Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantasy novel by British author J. K. Rowling. The second novel in the Harry Potter series, it chronicles Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After several residents of the school are attacked and magically immobilised, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione investigate.
The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and later in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc. Although Rowling says she found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers, and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children.