The Writings of J.K. Rowling
A boy walks home after an average school day, where he usually maintains a passing grade, only to find that, once again, his recently deceased father has not returned home and his mother is still busy working both of her jobs and probably won’t be back until late that night. He feels isolated in public and no one understands what he is feeling; at least until he returns home to find his new obsession. He begins to read the first novel of a seven book series about a boy known as Harry Potter and can relate to the boy’s rough life and due to his interest in the book begins to read more and more until he is completely hooked. After discovering his new found interest, his grades begin to improve and he feels more confident. The boy’s life had been changed forever thanks to this enchanting book. J.K. Rowling is a world renowned author known for her captivating books, where she uses her favorite styles and techniques to depict a magical world all her own that is somewhat reflective of her own life situations and acquaintances, that children and adults all over are finding themselves able to relate to and empathize.
Joanne Kathleen Rowling claims to have been born at Chipping Sodbury General Hospital on July 31, 1965, but her birth certificate shows that she was born at Cottage Hospital in Yate; furthermore, after some research, it was determined that she never even lived in Chipping Sodbury (Steffens 10). The reason for the discrepancy on her birth place is unknown. Rowling seems to be very secretive about certain aspects of her life. Nonetheless, she is loved by many. Growing up, Rowling lived in several different homes. According to source 1, Rowling moved to Yate, which is outside of Bristol, at a very early age but moved to Winterbourne, on the other side of town, less than a year later. She lived here for a few years but she moved to Tutshill, near Chepstow, in 1974. According to Rowling, her imaginative stories began at a very early age in one of her childhood homes with her ever-changing renditions of Rabbit and Miss Bee, which she loved to recite to her little sister, even though she occasionally had to forcefully hold her down to make her listen. (Chippendale 23)
Rowling’s literature would later be greatly inspired by her friends and family. Her mother and father, Peter and Anne Rowling met at King’s Cross Station in 1963 at age 19. They were both members of the Royal Naval Service and were being posted in Arbroath, Scotland where, according to source 3, was where Rowling tried to depict Hogwarts as being located. Peter and Anne were soon married in Scotland and moved pack to Chipping Sodbury. (Chippendale 21) Shortly after in 1965, Joanne Kathleen Rowling (named after her mother) was born. Two years later, Anne gave birth to a second daughter whom was also named after her (Shapiro 29). Rowling and her new sister Dianne were very close as children and as stated before, Dianne was usually the subject of Rowling’s childhood stories.
After graduating from the University in Exeter, where Rowling studied classics, she became a researcher for Amnesty International, which is a type of union that pressures governments around the world to abandon the use of brutality and torture (Rollyson 3919). She decided to take this job to follow in the footsteps of one of her favorite authors who was a firm believer in minority rights and the possibility of world peace. To Rowling, working at Amnesty International seemed like a good stepping stone if she was to change the world. At this point, she often rode the train back and forth from London to Manchester, which was where her boyfriend lived. It was on this these train rides where Rowling began to imagine the world famous “Harry Potter” (Steffens 21). Around this point in her life, her mother died at age 45. She became a little depressed and soon grew bored of this job, sitting in an office all day, and decided to take a job in Portugal where she became an English teacher. She would often write in the mornings. While in Portugal, Rowling was married and had a baby but the marriage soon crumbled and she was left to raise the baby alone. Rowling never revealed the name of her husband or the reason for their separation. (Shapiro 59)
Living alone with a baby, Rowling began to struggle and was on the verge of going bankrupt and losing her home. The Harry Potter book saved her and made her one of the most famous celebrities in the world. When she was riding the train back and forth from London to Manchester she began to imagine to a boy with “dark hair, green eyes, glasses, and a lightening shaped scar on his forehead” (Steffens 21). According to Steffens, Rowling had a “rush” of ideas and as soon as she got home, she began to scribble down all of her idea. She “wrote background for every character,” whether she would use it or not and then came up with names for all of the characters that she considered to be “interesting and fitting.” (Steffens 21)
She then imagined a school that “the best artist in the world would not be able to draw’ simply because it was always changing. The staircases were always moving and the rooms moved; there were secret passage ways and children with magical skills that would astound their teachers. (Steffens 25-26) She also decided that the school needed a motto that wasn’t completely useless like most school mottos. She came up with “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus,” which is Latin for “Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon” (Steffens 25-26). Rowling successfully created a book series that people of all ages and backgrounds would be able to relate to.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series included seven books: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This series became world famous and is read by children and adults everywhere. Through Rowling’s very descriptive writing technique, she has captured the imaginations and hearts of people of all generations.
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J.K Rowling has brought the thrill of reading to millions of people of all ages across the world. She is an inspiration to never give up on your dreams. She went from living on welfare to being a millionaire within five years. She has won lots of awards and has gained worldwide attention. Through hard work and dedication she is one of the most popular and successful authors of all time.
Her real name is Joanne Kathleen Rowling. She was born on July 31, 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England. She has always been a good writer but had to work hard at it. According to Book Browse, she wrote her first story in first grade, about a rabbit who contracted measles and was visited by friends. Nothing came from her earlier efforts. She had a happy childhood and describes herself as “shy, freckly, with no natural athletic ability, but a great lover of literature,” according to NNDB. She was often teased about her last name, getting called “Rowling pin,” and had a fondness for the last name Potter when she was younger. That’s how she came up with the name for her books according to Biography Online.
Book Browse states that she went to Exeter University to study French after her parents’ encouragement. She regretted choosing French, saying she would have preferred to study English, but her parents thought French would be more useful. After graduating she spent a few years as “the worst secretary ever”. She also worked at Amnesty International. It’s a charity that’s against human rights’ abuses throughout the world. It was one of her favorite jobs, and she still supports the charity today.
J. K. Rowling had a good friend named Sean. According to Biography Online, he was the first person to give her confidence that one day she would be a good writer. “He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time,” she says. He had a car that showed up in one of her books. It was an old Ford Anglia that became the famous flying car that Harry and Ron stole in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
On a long train ride from London to Manchester in 1990, she came up with the idea of Harry Potter according to NNDB. She thought about all the characters and what they would be. The first being a young boy who didn’t know he was a wizard. The train was delayed for four hours, and she didn’t have a pen to write it down. “I was too shy to ask for a pen,” she said. She remembers being very excited about the idea. She began writing the novel as soon as she got home. During the writing of her first Harry Potter book, her mother died of Multiple Sclerosis. Her favorite scene in the first book is when Harry sees his parents in the mirror. It reminds her of the loss of her own mother, and how deeply she wished she could see her again.
In 1991 she left England to teach, but returned in 1994 still trying to finish the first book. When she was working on the book, she also worked full time, and raising her daughter as a single parent. She finally finished the book and found an agent who tried to get it published. It took over a year but someone finally agreed to publish it, only because his eight year-old daughter liked the first chapter so much. She was given an advance of $4,000.00. She was advised to continue teaching though, as writers of children’s books don’t tend to get paid well according to Biography Online.
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in 1996 under the name of J. K. Rowling instead of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. According to NNDB, the publisher feared that boys wouldn’t read a book written by a woman. There were only 1000 copies in the first print. The book sales started to take off, and more books where printed. The first edition books are said to be now worth over $20,000 each. She received a grant from the Scottish Arts Council so that she could continue to write full time.
After the success of her first book, an America company named Scholastic paid her $150,000 to publish the book in America. They renamed the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone according to NNDB. In 1998 Warner Brothers secured films rights giving her a seven figure income. The films have helped the success of the books. She finished her last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in 2006 and said that this was her favorite book making her both happy and sad. She said she will continue to write but not continue the Harry Potter series. According to Biography Online, she may release a dictionary of things related to Hogwarts and Harry Potter that were never published in other books. Other books in the series are, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Half Blooded Prince.
The Harry Potter series has gotten children excited for books, but according to Book Browse some Christian fundamentalists have said that the books promote and encourage satanic practices. But other Christians praise the books for the themes of courage, loyalty, justice, honesty and fairness that they portray.
J.K. Rowling was voted author of the year in 1999 by the British Book Awards according to Scholastic, and Booksellers Association Author of the year in 1998 and 1999. She won the WH Smith Children’s Book of the Year for 2000, and in 2004 the WH Smith’s Fiction Award. In 2006 she was the winner of the Children’s Book of the Year for Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince.
In conclusion, J. K. Rowling is the author of one of the most popular series of books of all time, Harry Potter, therefore making her one of the most popular authors of all time. She has sold over 400 million copies of her books giving her worldwide attention and numerous awards. She went from having nothing, to being wealthier than the Queen of England. She is the first person to become a billionaire by only writing. She has proven that anything is possible if you have confidence enough to believe in yourself. Today she lives with her family in a mansion in Scotland, where she still writes in local cafes.
Works Cited
Meet J.K. Rowling/ Scholastic, www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm
J.K. Rowling Biography, www.biographyonline.net/writer/j_krowling.html.
J.K. Rowling author profile and biography, www.bookbrowse.com/biographies
J.K. Rowling, NNDB tracking the entire world, www.nndb.com/people/510/000022444
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