The United Kingdom first published J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Bloomsbury released the novel in the UK on 26 June 1997. It introduced Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Hogwarts School, and the central conflict with Lord Voldemort. The book quickly became a major publishing success and launched one of the most commercially influential children’s fantasy series in modern literature.
In the United States, Scholastic published the same book under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The change was made because American publishers believed “sorcerer” would be clearer or more appealing to US readers. The story itself remained essentially the same, although some wording was adjusted for American usage.
This title difference often causes confusion when bibliographies list the first book. The original British title is Philosopher’s Stone, while Sorcerer’s Stone is the standard American title.