Staff Writer
On February 9th, J.K. Rowling appeared at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford to speak with Jeri Johnson during an honorary talk for Exeter College’s 700th birthday. The Harry Potter authoress discussed “Mortality and Morality” in her works, as well as what being outed as the true identity behind crime novelist Robert Galbraith meant to her. Rowling published the crime fiction novel The Cuckoo’s Calling under the male pseudonym in April 2013 and has stated that she “fully intends to keep writing the series” as Robert Galbraith, and has completed a sequel that is set to be published in 2014.
When asked about her experience writing as Galbraith, Rowling stated: “You were never supposed to know that it was my eviscerating pen. It was fun, from the first rejection letter. You have no idea.”
Rowling went on to detail her process for writing male characters, as well as her inspiration for doing so: “There’s a line in As Good As It Gets (1997 Jack Nicholson film) where a woman asks how he writes such wonderful female characters, and he says, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘I think of a man, and I take out the logic’, or the sense. That made me laugh, as misogynistic as it is, because when I write a man I take certain things out and give free rein to aspects of me that would not be acceptable. To be honest, I think I’m quite blokey – at least I’m told I am, and I like writing both.”
Christopher Gossage, lawyer and partner at Russells Solicitors in London who exposed Rowling as Robert Galbraith, was fined £1,000 for breach of privacy. Gossage was issued with a written rebuke from the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA) in response to his actions. Rowling also took legal action against both Gossage and his associate, Judith Callegari, who had revealed Robert Galbraith’s true identity in a Twitter exchange with journalist India Knight in July 2013. She was awarded damages in the form of a “substantial” charity donation, which the author has stated will be donated to the Soldier’s Charity – formerly known as the Army Benevolent Fund.
The firm apologized on behalf of Christopher Gossage last year, declaring that Rowling’s pseudonym was revealed during a “private conversation” and that “the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly”.
Harry Potter fans may also be relieved to know that Rowling did briefly speak of Harry’s relationship with Ginny, in light of recent revelations that she regretted pairing Hermione with Ron at the close of her acclaimed series, and stated that: “Harry did love Ginny.”
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