Some Background History of J.K. Rowling
When J.K. Rowling first thought of writing the HP series, she was on her way to Edinburgh to start her life over again. She admits that the beginning ideas for the characters and storyline of the series came to her randomly at one of the stops on this particular train. She was recently divorced with one child, and her sister encouraged Rowling to live near her in Edinburgh. Having no other prospects, Rowling and her daughter settled down just outside the city in Leath. Once there, she determined to write her first book in one year, a very ambitious goal. This was also very ambitious because she was very poor, often depending on Leath's women's shelter for money and other necessaries. But she took up the project, and at the same time pursued her teaching degree from the University of Edinburgh, since she was assured her books wouldn't be much of a success.
1. Greyfriar's Graveyard
J.K. Rowling would often walk in the Greyfriar's Church graveyard to take a break from writing, thinking, and planning in the cafe (on a nice day, this is a normal hangout for locals so there was nothing strange in her frequenting this place). She must have stopped to look at some of the names on the gravestones as well because several of the names show up in her books. There is McGonagall, Crookshanks, Moody, Severus, and even Lord Voldemort! There isn't actually a Lord Voldemort in Greyfriar's but there is a Thomas Riddell, father, and Thomas Riddell, son. Rowling just took the names, however, not the personalities of the people. The Riddells were good, upstanding people while they lived, and the church unfortunately has to often remove Dark Marks and other such graffiti from poor Riddles' grave.
2. George Heriot's School
Behind the graveyard lies Heriot School. This school was originally built and funded by George Heriot for the orphans of Edinburgh. Ironically, it is now the most expensive private school in the city. Rowling mimicked the school's four house system in her Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Gryffendor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff). There are four towers for each of the houses with a common room, and a great hall in the middle of the building, much like Hogwarts dining hall. After the success of her books, Rowling was able to send her own children through George Heriot's School.
3. The University of Edinburgh
Like I have mentioned before, Rowling received her teaching degree at uni (slang for university) while the first HP book was in the making and at the publishers. She then worked as a teacher in Leath until her books became popular and her new source of income. In the early 2000s, Rowling was awarded an honorary degree in Children's Literature from Edinburgh University due to the incredible increase in children's reading levels over the world because of her books.
4. The Nickelson Cafe and the Balmoral Hotel
These two places are the beginning and ending locations, respectively, for the HP series. While there are several cafes that boast the honor of being the birthplace of HP (and put stickers on their windows to that effect), Rowling has confirmed that the true birthplace was the Nickelson Cafe. And if the cafe was the humble beginning, the Balmoral Hotel is the grand ending. The more popular each of her books became, the less peace J.K. Rowling had in the public cafes where she often wrote. So she would book a room at this grand hotel for some solitude while she worked on her world renown series. If you have a couple thousands pounds to put to good use, you can book Rm # 552 and be in the same room that Rowling was in when she finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And you can even see where she wrote, "I have completed HP on such and such date...," on the base of a bust in the room as well.
5. The City Chambers
Two things here. Rowling received the Edinburgh Award (kind of like our Hollywood Walk of Fame) and her name and handprints are engraved on the walkway. Carrie's hands fit exactly with Rowling's handprints... perhaps there is some hidden talent to be seen there. Also in the City Chambers, there was a certain lawyer who was very good with words, could talk himself out of any situation, and was also very popular with the ladies. Rowling used this lawyer's personality and name in the second HP book...can you guess who it is? Smooth talker and good with the ladies??...if you guessed Gilderoy Lockhart, you would be correct!
6. Victoria Street
Two things here as well. The layout of the street and the order of the shops were replicated by Rowling for Diagon Alley. ... Also, way back in the day, there was a certain potions professor named John Finn who used to dabble with mixtures and concoctions beyond what he taught in the classroom. One of these concoctions was a love potion, which finds its way into HP in the form of polyjuice potion because it requires a hair from your subject. So Finn, secretly being in love with a local girl, sent one of his pupils (the girl's brother) home to get a lock of her hair. The mother, however, caught wind of the pland and had her son a different hair to bring to his professor. Upon finishing his potion, in walks a cow whom he falls instantly in love with and with which he lived happily until bound and drowned for practicing magic by order of Edinburgh's witch and warlock trials. Rowling used some aspects of John Finn for her character Severus Snape.
Despite her massive success with HP, J.K. Rowling did not forget her humble beginnings. She is actually the first recorded person at billionaire status to be reduced to millionaire status due to acts of charity. She is a huge supporter of the women's shelter in Leath which helped get her back on her feet. She also funded the construction of a world-class multiple scelerosis research center at Edinburgh University in honor of her mother who suffered and died from the disease. J.K.'s rags-to-riches story is doubly inspiring because of her great generosity.
I hope you have enjoyed this little "tour." I know we did, even if it was just for the fact behind the fiction, so to speak. Oh, that and carrying around wands...
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