Harry Potter, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters Original Watercolor.

The first novel in the Harry Potter series and Rowling's debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The book was first published in the United Kingdom on June 26, 1997 by Bloomsbury and in the United States the following year by Scholastic Corporation under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The book reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in August 1999 and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and 2000. It has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. The majority of reviews of the popular book were favorable, revering Rowling's imagination, humor, simple, direct style and clever plot construction. Rowling's style has been compared to that of Jane Austen (her favorite author), Roald Dahl (whose works dominated children's stories before the appearance of Harry Potter), and even the Ancient Greek story-teller Homer. The first book in the series was followed by six sequels published on an annual basis between 1997 and 2000. The series has sold more that 500 million copies worldwide and has been ​translated into 80 languages, ​making it the best-selling book series in history and among history's most translated literary works.​ The last four books in the series consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books of all time, where the final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold roughly fifteen million copies worldwide within twenty-four hours of its release. With twelve million books printed in the first U.S. run, it also holds the record for the highest initial print run for any book in history. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was adapted into the 2001 fantasy film of the same name directed by Chris Columbus, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999 for a reported £1 million ($1.65 million) and the film was released in November 2001 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada and Taiwan. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $974 million at the box office worldwide during its initial run, and over $1 billion with subsequent re-releases. It became the highest-grossing film of 2001 and remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time. It was followed by seven sequels beginning with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, nearly ten years after the first film's release.