J.K. Rowling.
She returned to the UK, this time Scotland, to live in Edinburgh with her daughter and to be closer to her sister Dianne in December 1993. She brought with them the suitcase which contained the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (“J.K. Rowling”). After arriving in Edinburgh, it is noted that Rowling was still quite depressed following the death of her mother, she was broke, and now recently divorced in August 1994 (Hall). Rowling struggled during this time to support her daughter Jessica and herself on welfare, but she used the time that they had together to work on her first book in the Harry Potter series (Biography). She referred to this time in her life as hitting rock bottom. She used these dark times as ammunition for success in her writing, relaying her emotions onto the paper the same way she coped with the loss of her mother. Rowling realized that she was alive for a reason, she had a beautiful daughter, an old typewriter, and such a big idea. She explained in a Harvard speech that she used this time at rock bottom as a way to rebuild herself on a solid foundation (Hall). Rowling continued work and trained to be a teacher at Edinburgh University ("Timeline"). She ended up acquiring a job and taught in the schools. Again, she used every spare moment to continuing writing and ended up completing a full manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in July 1995 ("J.K. Rowling"). Rowling sent the first three chapters to the literary agents for The Writers and Artists Year Book after looking them up in the Edinburgh Central Library in January 1996. After doing so, Bryony Evens from Christopher Little Literary Agency requested the rest of the manuscript after reading it in February (“J.K. Rowling”).
Work Cited
Hall, Dana.“JK Rowling Turned Down By 12 Publishers Before Finding Success
With Harry Potter Books.” Rise Up Eight, 4 Feb. 2020, riseupeight.org/jk-rowling-harry-potter-books/#:%7E:text=In%20December%201990%2C%20her%20mother,her%20mother%20about%20the%20project
“J. K. Rowling Biography.” Thefamouspeople, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/j-k-rowling-4295.php
“J.K. Rowling.” Biography,
“J.K. Rowling.” JKRowling.com, 2016. www.jkrowling.com/about
“Timeline.” The Rowling Library, www.therowlinglibrary.com/j-k-rowling/timeline