


Harry Potter is set in Britain in the 1990s, and some academics have argued that the wizarding society in Harry Potter reflects some of the issues pulsing through Britain at the time. She continues to write, and has written several crime novels under a pen name, Robert Galbraith. She has also become a noted philanthropist, donating significant money to combat poverty, social inequality, and MS, or multiple sclerosis, a disease from which her mother passed away. In 2001, Rowling remarried and had a second child. Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion, and the books have been adapted into record-breaking films as well. Harry Potter became a sensation, growing larger with each book and shattering sales records. Five months later, the book won its first award, and in early 1998, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel, which was won by Scholastic Inc. Initially, only 1,000 copies were printed. Rowling then finished Harry Potter in 1995. Rowling, who had gotten the idea for Harry Potter in 1990, wrote the first book while completing a teacher training course. The couple separated a few months after Jessica’s birth, and Rowling moved with her infant daughter to Edinburgh, Scotland.

They married two years later, and their daughter, Jessica, was born a year after that. There, she met Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes. She later moved to Portugal to teach English at night, and to write during the day. After, Rowling worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary in London for Amnesty International. Rowling then attended the University of Exeter, studying French and Classics. Rowling attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother worked. As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories and was very precocious. Rowling was born outside of Bristol England to Peter James Rowling, an aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling, a science technician.
