New JKR biography "exposes myths"

[Neil Ward]

An article in this Saturday's _Independent_ newspaper previews the "first"
published biography of J K Rowling: the imaginatively-titled _J K Rowling, A
Biography_ by Sean Smith, which is out shortly.  It suggests that the author
added "the odd fictional touch to her own life story".

Nothing too startling to reveal: she isn't the long lost cousin of Nancy
Stouffer, for example.  She was, according to this biog, narrowly rejected
by Oxford University and disliked her time at Wyedean Comprehensive (where
she was Head Girl).  The article says it is unclear whether the rejection by
Oxford coloured her portrayal of Boarding Schools (the journalist *seems* to
be implying that she might resent those who have a monied, influential
background).

More interesting is the fact that JKR was not born in Chipping Sodbury, but
in the nearby new town of Yate.  It's also mentioned that she has no middle
name and took the name Kathleen from her grandmother (something I've heard
before, somewhere).

It sounds like this biography  - unauthorised, btw - is not exactly a
rose-tinted portrait, and since it interviews some of the same people who
appeared on the recent television documentary about the Harry Potter
phenomenon (e.g. her Pettigrew-like former Chemistry teacher, who just
*loves* to imagine Snape is based on him), I can hear the sound of barrels
being scraped.

The book is published by Michael O'Mara Books Ltd.

For the life of me, I can't find the article online, but here's a link to
the newspaper itself: http://www.independent.co.uk/

Neil
________________________________________
Flying Ford Anglia