In an interview with The Independent newspaper, Daunt called Amazon a "ruthless, money-making devil" and that they said that they did not strike him as a "business in the consumer’s interest".

He added: "The computer screen is a terrible environment in which to select books. All that 'If you read this, you’ll like that' - it’s a dismal way to recommend books. A physical bookshop in which you browse, see hold, touch and feel books is the environment you want."

Daunt, who in September announced the end of Waterstone’s three-for-two promotions, confirmed that the retailer is to launch its own version of the e-reader.

He said: "You’ll walk into a Waterstone’s and there’ll be a bit of the shop where you can look at e-readers, play with them," he said: "We’re inventing one of our own – perhaps we’ll call it the Windle – and we’re working on the Barnes & Noble approach. They’ve embedded their own e-book, called the Nook, within their bookshops and have succeeded in taking market share from the Kindle."

"If the bookshop lets you have both and has a product every bit as good as the Amazon one, why wouldn’t you do it with a bookshop."

Daunt also touched on predictions that physical bookshops, publishers and agents may all disappear in the future.

He said: "I think either all three will survive or they’ll all disappear, swept away, replaced by one big fat Amazon, getting his way. And if the bookshops go, they will never come back.

"So I have a responsibility."