Rowling , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of Harry Potter , a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from to The series has sold over million copies , been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. The Casual Vacancy was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike , an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
Born in Yate , Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International in when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series.
The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , was published in Six sequels followed, concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By , Forbes had named her the world's highest-paid author. The novels follow a boy called Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts a school for wizards , and battles Lord Voldemort.
Death and the divide between good and evil are the central themes of the series. Its influences include Bildungsroman the coming-of-age genre , school stories , fairy tales , and Christian allegory. The series revived fantasy as a genre in the children's market, spawned a host of imitators, and inspired an active fandom. Critical reception has been more mixed. Many reviewers see Rowling's writing as conventional; some regard her portrayal of gender and social division as regressive.
There were also religious debates over the Harry Potter series. Rowling has won many accolades for her work. Harry Potter brought her wealth and recognition, which she has used to advance philanthropic endeavours and political causes.
