sent to a special school for wizards He receives a scar that hurts whenever the villain is nearby

The Worst Witch	Jill Murphy	1974	Set in a witchcraft boarding school Kind and elderly headmaster/headmistress and bullying, dark-haired potions teacher

Star Wars	George Lucas	1977	Hero lives a dull and ordinary life until a later age when he is recruited by an older mentor Hero is trained to fight a powerful villain who was previously also a student of the hero's mentor A "dark side" led by the villain and his followers A prophecy about a "chosen one" who will defeat the villain

Charmed Life	Diana Wynne Jones	1977	Orphaned children receive magical education in a castle

Discworld	Terry Pratchett	1983	A wizarding school (the Unseen University in Discworld) Bespectacled, dark-haired wizard as the protagonist

Ender's Game	Orson Scott Card	1985	Protagonist is a youngster growing up in an oppressive family He learns he has special abilities and is taken to a remote school Students play a flying sport at which the protagonist turns out to be exceptionally talented Protagonist is guided by an old man of legendary accomplishments

Young Sherlock Holmes (film)	Chris Columbus	1985	Two young boys and a girl in a British boarding school have to fight a supernatural force

Troll (film)	Charles Band	1986	Main characters named Harry Potter Jr. and Harry Potter Sr.

Groosham Grange	Anthony Horowitz	1988	A teenager neglected by his family is invited to a magical school School is accessed via railway train A ghost teacher and a werewolf named Leloup (which shares the same origin as Lupin)

The Books of Magic	Neil Gaiman	1990	A dark-haired, bespectacled English boy is the protagonist Protagonist discovers he is a potentially powerful wizard and is gifted a pet owl

Spellcasting (game franchise)	Steve Meretzky	1990	A bespectacled magical student is the protagonist Each title takes place on a consecutive year at the magical school

Wizard's Hall	Jane Yolen	1991	Protagonist joins a magical school for young wizards and fights a powerful, evil wizard

The Secret of Platform 13	Eva Ibbotson	1994	Gateway to a magical world in King's Cross station Magical protagonist raised by a normal family who mistreats him, including a pampered, fat biological son

Sentence(s)

The basic premise of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), in which a boy was sent to a special school for wizards.

final_sentence: The basic premise of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), in which a boy was sent to a special school for wizards.