“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Yes, you heard it right. Today we are going to talk about the beauty with exceptional brain behind one of the most successful novels in the world “Harry Potter”.
Those early reviews, as glowing as they were, almost understated the book’s and its six successors’ eventual success.
The books have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling series of all time, with the final four novels shattering records for the fastest-selling books in history on four separate occasions.
The series has been converted into eight highly popular films and has spawned a slew of spin-off novels and films, as well as a rich body of goods.
Harry Potter’s world has grown to be worth more than $25 billion in the 20 years since the first novel was published.
JK’s The Rolling Childhood
Joanne Rowling was born at Yate General Hospital near Bristol on July 31, 1965, and grew up in Gloucestershire, England, and Chepstow, Gwent, in south-east Wales.
Her father, Peter, worked as an aircraft engineer at the Rolls-Royce factory in Bristol, while her mother, Anne, worked as a science technician in the Wyedean Comprehensive Chemistry department, which Jo also attended. Anne died in 1990, before the Harry Potter books were published, after been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while Jo was a teenager. Jo has a younger sister named Di.
The life of J.K. Rowling is a typical rags-to-riches tale. Her parents never went to college, she lived on government assistance as a single mother for years, and she survived a dozen rejections from publishers to become, almost overnight, one of the world’s most successful and widely read authors.
K. Rowling knew she wanted to be a novelist since she was a child. She would continuously write and tell her younger sister, Dianne, stories. Her parents, like many ambitious authors, pushed her to pursue other interests as she grew older. She studied French at college and graduated in 1986, following which she worked as a translator for Amnesty International.
Her Struggles – How Did She Change The Perception?
Being a single mother is difficult enough on its own. But that would not be J. K. Rowling’s only problem at the time. She didn’t have a job, didn’t have a lot of money, and was on welfare. All of these challenges must have been too much for her, causing her to become depressed.
That’s true, J.K. Rowling suffered from depression and was later inspired to develop the Dementors as a result of her ordeal. When she first sent out the first Harry Potter book in 1995, she received a lot of rejection from publishers.
Triumph Over Challenges – Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Despite her challenges, she triumphed and rose to prominence as a respected author with more wealth than the Queen of England. While money cannot buy happiness, the ability to realize one’s aspirations can, and J. K. Rowling has accomplished hers well beyond her wildest hopes.
Rowling was always writing and narrating stories to Dianne, her younger sister.
Rowling lived to the Forest of Dean, which is featured significantly in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” when she was nine years old, and spent the rest of her youth there.
Her parents married when she was 20 and neither of them went to college: her father worked for Rolls-Royce as an aircraft engineer and her mother worked as a high school science technician.
The characters Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger came “completely formed” to the imagination of a young temp called Joanne Rowling on a delayed train ride from Manchester to King’s Cross station in London.
Under the name J.K. Rowling, the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997; also published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), was published. (Her publisher suggested she create a gender-neutral pen name; she chose J.K. Rowling and added the middle name Kathleen.) The book was an instant hit, appealing to both youngsters and adults, who were its intended readership. It followed the exploits of the unusual hero Harry Potter, a lonely orphan who discovers that he is truly a wizard and enrolls at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with vivid descriptions and an imaginative story line. The British Book Award was one of many honors bestowed upon the book.
Her Writings – A Must Read
Wizarding World:
- 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
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
- Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
- Quidditch Through The Ages
- The Tales Of Beedle The Bard
- Harry Potter And The Cursed Child – Parts One And Two
- Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald
Robert Galbraith – A pseudonym of J.K. Rowling:
- The Cuckoo’s Calling
- The Silkworm
- Career Of Evil
- Lethal White
- Troubled Blood
Other Works:
- The Casual Vacancy
- Very Good Lives
- The Ickabog
- The Christmas Pig
J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honours, including an OBE for services to children’s literature, France’s Légion d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.