What was the UK title of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel, published in 1997?

J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel was published in the UK in 1997 as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Bloomsbury published the book in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997. It introduces Harry, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the magical conflict surrounding Lord Voldemort. The novel became the first of seven main Harry Potter books.

The title differs in the United States, where Scholastic published it as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The story is the same, but “Sorcerer’s Stone” was chosen for the American market because the publisher believed it would be clearer to young readers.

The book won major children’s literary awards and launched a global publishing phenomenon. Its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, followed in 1998.