Why death becomes Rowling

Harry Potter creator J K Rowling decided to kill off the parents of her boy wizard after she suffered the trauma of losing her own mother, the author said in an interview on Tuesday.

Rowling was writing the best-selling novel when her mother died in 1991 after a 10-year fight against multiple sclerosis, and her one regret is that she did not see how successful the book would become. 8216;8216;I had gone to bed early8230; but instead I started writing,8217;8217;she said in the Tatler magazine interview. 8216;8216;So I know I was writing Harry Potter at the moment my mother died. But I had never told her about him,8217;8217; she added.

The 40-year-old said the experience of losing her mother had such an impact that she chose to make death a theme throughout the series.

8216;8216;My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry8217;s parents. There is Voldemort8217;s obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any cost, the goal for anyone with magic,8217;8217; she said in excerpts carried by the Daily Telegraph newspaper. 8220;I also understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We8217;re all frightened of it,8221; she added.