To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sunday Times Bestseller list, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone being listed in the top 100 bestselling books from the charts in the past 50 years, J.K. Rowling gave an interview to the newspaper.
Q: What was the first line of The Philosopher’s Stone that you wrote? And the last?
The first line I ever wrote of it didn’t end up in the book. It was ‘The Potter family lived in Darke’s Hollow’, which was the original name for Godric’s Hollow. The last line I wrote was literally the last line as published in Deathly Hallows.
Q: When did you feel happy with The Philosopher’s Stone, while writing it?
There were seven years (and three changes of country and a lot of seismic life events) between having the idea and publication. I kept losing hope and putting it away, but that happened less and less as I worked on it. At a certain point it, or I, caught fire, and I stopped doubting. I can remember feeling elated after writing the first Quidditch match, which flowed out of the pen and was barely revised afterwards.
Q: When did you realise it was a hit?
It’s all a bit of a blur, to be honest. Winning the Smarties Book Prize was a massive moment, then I got a record advance from America and everything went crazy.
Q: How did you feel about it being in the Sunday Times bestsellers list – when did you realise and did you celebrate?
I was overjoyed, because it felt like something that happened to real writers. I can’t overstate how timid I was about calling myself a writer. Even after I was published I hesitated to say it out loud, because I’d wanted it for so long and didn’t want to jinx myself.
Q: How much had you planned all seven books when you started The Philosopher’s Stone?
By the end of the first book I knew how the seventh would end and had worked out a lot of details of the world, but I left enough leeway to enjoy creating things as I went. Though they’re such different genres, I’ve applied a lot I learned about world-building on Potter to the Strike series. In my work, I like to know exactly where I’m going. In my life, not so much.