The greatest-ever literary hero has finally been revealed - and UK readers and film-goers will be stunned to see it's not Harry Potter! Researchers quizzed the nation to discover the legendary characters of fiction who have thrilled and amazed us throughout our reading lives with their heroic acts.

Having saved the 'muggle' and magical world from the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, researchers expected JK Rowling's young adventurer Harry Potter would be top of the list. But instead the public's 'sorting hat' has opeted for Ian Fleming's iconic British Secret Service agent James Bond to come out first with 27 per cent of the public vote.

Bond - played on the big screen by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig - first appeared in Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale.

The deadly 007 pushed JRR Tolkien’s unlikely hobbit hero Frodo Baggins into the number two spot (26 percent), while teenage wizard Harry Potter came third (24 percent).

Arthur Conan Doyle’s pipe smoking London sleuth Sherlock Holmes (19 percent) also made the list as did FBI agent Clarice Starling (19 percent), famously played by Jodie Foster in the movie adaptation of Thomas Harris’s best seller Silence of the Lambs.

Other literary heroes which made the definitive survey's list, commissioned by Amazon UK, included Roald Dahl’s 1988 superbright character Matilda Wormwood (15 percent).

Others in the list included The Jungle Book’s man-cub Mowgli (14 percent) and Elizabeth Bennet (10 percent) from Pride and Prejudice - played in the famous BBC 1995 adaptation by Jennifer Ehle.

The study was commissioned by Amazon UK to launch their annual Kindle Storyteller Award.

Two thirds (61 per cent) agree that strong characters – both good and bad – are central to a great novel and 94 per cent of Britons think that books are the most moving art form.

Our love of strong emotive books is so powerful that 82 per cent re-read favourite books an average of seven times.

Three quarters of us describe themselves as an avid reader, with a third admit reading is their passion and it is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

In fact, the average Briton reads four books a month, preferring to escape life's stresses with fiction (64 per cent) rather than non-fiction (36 per cent).

Thrillers (35 per cent), true crime (33 per cent), mystery (31 per cent), murder mystery (28 per cent), historical (27 per cent) and romance (26 per cent) are the nations go-to genres, along with fantasy (25 per cent) and autobiographies (21 per cent).

Brits are most likely to delve into a novel in bed before going to sleep (57 per cent), on the sofa in the living room (46 per cent), on holiday (39 per cent) and in the garden in the sun (38 per cent).

Almost a third (29 per cent) love reading on a long train journey, while 20 per cent have their head down during their commute.

Jen Barrett, from Amazon UK, said: "We all love a hero, whether they're complicated, an underdog or as charismatic as they come.

"That passion shines through in many of our Kindle Storyteller Award entries.

"Championing independent authors and exploring the brilliant characters they dream up is always something the judges look forward to—and we can't wait to see what this year’s entries bring, including all the new heroes we'll be rooting for."