In the non-magical human world of the "Muggles", Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort.
But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is renowned as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him.
He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he's quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoilt, pig-like cousin Dudley.
Since publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, the Harry Potter novels have sold 350 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 64 languages.
J.K. Rowling has generated huge popular appeal for her books across the generations in an unprecedented fashion: she was the first children's author to be voted the BA Author of the Year, and also to win the British Book Awards Author of the Year.