Manchester -
Marlboro Lights -
Matthewson, Emma -
McGonagall, Sir William Topaz -
Melling, Harry -
Mitford, Jessica -
Mnemosyne -
Monty Python -
Mortemore, Sally -
Mortlake -
MS Society Scotland -
Murray, David Gordon Rowling -
Murray, Devon -
Murray, Mackenzie Jean Rowling -
Murray, Neil -
Music favourites
Manchester
In 1990, Rowling followed her long-term boyfriend from her
Exeter days to Manchester in
England's industrial northern region. It was on a train delay from Manchester
back to London that Rowling first had the inspiration for Harry Potter and
began to plot out the novels.
Marlboro Lights
Brand of cigarette JKR smoked. She apologizes for the habit and admits
to being "a flawed role model"
(WP1). According
to her website, Jo quit smoking several years ago and now chews a lot of
gum and plays Minesweeper
(JKR).
Matthewson, Emma
Matthewson is Commissioning Editor at
Bloomsbury Publishing, UK. She is the chief editor of the Harry Potter
novels at Bloomsbury. She began her career with children’s books in the
publishing industry as Editorial Secretary at independent publisher Blackie
Children’s Books and then spent five years at Penguin, before moving to
Bloomsbury (Interview for kidbookpros, 2001:
http://www.scbwifrance.com/meetthepros/interviews_2000_01/emma_matthewson.htm).
McGonagall, Sir William Topaz
(1825 - 1902)
Born in Edinburgh in 1825, McGonagall
is sometimes known as 'Scotland's worst poet,' and was the source of
Professor McGonagall's surname.
The gonnagles of the Nac Mac Feegle in
Terry Pratchett's excellent Discworld novels -
battle poets who when on form can make an enemy's ears explode -
are a more direct reference to the same awful poet. Consequently, we
recommend consulting the
Annotated Pratchett File's entry on The Wee Free Men
for further information. Consider yourself warned - examples of
McGonagall's "poetry" are provided, so you may wish to put on
ear protection before proceeding further.
Melling, Harry
Born in March 1989 in London, England, Harry Melling was cast as
Dudley Dursley in the
Harry Potter films.
Further information can be found at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0577982/
Mitford, Jessica (1917 - 1996)
JKR named her daughter Jessica after her
heroine, Jessica (Decca) Mitford and gave her daughter a copy of Mitford's
autobiographical account
Hons and Rebels (1960) for her christening
gift ("From the dole to Hollywood," Elisabeth Dunn, The Electronic Telegraph,
2 August 1997). Decca was the fifth of six sisters (and one brother). The
sisters in particular led very controversial and/or influential lives in
the first half of twentieth-century England. Their lives are chronicled
in a recent biography by Mary S. Lovell (The Sisters: The Saga of the
Mitford Family). The Mitfords were made notorious by Nancy's brilliant
novels, Diana's marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley (leader of the British Fascist
Party), Unity's infatuation with Hitler and subsequent suicide attempt,
Debo's marriage to a duke, and Jessica's passionate commitment to communism.
Mitford exhibited bravery and idealism, both of which are qualities JKR
most admires (Sch2). Additional information
about the fascinating life of Jessica Mitford can be found at:
http://www.mitford.org/index1.html
Mnemosyne
The Greek goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses
(Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable).
See Mnemosyne Clinic for Memory Modification.
Monty Python
JKR says "British comedy is an obsession of mine. I love Monty
Python." (Sch2)
The ideas for
Cockroach Cluster
and for Chocolate Frogs
(see) are tributes to Monty Python sketches.
Mortemore, Sally
Sally Mortemore was cast as
Madam Pince in the
Harry Potter films.
Further information can be found at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1090693/
Mortlake
A village in
Surrey near
London, which
in the late sixteenth century
was the home of the scholar Dr. John Dee. Dee was a mathematician,
natural philosopher, and student of the occult, and turned down
offers of mathematical professorships at various universities to
eventually attach himself to the royal court of England, where among other
things he served as astrologer to Queen Mary I (which once led to his
temporary imprisonment on the charge of being a conjurer) and as a
scientific and medical adviser to her successor, Queen Elizabeth I.
He is thought to have been the model for the character of Prospero the
magician in Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
He worked hard to promote the study of mathematics for practical uses such
as navigation. He also kept a laboratory and what was then the largest
private library in the country at Mortlake, and was generous in helping other
scholars, which has led to some descriptions of Mortlake as one of the
earliest think tanks.
(Encyclopedia Brittanica)
See Mortlake for JKR's reference to this place.
MS Society Scotland
Rowling's mother died of respiratory
failure linked to multiple sclerosis at age 45 in 1990, and JKR serves
as a patron for MS Society Scotland (taking on this role in 2000). She
has campaigned and fundraised for this charity with great enthusiasm. Scotland
has the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis of any country in the world.
Rowling opened a new £250,000 ($375,000) resource center for
MS sufferers in Aberdeen in April 2001
(SS_JKRB).
Murray, David Gordon Rowling
Son of Joanne Rowling and Neil Murray,
David Gordon Rowling Murray was born in March 2003 and is one of the
subjects of the dedication of OP.
Murray, Devon
Born in October 1988 in County Kildare, Ireland, Devon Murray was cast as
Seamus Finnigan in the
Harry Potter films.
Further information can be found at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614912/
Murray, Mackenzie Jean Rowling
Daughter of Joanne Rowling and Neil Murray,
Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray was born in January 2005 and is therefore
the subject of the dedication
of HBP, which was completed not long before she was born and published
a little less than six months later.
Murray, Neil
Joanne Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray on 26 December 2001 (Boxing Day) at
Killiechassie House, the country
home she and Neil purchased earlier that year in Aberfeldy, Perthshire,
Scotland. Dr. Murray was working as a senior house officer in anesthetics
at an Edinburgh hospital when he first met JKR, and he later went on to
study for a general practice. The media have made much of his resemblance
to an adult Harry Potter
(J.K. Rowling: A Biography,
Connie Ann Kirk, Greenwood Press, 2003).
Music favourites
Rowling listed the following songs or works as amongst her favorites:
"Requiem Mass in D Minor" (Mozart);
"Come Together" (The Beatles);
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" (The Smiths); “Appassionata
Sonata” (Beethoven); “Violin concerto in D Major” (Tchaikovsky); “Everybody
Hurts” (REM); “Guilt” (Marianne Faithfull); and “All Along the Watchtower”
(Jimi Hendrix)
(SS_JKRB).
