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Author JK Rowling today announced she is giving £10 million to combat multiple sclerosis because she is haunted by the way it killed her mother.
She said she was writing the first Harry Potter book when her mother Anne died at the age of 45 in 1990 and never had the chance to tell her about the wizard that became a publishing sensation.
Rowling described the death as “a literal pain in my heart”. The writer, herself now 45, said: “I know I was writing Harry Potter at the moment my mother died.”
Announcing her biggest charitable donation with “great pleasure and pride”, she said a unit at the University of Edinburgh would be renamed the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic.
It will also lead research into other incurable neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease.
Rowling, whose seven Harry Potter books have made her an estimated £519 million, said the clinic would place patients at the heart of the research and treatment process.
She said: “I have supported research into the cause and treatment of multiple sclerosis for many years now, but when I first saw the proposal for this clinic, I knew that I had found a project more exciting, more innovative, and, I believe, more likely to succeed in unravelling the mysteries of MS than any other I had read about or been asked to fund.
“I am incredibly impressed by the calibre of clinicians and researchers that Edinburgh has already managed to attract to make this project a reality, and I truly believe that it is set to become a world centre for excellence in the field of regenerative neurology.”
Married with three children, Rowling has admitted that her greatest fear is the death of a loved one. “My books are largely about death,” she said
She described her mother's illness as the “worst thing” during her teenage years.
The illness was diagnosed when JK, which stands for Joanne Kathleen, was 15. In her official biography, she recalled: “I think most people believe, deep down, that their mothers are indestructible; it was a terrible shock to hear that she had an incurable illness, but even then, I did not fully realise what the diagnosis might mean.
“It was a terrible time. She was only forty five years old and we had never imagined, probably because we could not bear to contemplate the idea, that she could die so young.
“I remember feeling as though there was a paving slab pressing down upon my chest, a literal pain in my heart.”
Both Rowling's parents were Londoners and they met on a train from King's Cross when both were 18. Rowling came upon the idea for Harry Potter on another train journey and began the first of the seven books by making Harry suffer the death of his parents.
Multiple sclerosis affects about 100,000 people in the UK and Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world. The exact cause of the disease is not fully understood, although genetics and environmental factors may play a part.
Reader views (4)
Agreed, Jonathan. This woman is noxious and I wish she'd disappear from our news pages.
- MS, London, 31/08/2010 23:42
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Jonathan, France - what a nasty, spiteful comment. You, of course will have given away at least 2% of your net worth to charity...
- Shirley, Bromley, 31/08/2010 22:56
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Took her 17 years to get round to this , cant have felt that bad. Just 2% of her net worth , wow big spender !
- Jonathan, France Nice, 31/08/2010 21:50
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Well done to JKR this is going to be a real help at a difficult for charities as donations decline.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford, 31/08/2010 15:20
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