Hundreds queue for new Harry Potter book

Toby LEstrange read the book in double-quick time

Witches, wizards and magical creatures flocked to Waterstones and Blackwells in Edinburgh for the midnight launch.

Set 19 years after the events of the seventh and final book, The Cursed Child brings back Harry Potter, now grown up and an employee at the Ministry of Magic.

Harry and his wife Ginny Weasley wave their youngest son Albus Severus, named after former Hogwarts headmaster Professors Dumbledore and Potions guru Professor Snape, off to their old wizarding school.

Once there, Albus struggles with the weight of his family legacy and goes to extreme and dangerous lengths to right the wrongs of the past.

The two-part play stretches over five hours and was co-devised by Rowling, written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany.

A 10-year-old speed-reading prodigy has finished the new story in just 59 minutes.

Toby L’Estrange, from Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, was challenged by Amazon to produce the first review of the new Potter story.

The schoolboy can read an average 400-page book in under two hours, using techniques he learned from his grandmother Susan Norman, a speed-reading expert.

The latest instalment of the Harry Potter stories is the script of a new original story by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne.

The play officially opened on Saturday night in the West End to coincide with the release.

Toby had his copy delivered direct to his Amazon Kindle by pre-order just after midnight on Sunday morning, and finished the book only 59 minutes after it automatically downloaded.

His review will be read by Amazon customers whether they are shopping on the website or on their Kindle.

Self-confessed superfan Toby read all the Harry Potter books by the age of eight and is able to recite all the spells used in the stories.

He gave the new book a six out of 10 and said: “It’s a really good story.

“It’s a very complicated story. It happens in different times, so it’s really helpful if you know all the other books and characters quite well (I do - and so does any other true Harry Potter fan).

“When I first started it was really difficult to know what was happening because everything was mixed up, but then it all got quite exciting - and a bit (a bit!) clearer.

“It’s mostly about Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy - which is odd because Harry and Draco were enemies. And Harry and Albus don’t see eye to eye on - well, pretty much everything.”

Adding that he did not have a favourite character he said fans would need to read the book themselves to find out more.

“And I think you’re going to love it,” he said.