• 223 (UK Edition) • 332 (2014 UK Edition) • 309 (US Edition) • 336 (2013 US Edition) • 256 (Illustrated Edition) Followed by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a written by British author. The first novel in the series and Rowling's, it follows, a young who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school, and with the help of his friends, Harry faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard, who killed Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old. The book was first published in the in 1997. In 1998, it was published in the by under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It won most of the British book awards that were judged by children and other awards in the US. 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.