Harry Potter Research Paper

As young children, bedtime was a fun, and engaging period where we listened intently to the endless amounts of stories and fairytales our parent read to us; until we reached a certain age where we decided we were mature enough to read the “big boy and girl” chapter books for ourselves. Thus, many boys and girls gained enough courage to crack open and read the popular and major book series, “Harry Potter.” From there on, children and adults alike were mesmerized and hooked on the magical and enchanting world of wizards, witches, and giants. However, as much as people can distinguish Harry Potter, very few are aware of the brain of it all, J.K. Rowling, who went through many hardships, setbacks, and challenges throughout her life before she

Rowling’s life forever. During a delayed train ride from London to Manchester, was all she needed to have the idea of Harry Potter be born (J.K. Rowling Company). “Harry just strolled into my head fully formed” (Scholastic). Little did she know, from that day, she paved her way to becoming one of the most successful women in the world, still, it was not without plenty of obstacles and privations along the way. In 1990, her mother, Anne, died of sclerosis, causing her to influence her writing (J.K. Rowling Biography). Despite this, Rowling ultimately finished and published the first installment of the Harry Potter Franchise with Bloomsbury, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in 1995 in England, with the name J.K. Rowling, after previously being denied by 12 other publishers (J.K. Rowling Company; Flood). “The “K” {in J.K. Rowling} stands for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother’s name. It was added at her publisher’s request, who thought a book by an obviously female author might not appeal to the target audience of young boys” (J.K. Rowling Company). Thus, Jo’s new nickname J.K. Rowling was born. Soon after, in June 1998, Scholastic Press published Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, with an obvious name change claiming “The title was changed because Scholastic thought that a child wouldn't buy a book with the word "philosopher" in the title” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Following her first novel, Rowling wrote seven more successful sequels (J.K. Rowling Biography) that earned numerous awards, including, the Booksellers Association Author of the Year, the Children’s Book of the Year, and The Edinburgh Award (J.K. Rowling Company). Even more, her “books have sold over 400 million copies and {have been} translated into 67 languages” (Everett). Not stopping there however, J.K. Rowling, with the Warner Bros., made eight film adaptions equally as successful as her books (J.K. Rowling Scholastic). And