why did jk rowling use a pseudonym for harry potter
J. K. Rowling Although she writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling (pronounced rolling),[11] her name, before her remarriage, was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers asked that she use two initials rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K (for Kathleen) as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother.[12] She calls herself Jo.[13] Following her remarriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business.[14][15] During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling[16] and her entry in Who's Who lists her name also as Joanne Kathleen Rowling.[17]
Harry Potter (character) As a result, Harry is written as an orphan living with his only remaining family, the Dursleys, who are neglectful and abusive. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns he is a wizard when Rubeus Hagrid arrives to tell him that he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he learns about the wizarding world, his parents, and his connection to the Dark Lord. When he is sorted into Gryffindor House, he becomes fast friends with classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and foils Voldemort's attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He also forms a rivalry with characters Draco Malfoy, a classmate from an elitist wizarding family, and the cold, condescending Potions master, Severus Snape, Draco's mentor and the head of Slytherin House. Both feuds continue throughout the series and are settled at the series's end (Draco's in the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Snape's on his deathbed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In a 1999 interview, Rowling stated that Draco is based on several prototypical schoolyard bullies she encountered[8] and Snape on a sadistic teacher of hers who abused his power.[8]