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Yate
Please note that Yate is in the county of South Gloucestershire, not Gloucestershire. 24.96.244.134 (talk) 03:33, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
JK Rowlings Nationality is ENGLISH
What's all this discussion about JK's nationality? She is English. Fact. End of. Her CITIZENSHIP is British. Fact. End of. The UK of GB & NI passport is the only one in the world that ansers the "Nationality" question with a different answer - hence it always says "British Citizen". No other passport in the world answers the question with "citizen" and that's because every other county states the nationality, eg French, German etc. The UK is a political union of four nationalities, but in the Wikipedia question, it asks "nationality", therefore JKR is English. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.110.2.102 (talk) 02:43, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
Please read the archives regarding here nationality/Ethnicity. It's been discussed to the death. We don’t need another. 88.109.238.194 (talk) 19:11, 26 November 2008 (UTC)
Can I also add JK, has stong connections with Scotland, where she lives. This makes her more BRITISH than English. Does any one agree?
No. If you use that line of argument then Oscar Wilde was British. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.64.202 (talk) 14:11, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
Légion_d'honneur
JKR has been awarded with the Légion_d'honneur by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sources: http://www.elysee.fr/documents/index.php?mode=view&lang=fr&cat_id=8&press_id=2290
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1095823
189.4.250.18 (talk) 20:22, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
- I confirm it, but I can't see where it would fit in the article. -- lucasbfr talk 20:27, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
Her name
Her real name is Mrs Joanne Murray. I quote from the Guardian "The author - suing under her real name, Mrs Joanne Murray ", the full version of which can be found here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/aug/07/pressandpublishing.privacy). Any concerns, please discuss here before making changes. I think this source is very clear. Also here (http://www.schillings.co.uk/news/private-client-news/JKRowling%E2%80%99ssonwi/), a source which is all of clear, reliable and respected. Barrabhoy (talk) 15:21, 13 June 2009 (UTC)
Joanne, herself, mentions that the Gaurdian rarely gets facts straight about her life in fact she dispises them). She has gotten into debates with them about it. But when she began writing her name was Rowling. After marriage it changed. to Murray. the only real part of her pen name that is false is the "K". this is just for clarification (24.22.195.180 (talk) 00:24, 16 June 2009 (UTC))
What does the writer (or do the writers) of this section think "legal name" means in the jurisdiction of England? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.122.56.209 (talk) 23:07, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
It has already been pointed out that there is no such thing a legal name in England. The legal situation is different in other countries, but there has been no legal requirement in England or Britain for 2,000 years to use a particular name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.82.116.135 (talk) 09:31, 19 June 2010 (UTC)
After Harry Potter, a matter of tense
In the section, After Harry Potter, the line "Rowling has stated that she plans to continue writing after the publication of the final Harry Potter book" suggests that the final Harry Potter book has not yet been published. 74.70.106.13 (talk) 03:59, 26 July 2009 (UTC)
Picture of JK Rowling
The picture is certainly not attractive. It needs a fix. 58.174.49.225 (talk) 08:05, 31 July 2009 (UTC)
- Only non-fair use picture available. Serendipodous 10:53, 31 July 2009 (UTC)
SHE HAS THREE CHILDREN
Why is her eldest daughter, Jessica, not mentioned in this article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.208.195.70 (talk) 04:49, 26 July 2009 (UTC)
- She is. Serendipodous 10:52, 31 July 2009 (UTC)
- Yeah, but why is she not mentioned in the "Personal Life" section, while her other two children are? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.151.169.128 (talk) 01:44, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
- Because the personal life section covers events after Harry Potter. Serendipodous 14:49, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
- Why would a "Personal Life" section only cover a time period after a certain event? I think this is misleading, because someone reading only the Personal Life section might conclude, incorrectly, that she only has two children. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.151.169.128 (talk) 17:49, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
- Because the personal life section covers events after Harry Potter. Serendipodous 14:49, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
- Yeah, but why is she not mentioned in the "Personal Life" section, while her other two children are? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.151.169.128 (talk) 01:44, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
Bryony Ev**E**ns
The spelling of her name should be corrected. A quick google and the Oprah interview confirm this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.125.203.56 (talk) 21:50, 10 April 2010 (UTC)
Jo has a Twitter now. http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/9/25/jk-rowling-opens-twitter-account --Parodist (talk) 22:19, 26 September 2009 (UTC)
flogging the ground beside a dead horse
Looking at the pronunciation controversy of a couple of years ago, and the subsequent archives — Can I be the only one to wonder what the heck rohwling is meant to represent, and how it differs from rolling? —Tamfang (talk) 05:21, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
Ms. Rowling's religion
I am fairly certain Ms. Rowling is not a member of the Church of Scotland, but rather the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is often confused with the former. This would make her Anglican, not Presbyterian. Some supporting claims can be found in an article by "The Scotsman"[1], in some Anglican sites[2], NNDB[3] or also AllExperts[4]. She also is quoted by the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant as having been raised[5][6] in the Church of England, the mother church of Anglicanism; thus for an Anglican living in Scotland, visiting a Scottish Episcopal parish would only be logical. If so, she should accordingly be listed in the category English Anglicans, not English Presbyterians.
At the very least, the claim to her being in the Church of Scotland should be removed and the categorization changed to a neutral version until such time as the truth can be definitively ascertained.
Ethelred Unraed (talk) 14:39, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- Rowling was raised in the Church of England, but whether she belongs to the Scottish Episcopal Church is a bit murky it seems. The most detailed reference comes from an article in The Washington Post, which describes her as a member of the Church of Scotland. This is confusing, I must admit. I'll have to track down some more sources. Serendipodous 14:51, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- FWIW in (much) older revisions of this article, she was indeed listed as being a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and was classified as an English Anglican. Then at some point, that reference disappeared, and some time later the reference to the Church of Scotland appeared. Either way, I'd suggest the reference to at least be changed to just "Christian" (or "Protestant") for now.Ethelred Unraed (talk) 22:25, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- Addendum: I have been unable to find any direct quote from her, or an official source of hers, mentioning either the Church of Scotland or the Scottish Episcopal Church after scouring the Web. However, it seems that local Scottish and English media (like the link from The Scotsman above[1] or also from the British Anglican group Ecclesia[2]) generally say she's in the Scottish Episcopal Church, if they mention anything at all; the references to the Church of Scotland seem to be mostly from American sources. Meanwhile, the book How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania also says she's in the Scottish Episcopal Church.[3] But I think the strongest evidence I could find one way or the other is that she and her husband were apparently married by a Scottish Episcopal minister, the Rev. Canon Professor John Richardson of Edinburgh[4] (though I believe the name of the parish is misspelled in the reference -- should be "Columba", not "Columbia"[5] -- the same Rev. Canon Richardson is mentioned there). Ethelred Unraed (talk) 23:03, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
Clearer to American Readers
I think you should mention that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the American version. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.161.45.99 (talk) 05:06, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
"Rowling, her publishers and Time Warner [...] have been accused of copyright infringement themselves."
{{editsemiprotected}} You can't say that Rowling was accused of copyright infringement and leave out that the claims were dismissed as without merit. That's borderline libellous, especially as the source for that statement says that the person suing Rowling was fined for "pattern of intentional bad faith conduct"!!! [Copyright lawsuits protecting Harry Potter have been successful, so the part of the sentence (represented by ellipsis above) about how others have been sued doesn't need qualified]. 81.147.142.155 (talk) 19:14, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
- Point taken -- clause struck. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 19:36, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
- Reference 144 ("Potter author zaps court rival". CNN. 2002-09-19. ) needs removed as well; it only comments on the failed attempt to sue Rowling, which doesn't appear anymore in the sentence it's attached to. 81.147.142.155 (talk) 19:42, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
Political leanings
This article written by JK Rowling in The Times covers her political beliefs and states that she would never become an expatriate for tax purposes.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7096786.ece
Lord Brixton (talk) 11:19, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
- Yeah, that definitely needs to be included. The article may need to be restructured a bit though. Let me sit on it for a day or so. Serendipodous 18:58, 15 April 2010 (UTC)
I feel it is not nice to mention that she dropped of £1 million to the Labour Party. We all know what happened to the Labour Party in 2010.--88.89.69.142 (talk) 08:50, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
I notice that the otherwise nice photo of 'The Elephant House' has a confusing caption ("wrote the first part of Harry Potter" - does that mean the first book or the series) and is never mentioned at all in the text of the article. Anyone know what's up with this? Jusdafax 15:50, 6 July 2010 (UTC)
- Curious; "the first part of Harry Potter" was changed months ago into "one of the cafes in Edinburgh where Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel". Not sure why you're still seeing that caption. Serendipodous 10:30, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Married name
I have carefully read the links above in the FAQ section, but my concern is not addressed. Unless there is some evidence that the subject of this article and others systematically uses the name "Jo Murray" then this should not be given as her "name" as the first mention. Per MOS WP:NAMES "A woman, like all other biographical entrants, should be referred to by her most common name, and that would not necessarily involve using her husband's surname." She does not appear to be known by this name at all: I note that our own article uses "Rowling" to refer to her, and that she has only used the name Murray occasionally, e.g. during some legal proceedings, where in newspaper articles this is pointed out as an unusual name for her. e.g. compare 503 googlenews hits for Jo Rowling with 9 for Jo Murray This conversation about Chelsea Clinton might make interesting reading. [7], and makes the important point that women do not automatically have their name changed on marriage, and that a "legal name" is actually the one that you use/are called, which is confirmed here for the UK [8] All this to say, I am going to change around the information, so that Rowling is given as her name, and Murray is listed as her married name. --Slp1 (talk) 21:17, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
Rowlings an Astrologer?
I have just finished wathching an episode of Antiques Roadshow (British TV series) and a lady brought two horoscopes of her own children that she claims JK Rowlings provided to her in a typed format and hand illustrated the cover around the same time as Rowlings was writing her first Harry Potter book. She was a friend of Rowlings and lived nearby. This may suggest that Rowlings was or is an astrologer. I notice no mention of it here at this topic. Does anyone know if Rowlings studied astrology? Terry Macro (talk) 07:47, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
- see http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Rare-JK-Rowling-work-on.6449408.jp Terry Macro (talk) 08:05, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
- Given the undisguised contempt with which she treats astrologers in her novels, I seriously doubt she has more than a passing interest in it. Serendipodous 09:04, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
- It is not for us to do original research and make decisions independent of reliable published sources. Rowling was able to write astrological interpretations of two children's horoscopes - this is not a passing interest, Rowling definitely practiced astrology because only a competent astrologer can do a horoscope interpretation. The reason she did the two specific horoscopes in question is that it was for a friend and Rowling was too poor to buy presents, and did horoscopes instead. Some commentators claim that clues to Rowlings' future writings in the Harry Potter series can be discerned in her horoscope interpretations. This information rightly belongs in this topic - but not overly emphasized. Terry Macro (talk) 23:29, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
- It is also OR to draw any inferences from that article beyond what it actually says. All we have from that article is that Rowling cast horoscopes on that one occasion. Whether she habitually cast horoscopes is not mentioned.Serendipodous 01:32, 13 August 2010 (UTC)
- I am not claiming that Rowling was a 'habitual' astrologer, nor that she was a professional astrologer or charged clients to do horoscopes. The article clearly indicates that Rowling could interpret a horoscope which means she had at some time studied astrology, either privately or formally. I am rather surprised you want to hide Rowling's knowledge of astrology as most people in the world do not find astrology offensive. I know I was rather astonished to discover this fact while watching TV, and it seems curious that an encyclopedia would not want some small reference to this fact - especially as it has now come to light in the public domain. Terry Macro (talk) 02:00, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
- The question isn't whether she studied astrology at all. The question is whether this one mention of her using astrology is worth including. Does it have a bearing on her career or her biography? The answer, as far as I can see, is no. In my life I have acted once. Does that make me an actor? No. In the same way, one mention of Rowling casting a horoscope does not make her "an astrologer". Serendipodous 07:08, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
- I would question whether the cited article establishes that she genuinely cast or interpreted horoscopes - it makes that assertion, but that appears to rest on her use of the word "cusp". The rest of the quoted material is humourous. Is a Pisces really fated to drink like a fish? - Ian Dalziel (talk) 10:53, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
- The question isn't whether she studied astrology at all. The question is whether this one mention of her using astrology is worth including. Does it have a bearing on her career or her biography? The answer, as far as I can see, is no. In my life I have acted once. Does that make me an actor? No. In the same way, one mention of Rowling casting a horoscope does not make her "an astrologer". Serendipodous 07:08, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
- I am not claiming that Rowling was a 'habitual' astrologer, nor that she was a professional astrologer or charged clients to do horoscopes. The article clearly indicates that Rowling could interpret a horoscope which means she had at some time studied astrology, either privately or formally. I am rather surprised you want to hide Rowling's knowledge of astrology as most people in the world do not find astrology offensive. I know I was rather astonished to discover this fact while watching TV, and it seems curious that an encyclopedia would not want some small reference to this fact - especially as it has now come to light in the public domain. Terry Macro (talk) 02:00, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
- It is also OR to draw any inferences from that article beyond what it actually says. All we have from that article is that Rowling cast horoscopes on that one occasion. Whether she habitually cast horoscopes is not mentioned.Serendipodous 01:32, 13 August 2010 (UTC)
- It is not for us to do original research and make decisions independent of reliable published sources. Rowling was able to write astrological interpretations of two children's horoscopes - this is not a passing interest, Rowling definitely practiced astrology because only a competent astrologer can do a horoscope interpretation. The reason she did the two specific horoscopes in question is that it was for a friend and Rowling was too poor to buy presents, and did horoscopes instead. Some commentators claim that clues to Rowlings' future writings in the Harry Potter series can be discerned in her horoscope interpretations. This information rightly belongs in this topic - but not overly emphasized. Terry Macro (talk) 23:29, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
- Given the undisguised contempt with which she treats astrologers in her novels, I seriously doubt she has more than a passing interest in it. Serendipodous 09:04, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
Background
I may be wrong about this (any English majors out there?), but shouldn't the sentence in the 4th line of the 2nd paragraph in the Background section be changed from: "When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind", gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels.[21]"
to read: When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, whom Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind", gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels.[21]
Mthorn10 (talk) 02:25, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
- ^ http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/JK-Rowling-plots-out-an.3606989.jp
- ^ http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_050718potter.shtml
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=ePBHWr0UO_gC&pg=PT144&dq=j.k.+rowling+%22scottish+episcopal%22&cd=1
- ^ http://marriage.about.com/od/thearts/p/jkrowling.htm
- ^ http://stcolumbasbythecastle.org.uk/main/