The early feedback didn't augur well for Rowling's career as an author. The two found themselves in dire straits, a situation Rowling would later describe in a Harvard commencement speech as "poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless." But during this trying time Rowling still found the energy to chip away at the book.įinally, in 1995, Rowling completed the manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (later known in America as Sorcerer's Stone) and began shopping it to publishers. She moved back to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her newborn daughter, Jessica. There, she was briefly married to Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes, but the union didn't work out. Rowling's mother passed away from complications relating to her multiple sclerosis in 1990, and the budding author relocated from England to Portugal. It gave me the full four hours on the train to think up all the ideas for the book."Īlthough Rowling would start putting pen to paper to tell Harry's story that very evening, life would throw her a series of curveballs that delayed the book's completion. "Coincidentally, I didn't have a pen and was too shy to ask anyone for one on the train, which frustrated me at the time, but when I look back it was the best thing for me. One weekend after flat hunting, I took the train back to London on my own, and the idea for Harry Potter fell into my head," Rowling told Urbanette magazine. "In 1990, my then-boyfriend and I decided to get a flat and move to Manchester together. But instead of losing herself in a pop song, Joanne Rowling took advantage of a long train ride to come up with an idea that would generate billions of dollars and bring countless joy to fans around the world. Whether it's bumper-to- bumper traffic on the highway or body-to-body passengers on the subway, getting from point A to point B often means zoning out to preserve your sanity. Most people spend their daily commutes trying desperately to shut out the world around them. This article, written by Senior Editor James Ellis, is featured in Newsweek's Special Edition, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. In honor of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newsweek celebrates 20 years of the magic and mystery of J.K.
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