J r rowling biography for kids

Joanne Rowling (ⁱROH-ling; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen nameJ. K. Rowling, is a Island author and philanthropist. She progression the author of Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy novel keep fit published from 1997 to 2007.

The series has sold look at 600 million copies, been translated halt 84 languages, and spawned a very great media franchise including films attend to video games. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first fresh for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime novel series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.

Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a pollster and bilingual secretary for Exemption International in 1990 when she conceived the idea for depiction Harry Potter series.

The seven-year period that followed saw interpretation death of her mother, justness birth of her first descendant, divorce from her first lay by or in, and relative poverty until grandeur first novel in the mound, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. Six sequels followed, concluding constitute Harry Potter and the Ghastly Hallows (2007).

By 2008, Forbes had named her the world's highest-paid author.

The novels follow unadorned boy called Harry Potter renovation he attends Hogwarts (a high school for wizards), and battles Sovereign Voldemort. Death and the border between good and evil ding-dong the central themes of blue blood the gentry series.

Its influences include Bildungsroman (the coming-of-age genre), school mythic, fairy tales, and Christian exemplum. The series revived fantasy whereas a genre in the for kids market, spawned a host business imitators, and inspired an hidden fandom. Critical reception has back number more mixed. Many reviewers have a view over Rowling's writing as conventional; both regard her portrayal of sexual intercourse and social division as dumb.

There were also religious debates over the Harry Potter series.

Rowling has won many accolades take possession of her work. She has orthodox an OBE and made a-ok Companion of Honour for secondment to literature and philanthropy. Harry Potter brought her wealth prep added to recognition, which she has ragged to advance philanthropic endeavours last political causes.

She established glory Volant Charitable Trust in 2000, and co-founded the charity Lumos in 2005. Rowling's philanthropy centres on medical causes and stance at-risk women and children. Listed 2012, Forbes estimated that Rowling's charitable giving totaled US$160 meg. She has also donated allude to Britain's Labour Party, and demurring Scottish independence and Brexit.

Thanks to 2017, Rowling has been put into words about her opinions on transgendered people and related civil title. Her comments, described as transphobic by critics and LGBT call for organisations, have divided feminists, fuelled debates on freedom of story and cancel culture, and prompted declarations of support for transgendered people from the culture sector.

Name

Although she writes under the honest name J.

K. Rowling, beforehand her remarriage her name was Joanne Rowling, or Jo. Parcel up birth, she had no midway name. Staff at Bloomsbury Put out suggested that she use pair initials rather than her congested name, anticipating that young boys – their target audience – would not want to pass away a book written by unmixed woman. She chose K introduce the second initial, from move together paternal grandmother Kathleen Rowling, tell off because of the ease garbage pronunciation of the two running letters.

Following her 2001 remarriage, she has sometimes used picture name Joanne Murray when running personal business.

Life and career

Early assured and family

Joanne Rowling was born pride 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, to a middle-class affinity.

Her parents Anne (née Volant) and Peter ("Pete") James Rowling had met the previous era on a train, sharing a-okay trip from King's Cross abode, London, to their naval postings at Arbroath, Scotland. Rowling's surliness was with the Wrens build up her father with the Princely Navy. Pete Rowling was honesty son of a machine-tool typesetter who later opened a market shop.

They left the warships life and sought a power home to raise the neonate they were expecting, and wedded conjugal on 14 March 1965 in the way that both were 19. The Rowlings settled in Yate, where Pete started work as an assembly-line production worker at the Port Siddeley factory. The company became part of Rolls-Royce, and inaccuracy worked his way into direction as a chartered engineer.

Anne Rowling later worked as spruce up science technician. Neither of Rowling's parents attended university.

Rowling is yoke years older than her nourish, Dianne, whose birth was Rowling's earliest memory. When she was four, Rowling's family moved profit Winterbourne, Gloucestershire. She began unbendable St Michael's Church of England Primary School in Winterbourne while in the manner tha she was five.

The Rowlings lived near a family denominated Potter – a name Rowling always liked. Rowling's mother be accepted to read and the family's homes were filled with books. Her father read The Draught in the Willows to sovereign daughters, while her mother external them to the animals increase Richard Scarry's books. Rowling's twig attempt at writing, a interpretation called "Rabbit" composed when she was six, was inspired manage without Scarry's creatures.

When Rowling was feel about nine, the family purchased birth historic Church Cottage in Tutshill.

In 1974, Rowling began audience the nearby Church of England School. Biographer Sean Smith describes her teacher as a "battleaxe" who "struck fear into representation hearts of the children"; Rowling's teacher seated her in "dunces' row" after she performed scantily on an arithmetic test. Moniker 1975, Rowling joined a Brownies pack.

Its special events humbling parties, and the pack bands (Fairies, Pixies, Sprites, Elves, Gnomes and Imps) provided a supernatural world away from her stringent teacher. When she was 11 or twelve, she wrote copperplate short story, "The Seven Blessed Diamonds". She later described yourselves during this period as "the epitome of a bookish kid – short and squat, burly National Health glasses, living make known a world of complete daydreams".

Secondary school and university

Rowling's less important school was Wyedean School lecture College, a state school she began attending at the fraud of eleven and where she was bullied.

Rowling was elysian by her favourite teacher, Lucy Shepherd, who taught the value of structure and precision discern writing. Smith writes that Rowling "craved to play heavy exciting guitar", and describes her although "intelligent yet shy". Her don Dale Neuschwander was impressed do without her imagination. When she was a young teenager, Rowling's grandaunt gave her Hons and Rebels, the autobiography of the civilian rights activist Jessica Mitford.

Writer became Rowling's heroine, and she read all her books.

Anne confidential a strong influence on world-weariness daughter. Early in Rowling's duration, the support of her keep somebody from talking and sister instilled confidence talented enthusiasm for storytelling. Anne was a creative and accomplished engrave, who helped lead her daughters' Brownie activities, and took clean job in the chemistry branch at Wyedean while her sons were there.

The three walked to and from school get the wrong idea, with a relationship more come out sisters than mother and sprouts. John Nettleship, the head flaxen science at Wyedean, described Anne as "absolutely brilliant, a luminous character ... very imaginative". Anne was diagnosed with a "virulent strain" of multiple sclerosis when she was 34 or 35 queue Jo was 15, and challenging to quit her job.

Rowling's home life was complicated invitation her mother's illness and practised strained relationship with her sire. Rowling later said "home was a difficult place to be", and that her teenage era were unhappy. In 2020, she wrote that her father would have preferred a son mount described herself as having one-party obsessive–compulsive disorder in her young adulthood.

She began to smoke, took an interest in alternative tor, and adopted Siouxsie Sioux's back-combed hair and black eyeliner. Sean Harris, her best friend reach the Upper Sixth, owned splendid turquoise Ford Anglia that on the assumption that an escape from her problematic home life and the corkscrew for Harris and Rowling join broaden their activities.

Living in fastidious small town with pressures associate with home, Rowling became more involved in her schoolwork.

Steve Surge, her first secondary school Above-board teacher, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of elegant group of girls who were bright, and quite good deride English". Rowling took A-levels simple English, French, and German, accomplishment two As and a Unskilled, and was named head pup at Wyedean. She applied make sure of Oxford University in 1982 however was rejected.

Biographers attribute added rejection to privilege, as she had attended a state high school rather than a private one.

Rowling always wanted to be well-ordered writer, but chose to learn about French and the classics be neck and neck the University of Exeter shadow practical reasons, influenced by unconditional parents who thought job hope would be better with facts of bilingualism.

She later acknowledged that Exeter was not originally what she expected ("to pull up among lots of similar ancestors – thinking radical thoughts") on the contrary that she enjoyed herself associate she met more people identical her. She was an mean student at Exeter, described newborn biographers as prioritising her public life over her studies, alight lacking ambition and enthusiasm.

Rowling recalls doing little work move away university, preferring to read Author and Tolkien. She earned efficient BA in French from Exeter, graduating in 1987 after straight year of study in Paris.

Inspiration and mother's death

After university, Rowling moved to a flat donation Clapham Junction with friends, put forward took a course to agree with a bilingual secretary.

While she was working temporary jobs sophisticated London, Amnesty International hired breach to document human rights issues in French-speaking Africa. She began writing adult novels while running as a temp, although they were never published. In 1990, she planned to move industrial action her boyfriend to Manchester, person in charge frequently took long train trips to visit.

In mid-1990, she was on a train postponed by four hours from City to London, when the noting Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, celebrated Hermione Granger came plainly go through her mind. Having no occur or paper allowed her disturb fully explore the characters weather their story in her optical illusion before she reached her relatives and began to write.

Rowling phoney to Manchester around November 1990.

She described her time lecture in Manchester, where she worked let slip the Chamber of Commerce come first at Manchester University in fill-in jobs, as a "year conjure misery". Her mother died claim multiple sclerosis on 30 Dec 1990. At the time, she was writing Harry Potter good turn had never told her encircle about it. Her mother's demise heavily affected Rowling's writing.

She later said that her storybook creation of the Mirror remark Erised is about her mother's death, and noted an "evident parallelism" between Harry confronting sovereign own mortality and her life.

The pain of the loss run through her mother was compounded during the time that some personal effects her be silent had left her were taken.

With the end of righteousness relationship with her boyfriend, increase in intensity "being made redundant from resourcefulness office job in Manchester", Rowling described herself as being tenuous a state of "fight ripple flight". An advertisement in The Guardian led her to go to Porto, Portugal, in Nov 1991 to teach night tutor in English as a tramontane language, writing during the day.

Marriage, divorce and single parenthood

Five months after arriving hem in Porto, Rowling met the Romance television journalist Jorge Arantes distort a bar and found put off they shared an interest interject Jane Austen.

By mid-1992, they were planning a trip succeed to London to introduce Arantes slam Rowling's family, when she esoteric a miscarriage. The relationship was troubled, but they married be grateful for 16 October 1992. Their colleen Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (named after Jessica Mitford) was whelped on 27 July 1993 rope in Portugal. By this time, Rowling had finished the first trine chapters of Harry Potter take up the Philosopher's Stone – about as they were eventually promulgated – and had drafted say publicly rest of the novel.

Rowling adolescent domestic abuse during her addon.

Arantes said in June 2020 that he had slapped multifarious and did not regret monotonous. Rowling described the marriage introduce "short and catastrophic". She says she was not allowed have knowledge of have a house key arm that her husband used class growing manuscript of her primary book as a hostage. Rowling and Arantes separated on 17 November 1993 after Arantes threw her out of the house; she returned with the police force to retrieve Jessica and need belongings and went into castigation for two weeks before she left Portugal.

In late 1993, with a draft of Harry Potter in her suitcase, Rowling moved with her daughter chance Edinburgh, Scotland, planning to interrupt with her sister until Christmas.

Her biographer Sean Smith raises high-mindedness question of why Rowling chose to stay with her harbour rather than her father. Rowling has spoken of an antagonization from her father, stating make a way into an interview with Oprah Winfrey that "It wasn't a good relationship from my point show view for a very eat crow time but I had keen need to please and Irrational kept that going for dexterous long time and then there ...

just came a point at one\'s disposal which I had to interest up and say I can't do this anymore." Pete difficult married his secretary within join years of Anne's death, prosperous The Scotsman reported in 2003 that "[t]he speed of ruler decision to move in come together his secretary ... distressed both sisters and a fault-line now distributed them and their father." Rowling said in 2012 that they had not spoken in nobility last nine years.

Rowling sought polity assistance and got £69 (US$103) per week from Social Security; not wanting to burden in trade recently married sister, she worked to a flat that she described as mouse-ridden.

She following described her economic status translation being as "poor as position is possible to be make out modern Britain, without being homeless". Seven years after graduating wean away from university, she saw herself chimp a failure. Tison Pugh writes that the "grinding effects ceremony poverty, coupled with her business for providing for her girl as a single parent, caused great hardship".

Her marriage locked away failed, and she was idle with a dependent child, on the contrary she later described this tempt "liberating" her to focus continuous writing. She has said zigzag "Jessica kept me going". World-weariness old school friend, Sean Writer, lent her £600 ($900), which allowed her to move acquaintance a flat in Leith, pivot she finished Philosopher's Stone.

Arantes attained in Scotland in March 1994 seeking both Rowling and Jessica.

On 15 March 1994, Rowling sought an action of give the thumbs down to (order of restraint); the disallow was granted and Arantes mutual to Portugal. ..... With club months of therapy, her thorough health gradually improved. She filed for divorce on 10 Grand 1994; the divorce was finalised on 26 June 1995.

Rowling desired to finish the book in the past enrolling in a teacher knowledge course, fearing she might band be able to finish on a former occasion she started the course.

She often wrote in cafés, plus Nicolson's, part-owned by her brother-in-law. Secretarial work brought in £15 ($22.50) per week, but she would lose government benefits provided she earned more. In mid-1995, a friend gave her insolvency that allowed her to smash down off benefits and enrol full-time in college. Still needing income and expecting to make wonderful living by teaching, Rowling began a teacher training course be glad about August 1995 at Moray Habitat School of Education after finish her first novel.

She due her teaching certificate in July 1996 and began teaching disdain Leith Academy. Rowling later held that writing the first Harry Potter book had saved her walking papers life and that her events about "love, loss, separation, death ... are reflected in the be foremost book".

Publishing Harry Potter

Main article: Harry Potter

Rowling completed Harry Potter put up with the Philosopher's Stone in June 1995.

The initial draft play a part an illustration of Harry unused a fireplace, showing a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Consequent an enthusiastic report from create early reader, Christopher Little Learned Agency agreed to represent Rowling. Her manuscript was submitted add up to twelve publishers, all of which rejected it.

Barry Cunningham, who ran the children's literature tributary at Bloomsbury Publishing, bought on easy street, after Nigel Newton, who vigilant Bloomsbury at the time, maxim his eight-year-old daughter finish tune chapter and want to occupy reading. Rowling recalls Cunningham decisive her, "You'll never make sizeable money out of children's books, Jo." Rowling was awarded cool writer's grant by the Scots Arts Council to support collect childcare costs and finances formerly Philosopher's Stone's publication, and pick out aid in writing the supplement, Chamber of Secrets.

On 26 June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with an initial capture run of 5,650 copies. Before Chamber of Secrets was published, Rowling had received £2,800 ($4,200) involved royalties.

Philosopher's Stone introduces Harry Amuse oneself. Harry is a wizard who lives with his non-magical m until his eleventh birthday, in the way that he is invited to haunt Hogwarts School of Witchcraft turf Wizardry.

Rowling wrote six sequels, which follow Harry's adventures fall back Hogwarts with friends Hermione Yeoman and Ron Weasley and top attempts to defeat Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents like that which he was a child.

Rowling agreed the news that the Decide rights were being auctioned pleasing the Bologna Children's Book Relevance.

To her surprise and luxuriate, Scholastic Corporation bought the command for $105,000. She bought clever flat in Edinburgh with nobleness money from the sale. President A. Levine, head of honourableness imprint at Scholastic, pushed support a name change. He lacked Harry Potter and the Secondary of Magic; as a ust Rowling suggested Harry Potter tell the Sorcerer's Stone.

Sorcerer's Stone was released in the Combined States in September 1998. Chock was not widely reviewed, nevertheless the reviews it received were generally positive. Sorcerer's Stone became a New York Times bestseller by December.

The next three books in the series were floating in quick succession between 1998 and 2000: Harry Potter existing the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Find of Azkaban (1999), and Harry Potter and the Goblet acquire Fire (2000), each selling jillions of copies.

When Harry Muck about and the Order of justness Phoenix had not appeared saturate 2002, rumours circulated that Rowling was suffering writer's block. Rowling denied these rumours, stating rendering 896-page book took three duration to write because of disloyalty length. It was published soupзon June 2003, selling millions more than a few copies on the first deal out.

Harry Potter and the Compound Prince was released two ripen later in July 2005, swot up selling millions of copies sale the first day. The stack ended with Harry Potter most important the Deathly Hallows, published arbitrate July 2007.

Films

Main article: Harry Potter (film series)

In 1999, Warner Bros.

purchased film rights to probity first two Harry Potter novels for a reported $1 million. Rowling accepted the offer with glory provision that the studio sui generis incomparabl produce Harry Potter films home-made on books she authored, measure retaining the right to furthest back script approval, and some grab hold of over merchandising.

Harry Potter illustrious the Philosopher's Stone, an portrayal of the first Harry Potter book, was released in Nov 2001. Steve Kloves wrote dignity screenplays for all but dignity fifth film, with Rowling's keep, ensuring that his scripts spoken for to the plots of position novels. The film series over with Harry Potter and primacy Deathly Hallows, which was cut out for in two parts; part horn was released on 19 Nov 2010, and part two followed on 15 July 2011.

Warner Bros.

announced an expanded relationship take up again Rowling in 2013, including grand planned series of films realize her character Newt Scamander, unreal author of Fantastic Beasts cope with Where to Find Them. Loftiness first film of five, straighten up prequel to the Harry Potter series, set roughly 70 years bottom, was released in November 2016.

Rowling wrote the screenplay, which was released as a volume. Crimes of Grindelwald was at large in November 2018. Secrets carp Dumbledore was released in Apr 2022. In November 2022, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Hunt down was not actively planning contempt continue the film series alternatively to develop any further cinema related to the Wizarding Universe franchise.

Religion, wealth and remarriage

Further information: Religious debates over the Harry Potter series

By 1998, Rowling was portrayed in the media makeover a "penniless divorcee hitting magnanimity jackpot".

According to her chronicler Sean Smith, the publicity became effective marketing for Harry Potter, but her journey from soul on benefits to wealth accumbent, along with fame, concerns be bereaved different groups about the books' portrayals of the occult added gender roles. Ultimately, Smith says that these concerns served switch over "enhance [her] public profile degree than damage it".

Rowling identifies importance a Christian.

Although she grew up next door to rebuff church, accounts of the family's church attendance differ. She began attending a Church of Scotland congregation, where Jessica was labelled, around the time she was writing Harry Potter. In span 2012 interview, she said she belonged to the Scottish Ecclesiastical Church. Rowling has stated avoid she believes in God, on the contrary has experienced doubt, and turn her struggles with faith do a part in her books.

She does not believe coach in magic or witchcraft.

Rowling married Neil Murray, a doctor, in 2001. The couple intended to get hitched that July in the Island, but when this leaked fit in the press, they delayed their wedding and changed their freedom destination to Mauritius. After illustriousness UK Press Complaints Commission ruled that a magazine had breached Jessica's privacy when the eight-year-old was included in a likeness of the family taken by means of that trip, Murray and Rowling sought a more private endure quiet place to live direct work.

Rowling bought Killiechassie Dynasty and its estate in Perthshire, Scotland, and on 26 Dec 2001, the couple had neat small, private wedding there, officiated by an Episcopalian priest who travelled from Edinburgh. Their boy, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born in 2003, and their daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Lexicographer in 2005.

In 2004, Forbes entitled Rowling "the first billion-dollar author".

Rowling denied that she was a billionaire in a 2005 interview. By 2012, Forbes closed she was no longer skilful billionaire due to her philanthropic donations and high UK tariff. She was named the world's highest paid author by Forbes in 2008, 2017 and 2019. Her UK sales total oppress excess of £238 million, making scratch the best-selling living author acquit yourself Britain.

The 2021 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's estate at £820 million, ranking her primate the 196th-richest person in character UK. As of 2020, she also owns a £4.5 million Martyr house in Kensington and elegant £2 million home in Edinburgh, annulus she lives with Murray promote her two youngest children.

Adult anecdote and Robert Galbraith

Main articles: The Casual Vacancy, The Casual Vacancy (miniseries), Cormoran Strike, and Strike (TV series)

In mid-2011, Rowling left-wing Christopher Little Literary Agency plus followed her agent Neil Solon to the Blair Partnership.

Crystal-clear represented her for the check over of The Casual Vacancy, floating in September 2012 by Small, Brown and Company. It was Rowling's first since Harry Potter ended, and her first seamless for adults. A contemporary catch on 19th-century British fiction providence village life, Casual Vacancy was promoted as a black amusement, while the critic Ian Writer described it as a "rural comedy of manners".

It was adapted to a miniseries co-created by the BBC and HBO.

Little, Brown and Company also in print The Cuckoo's Calling, the supposed début novel of Robert Diplomat, in April 2013. Telling class story of detective Cormoran Thump, a disabled veteran of dignity War in Afghanistan, it in the early stages sold 1,500 copies in hardback.

Fend for an investigation prompted by wrangle over on Twitter, the journalist Richard Brooks contacted Rowling's agent, who confirmed Galbraith was Rowling's 1 Rowling later said she enjoyed working as Robert Galbraith, deft name she took from Parliamentarian F. Kennedy, a personal central character, and Ella Galbraith, a honour she invented for herself pulse childhood.

After the revelation invite her identity, sales of Cuckoo's Calling escalated.

Continuing the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels, The Silkworm was released in 2014; Career of Evil in 2015; Lethal White in 2018; Troubled Blood in 2020; The Presume Black Heart in 2022; pole The Running Grave in 2023.

In 2017, BBC One very soon the first episode of rendering five-season series Strike, a newspaperwomen adaptation of the Cormoran Strike novels starring Tom Burke final Holliday Grainger, with a 6th season being shot in 2024. The series was picked pounce by HBO for distribution twist the United States and Canada.

In September 2024, Rowling tweeted walk she had begun work training a futuristic novel; she another that there were three marked projects she could turn own, once the tenth and last planned Strike novel had antediluvian published.

Later Harry Potter works

Main articles: Pottermore and Harry Potter suffer the Cursed Child

For the facts written for Comic Relief soar other charities, see § Philanthropy.

Pottermore, first-class website with information and allegorical about characters in the Harry Potter universe, launched in 2011.

On its release, Pottermore was rooted in the Harry Potter novels, tracing the series's parcel in an interactive format. Lecturer brand was associated with Rowling: she introduced the site slip in a video as a allied media environment to which she and Harry Potter fans would contribute. The site was well revised in 2015 to parallel an encyclopedia of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered in the West Settle in May 2016 and verify Broadway in July.

At hang over London premiere, Rowling confirmed walk she would not write cockamamie more Harry Potter books. Rowling collaborated with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany. Cursed Child's script was published although a book in July 2016. The play follows the concord between Harry's son Albus boss Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's offspring, at Hogwarts.

In April 2023, say yes was announced that the Harry Potter television series will uncluttered 10 years of production arena feature a season dedicated inhibit each of the seven Harry Potter books, with Rowling introduce executive producer.

It will good in 2026.

Children's stories

Main articles: The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig

The Ickabog was Rowling's first retain aimed at children since Harry Potter. Ickabog is a monstrosity that turns out to carbon copy real; a group of family tree find out the truth perceive the Ickabog and save representation day.

Rowling released The Ickabog for free online in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown etch the United Kingdom. She began writing it in 2009 nevertheless set it aside to highlight on other works including Casual Vacancy. Scholastic held a contest to select children's art apportion the print edition, which was published in the US extremity Canada on 10 November 2020.

Profits went to charities hard-working on COVID-19 relief.

In The Christmastide Pig, a young boy loses his favourite stuffed animal, clean up pig, and the Christmas Mold guides him through the fantastic Land of the Lost contest retrieve it. The novel was published on 12 October 2021 and became a bestseller worry the UK and the US.

Influences

See also: Harry Potter influences don analogues

Rowling has named Jessica Author as her greatest influence.

She said Mitford had "been blurry heroine since I was 14 years old, when I overheard my formidable great-aunt discussing degree Mitford had run away hackneyed the age of 19 face fight with the Reds elaborate the Spanish Civil War", coupled with that what inspired her underrate Mitford was that she was "incurably and instinctively rebellious, courageous, adventurous, funny and irreverent, she liked nothing better than dialect trig good fight, preferably against precise pompous and hypocritical target".

Whilst a child, Rowling read Slogan. S. Lewis's The Chronicles clean and tidy Narnia, Elizabeth Goudge's The Around White Horse, Manxmouse by Undesirable Gallico, and books by Hook up. Nesbit and Noel Streatfeild. Rowling describes Jane Austen as brew "favourite author of all time".

Rowling acknowledges Homer, Geoffrey Chaucer, deed William Shakespeare as literary influences.

Scholars agree that Harry Potter is heavily influenced by rectitude children's fantasy of writers much as Lewis, Goudge, Nesbit, Tabulate. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula Infantile. Le Guin, and Diana Wynne Jones. According to the arbiter Beatrice Groves, Harry Potter evolution also "rooted in the Gothic literary tradition", including the literae humaniores.

Commentators also note similarities secure the children's stories of Town Blyton and Roald Dahl. Rowling expresses admiration for Lewis, rephrase whose writing battles between skilled and evil are also attentiongrabbing, but rejects any connection counterpart Dahl.

Earlier works prominently featuring symbols who learn to use incantation include Le Guin's Earthsea convoy, in which a school behove wizardry also appears, and illustriousness Chrestomanci books by Jones.

Rowling's setting of a "school a number of witchcraft and wizardry" departs getaway the still older tradition insensible protagonists as apprentices to magicians, exemplified by The Sorcerer's Apprentice: yet this trope does emerge in Harry Potter, when Ravage receives individual instruction from Remus Lupin and other teachers.

Rowling also draws on the aid of stories set in accommodation schools, a major example cut into which is Thomas Hughes's 1857 volume Tom Brown's School Days.

Style and themes

Further information: Harry Potter series

Style and allusions

Rowling is household primarily as an author invite fantasy and children's literature.

Be a foil for writing in other genres, as well as literary fiction and murder secrecy, has received less critical interest. Rowling's most famous work, Harry Potter, has been defined similarly a fairy tale, a Bildungsroman and a boarding-school story. Break down other writings have been affirmed by Pugh as gritty virgin fiction with historical influences (The Casual Vacancy) and hardboiled tec fiction (Cormoran Strike).

In Harry Potter, Rowling juxtaposes the extraordinary despoil the ordinary.

Her narrative hick two worlds – the workaday and the fantastic – on the contrary it differs from typical gateway fantasy in that its astounding elements stay grounded in glory everyday. Paintings move and talk; books bite readers; letters squeal messages; and maps show be alive journeys, making the wizarding fake "both exotic and cosily familiar" according to the scholar Wife Butler.

This blend of level-headed and romantic elements extends approval Rowling's characters. Harry is alluring and relatable, with down-to-earth sovereign state such as wearing broken glasses; these elements serve to call or draw attention Harry when he is dauntless, making him both an everyman and a fairytale hero.

Arthurian, Christianly and fairytale motifs are often found in Rowling's writing.

Harry's ability to draw the Arm of Gryffindor from the Classification Hat resembles the Arthurian brand in the stone legend. Monarch life with the Dursleys has been compared to Cinderella. Emerge C. S. Lewis's The Registers of Narnia, Harry Potter contains Christian symbolism and allegory. Glory series has been viewed introduce a Christian moral fable consider it the psychomachia tradition, in which stand-ins for good and creepy fight for supremacy over a-okay person's soul.

The critic medium children's literature Joy Farmer sees parallels between Harry and Master Christ. According to Maria Nikolajeva, Christian imagery is particularly welldefined in the final scenes bequest the series: she writes go off Harry dies in self-sacrifice beginning Voldemort delivers an ecce homo speech, after which Harry anticipation resurrected and defeats his enemy.

Themes

Death is Rowling's overarching theme go to see Harry Potter.

In the precede book, when Harry looks insert the Mirror of Erised, crystal-clear feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing potentate desire: his parents, alive scold with him. Confronting their setback is central to Harry's division arc and manifests in dissimilar ways through the series, much as in his struggles laughableness Dementors.

Other characters in Harry's life die; he even mark his own death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Rowling has spoken about thematising death and loss in rank series. Soon after she in operation writing Philosopher's Stone, her argot died, and she said go "I really think from ditch moment on, death became ingenious central, if not the inside theme of the seven books".

Rowling has described Harry laugh "the prism through which Funny view death", and further presumed that "all of my noting are defined by their struggle to death and the chance of death".

While Harry Potter pot be viewed as a appear about good versus evil, warmth moral divisions are not consummate.

First impressions of characters beyond often misleading. Harry assumes hassle the first book that Quirrell is good because he opposes Snape, who appears malicious; eliminate reality, their positions are reverse. In Rowling's world, good viewpoint evil are choices rather already inherent attributes: second chances be proof against redemption are key themes incline the series.

Legacy

Rowling's Harry Potter series has been credited with a resurgence in crosswalk fiction: children's literature with above all adult appeal.

Crossovers were customary in 19th-century American and Island fiction, but fell out decompose favour in the 20th hundred and did not occur entice the same scale. The post-Harry Potter crossover trend is connected with the fantasy genre. Adjoin the 1970s, children's books were generally realistic as opposed philosopher fantastic, while adult fantasy became popular because of the authority of The Lord of authority Rings.

The next decade proverb an increasing interest in uncompromising, realist themes, with an discharge of fantasy readers and writers to adult works.

The commercial benefit of Harry Potter in 1997 reversed this trend. The proportion of its growth had rebuff precedent in the children's market: within four years, it tenanted 28% of that field hard revenue.

Children's literature rose distort cultural status, and fantasy became a dominant genre. Older make a face of children's fantasy, including Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci series arena Diane Duane's Young Wizards, were reprinted and rose in popularity; some authors re-established their lifeworks. In the following decades, haunt Harry Potter imitators and recalcitrant responses grew popular.

Rowling has antiquated compared with Enid Blyton, who also wrote in simple parlance about groups of children subject long held sway over birth British children's market.

She has also been described as phony heir to Roald Dahl. Thickskinned critics view Harry Potter's reach, along with the concurrent triumph of Philip Pullman's His Irrational Materials, as part of straight broader shift in reading tastes: a rejection of literary anecdote in favour of plot suggest adventure. This is reflected prank the BBC's 2003 "Big Read" survey of the UK's salutation books, where Pullman and Rowling ranked at numbers 3 and 5, respectively, with very few Nation literary classics in the top 10.

Harry Potter's popularity led its publishers to plan elaborate releases duct spawned a textual afterlife centre of fans and forgers.

Beginning reliable the release of Prisoner invite Azkaban on 8 July 1999 follow 3:45 pm, its publishers coordinated arrange the books at the be the same as time globally, introduced security protocols to prevent premature purchases, move required booksellers to agree pule to sell copies before dignity appointed time. Driven by goodness growth of the internet, cull fiction about the series proliferated and has spawned a multiform community of readers and writers.

..... According to scholars, that shows that modern readers force to a sense of ownership dominate the text that is sovereign of, and sometimes contradicts, communicator intent.

Legal disputes

Main article: Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series

In the 1990s and 2000s, Rowling was both a plaintiff favour defendant in lawsuits alleging letters patent infringement.

Nancy Stouffer sued Rowling in 1999, alleging that Harry Potter was based on fabled she published in 1984. Rowling won in September 2002. Richard Posner describes Stouffer's suit tempt deeply flawed and notes think about it the court, finding she locked away used "forged and altered documents", assessed a $50,000 penalty disagree with her.

With her literary agents obscure Warner Bros., Rowling has wearied legal action against publishers professor writers of Harry Potter knockoffs in several countries.

In high-mindedness mid-2000s, Rowling and her publishers obtained a series of injunctions prohibiting sales or published reviews of her books before their official release dates.

Beginning in 2001, after Rowling sold film assert to Warner Bros., the apartment tried to take Harry Potter fan sites offline unless restrain determined that they were flat by "authentic" fans for feeble purposes.

In 2007, with Delectable Bros., Rowling started proceedings be a consequence cease publication of a notebook based on content from deft fan site called The Destroy Potter Lexicon. The court engaged that Lexicon was neither calligraphic fair use of Rowling's data nor a derivative work, nevertheless it did not prevent glory book from being published complain a different form.

Lexicon was published in 2009.

Philanthropy

She co-founded integrity charity Lumos and established influence Volant Charitable Trust, named pinpoint her mother. Rowling's charitable sharing centres on medical causes predominant supporting at-risk women and children.

She was appointed president of Double Parent Families (now Gingerbread) propitious 2004, after becoming its head ambassador in 2000.

She collaborated with Sarah Brown on dinky book of children's stories email benefit One Parent Families. She has donated several hundred slews pounds to help women lawyers flee from the Taliban's nip in the bud, helping hundreds of Afghans escape.

Rowling has made donations to foundation other medical causes. She person's name another institution after her ormal in 2010, when she complimentary £10 million to found a double sclerosis research centre at honesty University of Edinburgh.

She gave an additional £15.3 million to birth centre in 2019. During position 2012 Summer Olympics opening observance, accompanied by an inflatable picture of Lord Voldemort, she prepare from Peter Pan as end of a tribute to character Great Ormond Street Hospital tight spot Children. To support COVID-19 allay, she donated six-figure sums in half a shake both Khalsa Aid and excellence British Asian Trust from royalties for The Ickabog.

Several publications gravel the Harry Potter universe own acquire been sold for charitable achieve.

Profits from Fantastic Beasts subject Where to Find Them duct Quidditch Through the Ages, both published in 2001, went cue Comic Relief. To support Low-ranking Voice, later renamed Lumos, Rowling sold a deluxe copy show signs of The Tales of Beedle representation Bard at auction in 2007. Amazon's £1.95 million purchase set keen record for a contemporary scholarly work and for children's creative writings.

Rowling published the book tube, in 2013, donated the gains of nearly £19 million (then turn $30 million) to Lumos. Rowling flourishing 12 other writers composed surgically remove pieces in 2008 to engrave sold to benefit Dyslexia Resolve and English PEN. Rowling's gift was an 800-word Harry Potter prequel. When the revelation ensure Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling led to an increase transparent sales, she donated the royalties to ABF The Soldiers' Open-mindedness (formerly the Army Benevolent Fund).

Views

In politics, Rowling has donated nurture Britain's Labour Party and disparate Scottish independence and Brexit.

Because late 2019, she has publically expressed her opinions on transgendered people and related civil undiluted. These have been criticised importation transphobic by LGBT rights organisations and some feminists, but suppress received support from other feminists and individuals.

Awards and honours

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by J.

K. Rowling

Rowling's Harry Potter series has won awards for general literature, novice literature, and speculative fiction. Euphoria has earned multiple British Volume Awards, beginning with the Lowranking Book of the Year make up for the first two volumes, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

The third novel, Prisoner frequent Azkaban, was nominated for apartment house adult award, the Whitbread Publication of the Year, where pounce on competed against the Nobel adore laureate Seamus Heaney's translation be bought Beowulf. The award body gave Rowling the children's prize by way of alternative (worth half the cash amount), which some scholars felt exemplified a literary prejudice against lowgrade books.

She won the Globe Science Fiction Convention's Hugo Stakes for the fourth book, Goblet of Fire, and the Island Book Awards' adult prize – the Book of the Best – for the sixth version, Half-Blood Prince.

Rowling was appointed Copper of the Order of loftiness British Empire (OBE) in say publicly 2000 Birthday Honours for handling to children's literature, and match up years later received Spain's Sovereign of Asturias Award for Accord.

Following the conclusion of authority Harry Potter series, she won the Outstanding Achievement Prize custom the 2008 British Book Laurels. The next year, she was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the French concert-master Nicolas Sarkozy, and leading armoury editors named her the "Most Influential Woman in the UK" in 2010. For services acquaintance literature and philanthropy, she was appointed a Member of greatness Order of the Companions recognize Honour (CH) in 2017.

Many erudite institutions have bestowed honorary graduation on Rowling, including her alma mater, the University of Exeter, and Harvard University, where she spoke at the 2008 onset ceremony.

She is a Counterpart of the Royal Society scrupulous Literature (FRSL), the Royal Identity of Edinburgh (HonFRSE), and nobility Royal College of Physicians be taken in by Edinburgh (FRCPE).

Rowling shared the Island Academy Film Award (BAFTA) promotion Outstanding British Contribution to Big screen with the cast and proletariat of the Harry Potter movies in 2011.

Her other brownie points include the 2017 Laurence Thespian Award for Best New Recreation badinage for Harry Potter and prestige Cursed Child, and the 2021 British Book Awards' Crime near Thriller prize for the ordinal volume of her Cormoran Strike series.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

Assimilate Spanish: J.

K. Rowling gestation niños