J.K. Rowling (1965 – ) – celebrated British author and currently the wealthiest author alive
London: Bloomsbury, 1998
First edition, first impression
Color pictorial boards after illustrations by Cliff Wright, and matching dust jacket in Mylar
Octavo, 251 pp.

J.K. Rowling’s, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” is the second book in the internationally successful Harry Potter series. Published in 1998, it was a number one bestseller in the adult hardcover charts for a month after publication. This is a first impression with the correct number sequence of 10 down to 1 on copyright page. This fine copy features pictorial boards and a matching dust jacket with illustrations in color after Cliff Wright.

Octavio, first edition, first printing, 251 pp.

J.K. Rowling (Gloucestershire 1965-)

J.K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling) grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Rowling left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she received a degree in French and Classics. As a postgraduate, she moved to London and worked as a researcher at Amnesty International among other occupations. It was during this time that Rowling began writing the internationally successful Harry Potter series, and for the next five years, she outlined the plots for each book. Rowling then moved to Portugal, where she taught English. After divorcing her husband, Rowling and her daughter returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where the first novel of the Harry Potter series “Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone” was ultimately completed. The book was published under the name J.K. Rowling, the ‘K’ for her grandmother Kathleen, as her publisher thought a woman’s name would not appeal to young male readers. Following the wildly successful first book in the series were, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” (1998), “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” (1999), “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” (2000), “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” (2003), “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” (2005) and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” (2007).