Rowling Has Written Her Long-Teased Fairy Tale!
That’s the good news, at least.
The bad news? We probably will never see it.
In a twist that could only have come from the creator of Luna Lovegood, Rowling revealed in her new CNN interview with Christiane Amanpour that she wrote the manuscript for the fairy tale on the dress she wore for her 50th birthday party. Why? The theme of the party (held on Halloween, though months after Rowling’s actual birthday) was come as your private nightmare – and Rowling went as a “lost manuscript.”
That book… I don’t know whether it will ever be published, but it’s actually hanging in a wardrobe currently.
Though it may disappoint us as her fans, it still is quite the delightful surprise and the kind of clever joke Rowling has become known for. Rowling started teasing the fairy tale soon after finishing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but has said little about it since.
The rest of the interview that was released this morning was just as vulnerable and heartfelt, with Rowling discussing what inspired her to start her charity, Lumos, dedicated to ending orphanages.
It was a news report about one child in a newspaper… I’m flicking through the Sunday paper, and I saw what… still I see it in my memory. It was a very disturbing image of a very small boy screaming through chicken wire.
Rowling admits she almost turned the page but was so struck by the disturbing image that she went back and read the article. Appalled by the story of an orphanage in the Czech Republic, Rowling decided she had to do something about it.
This led to a revelation about Rowling’s worst fears – lost manuscript dress aside – which she said are powerlessness and small spaces. She tied this to what has become a well-known detail of Harry Potter:
I think that just the idea that these children were being kept penned like this was horrific to me… that’s like Harry in his cupboard, I suppose. Why did I put Harry in the cupboard? Because this is my fear: being trapped and being powerless, just powerless to get out of that space.
The last excerpt from the interview to be released this morning was about Rowling’s pen name. She reiterated the story of her publisher wanting to hide she was a woman, but she also mentioned that she would not have chosen to be published under J.K. Rowling. However, she does concede that she likes having a separate identity:
On private life, I’m Jo Murray. And it feels like quite a nice separation.
The full interview aired today at 2 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CET on CNN International. If you missed it, you can watch it here on the CNN website or below.
While you’re waiting for the interview to air (or to be aired again), make sure you check out MuggleNet Live!: Nineteen Years Later. This September 1, you can celebrate Harry Potter in Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort at an exclusive event! You might even consider making your own “lost manuscript” clothing to celebrate the night.
