How J.K. Rowling’s Unassuming Church Visit Inspired the Name of a Major Harry Potter Villain

Author J.K. Rowling is best known for her seven-volume fantasy novel series Harry Potter, published from 1997 to 2007. The success of the novel series spawned one of the biggest and most successful media franchises including movies and video games. She is regarded as one of the highest-paid authors, and despite her political views, J.K. Rowling is indeed one of the most influential people in the world.

When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997, the series garnered attention as it was intriguing to read about wizards, death, and the divide between good and evil. The author has been praised for writing material that includes fantasy drama, coming-of-age fiction, adventure, thriller, mystery, and more genres all under one roof. She had shared during one interview how she picks up the details for her work.

Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling’s attention to detail is commendable

Harry Potter is without a doubt one of the most popular and successful media franchises, having one of the most loyal fan bases. J.K. Rowling sold the film rights of her Harry Potter fantasy novel series to Warner Bros. for nearly about £1 million (US$2,000,000). She did have creative control over the projects as she observed the process.

It was noted that the author who gained success and fame with the Harry Potter novel series demanded the studios keep the principal cast strictly British and Irish. Thus, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint were hired as the leading cast.

The author came up with the idea of Harry Potter on a delayed train from Manchester to London’s King’s Cross Station. She took five years to outline the plots for her novel series. J.K. Rowling visited several cafes in Edinburgh to write her first novel on a typewriter. Talking about her visit to Edinburgh, in an archival interview, the author revealed how much of the city influenced her writing, to which she said,

It had some influence. There are some small things that wouldn’t have happened in the books if I hadn’t been living in Edinburgh for example, when I was looking for the surname of a particularly arrogant and annoying character whose first name was Gilderoy, I happened to be in a church and saw the surname Lockhart.

She added that’s how Gilderoy got his surname, noting that there were small things like the name sometimes, and street names gave her the details in the book.

The author noted that she had spent a lot of time in the coffee shops of Edinburgh and appreciated the people who she described were very respectful of her privacy. Actor Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh played the character of Gilderoy Lockhart in the movie.

J.K. Rowling recalls the moment Harry Potter became a ‘phenomenon’

In an interview with The Sunday Times, J.K. Rowling recalled the moment she realized that her novel series had become a massive hit and phenomenon until she won the Smarties Book Prize in 1997. Rowling shared with the publication,

Then I got a record advance from America, and everything went crazy. 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.

The author shared that she can recall feeling elated after writing the first Quidditch match, which flowed out of her pen and was barely revised afterward. J.K. Rowling is, without any questions asked, regarded as one of the most talented and dedicated authors, and she mentioned that she cannot recall any moment when she didn’t want to be one.

The author is reportedly fairly involved in the making of Harry Potter’s reboot series, as HBO and MAX content boss Casey Bloys shared back in 2024. Bloys added that Rowling was very much involved in the process of selecting the writer and director, and her ‘political views’ have not impacted their work. (via IGN)

Harry Potter movies can be streamed on HBO Max and Peacock.