At the stroke of midnight each year on 31st July came the wonderful onset of another 365 days of Harry. In Harry Potter series this date always commanded a special mention and notice, for with each new year came brand new events and happenings. And the journey which had started with “The Philosopher’s Stone” progressed a little further.
But this date has more meaning attached to it. 31st July is not only Harry’s birthday but also JK Rowling’s. A woman who almost put her whole life on this one character, loved this boy so much that she gave her special date to him.
So as you may have judged by now that without Rowling there is no Potter. Without her struggle, her insane disappointments all through her life the boy who survived could not have met us.
J K Rowling. A woman who is herself a story worth a million bucks. Her life as most of us know was never a bed of roses. She thought of Harry Potter on a station waiting for a train, and in a span of seven years her life went from one struggle to another. From losing a parent to finally becoming a divorced single mother, time brought her very close to poverty.
And then emerged the first manuscript of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. A manuscript which got rejected by twelve publishers only to be finally accepted by Bloomsbury.
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Harry Potter was destiny. Prophesies around him and Voldemort entangled his life into a spiraling series of events. And in a way it is uncanny to realise that the success of Harry Potter was also a way of destiny.
If JK Rowling was undergoing a bad time. Then so was Bloomsbury.
When Liz Calder a dear friend of Salman Rushdie found space in his house for three years, she would often sneak in and read his manuscripts. For fifteen years they formed a partnership as well as a friendship in which Liz published most of his novels through her employer company. So when in 1986 she decided to quit her job and become one of the founding members of a new publishing house, it was assumed the new “Satanic verses” would go to her. Being Rushdie’s friend that was obvious.
But then she was just starting up and so could not afford a lot of advance payment for the script. Rushdie accepted in his autobiography “Joseph Anton” that he did not give Liz his contract out of greed. He knew he could command a better price.
And then there it was. A publishing house formed only for Rushdie’s book which was out of work. And a writer who was rejected by twelve publishers at the brink of committing a suicide.
They say the stories of world are written with women as central characters. There would be no Ramayana had there been no Sita, no Mahabharata if no Draupadi.
Liz Calder betrayed by her long time friend and JK Rowling by her incessantly depressing life, found solace in each other and proved to be each other’s messiah.
Liz Calder’s publishing company Bloomsbury found a new author which took the industry by surprise. The response of the readers was unwarranted and yet welcoming. The success of these two women became the highlights of the 90s.
And for me as a person this interconnection is more significant. Harry Potter is almost as good as my life, the love I have for this series is incomparable. Yet if there is one author who beats this is of course Salman Rushdie. And it looks like the universe conspired to bring the two together in such a twisted tale of events. If there was no Salman Rushdie’s greed, there was no Harry Potter’s success.
This post is written for the ongoing Harry Potter Festival.
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Often, negative developments and/or selfish acts of others prove to be a blessing!
Yes its true it does…
Quoting you, “A manuscript which got rejected by twelve publishers”
I often wonder who those publishers were and just what they were thinking rejecting this manuscript! Thank God someone saw its worth! I love Harry Potter, or rather J.K. Rowling, for writing her series on him 🙂 And Yay! to Liz Calder.
Yes, I wonder too and some of the people have known to go back on their words saying they never rejected it 😛
J K Rowling’s story is indeed inspirational. I did not know the story of Bloomsbury’s founder, Liz. Thanks.
🙂 Yes they both are a wonderful story to red…
Things happen when they get together in a proper combination…and sometimes it takes a long time…
Very informative
true and we have to wait for things to happen at the right time. That is the key..
Good connect… the flip flop side of life…
yes and the ways we all are connected 🙂
Hi Richa,
Nice to know about the Harry Festival 🙂
I am an ardent Harry fan myself, so this festival becomes much much more interesting to be associated with !
Taking Part, straightaway, though I missed the first day 🙂
Kudos to you on this initiative !
And, a nice blog you have here. I had followed Radha’s story. Wonderfully written with a fresh perspective of life !
Thanks a lot! Looking forward to an entry from your side 🙂
Sure 🙂 I have done one on my blog ‘The Alter Ego’. Shall participate further 🙂
I am still waiting for the entry!!
I never knew this Rushdie connection. Thanks for throwing light on it. Truly her struggle was worth it and today she is the source of inspiration for most of us !
Yes and it always makes us believe in ourselves a bit more 🙂
Harry Potter and his real mom (Rowling) are my favorites. She is one of those who inspires when things are going wrong. Did not know the Blooms story though. Thanks for this great post 🙂
yes a lot of people don’t know that 😀 😀
Well, while this piece of news is indeed enlightening, personally wat delights me more is the fact that you are such a big harry potter fan. I mean there are many fans in our blogosphere. But i thot i was the only one was the Chosen One 😛
admirable post this was .. it somehow revealed some facts I have never knew about 🙂
Reason being I have never introduced myself with Harry Potter :)just heard about the creation and the fan following worldwide including India.. still some how magic does not interest me 😀