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外研社选修6module2课文 外研社选修6module2课文 外研社选修6module2课文 The Story of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter The elder stateswoman of British fantasy literature is J.K. Rowling, the gifted creator of Harry Potter. Joanne Rowling ’sroots are in the southwest of England, where she grew up. But the idea for Harry Potter came to her while she was on a delayed train between Manchester and London. She wrote down her ideas on the back of an envelope. She then went to teach English in Portugal, where she continued to add flesh to the bones of the first Harry Potter story. But her name is forever associated with Edinburgh in Scotland, where she lived and developed the format for the whole series of seven books. There are many anecdotes about how, in 1990, J.K. Rowling began the first draft of Harry Potter and the Philosopher ’s Stone. She had the extra burden of looking after her baby daughter while she worked, and because she was too poor to own a typewriter, she wrote by hand. She spent many hours over a single cup of coffee in a warm cafeteria in Edinburgh because she had no money to pay for the heating at home. Success was not swift and Rowling might have given up. But she was stubborn and overcame all the difficulties. It was only in 1997 that she completed the first Harry Potter story, which, because the publishers in the USA requested an adjustment to the title, was also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer ’s Stone. Rowling always intended that her output would be a book every year until she had finished the series. In fact, it took her about ten years to complete. But after the first book, the success of each of the following titles was automatic. The fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix sold about seven million copies the day it was published. Rowling ’sstyle has been a target for some criticism, but what makes the books so important is that, because they appeal to readers of all ages, they create a special literary bond between parents and children. In an age of co