Farewell Harry Rowling looks to new life of
crime
by Karin Goodwin
HER childrens books have helped to amass a fortune of £500m. Now J
K Rowling is considering her literary options as an author of adult
fiction.
With the seventh and final Harry Potter book to complete, Rowling,
at 39, is contemplating her future as a novelist.
Last week she teased fans by disclosing that, although she had
several unpublished works languishing in drawers, she might write
something completely different.
She has a strong interest in crime fiction and would be a
successful writer of detective novels, according to her friend Ian
Rankin, the writer.
The creator of the Inspector Rebus books said: I know she is a
crime fiction fan, so I would love it if she went on and wrote a
crime novel. I think the Harry Potter novels are whodunnits anyway.
There are lots of red herrings and mystery. As long as she doesnt
set it in Edinburgh Ill be quite happy.
Rowling, who is joint 96th in The Sunday Times Rich List, has
voiced fears at being typecast as a childrens author. More than
270m Potter books have been sold in 62 languages.
AA Milne tried to write adult novels and was never reviewed
without the mention of Tigger, Pooh and Piglet, she said recently.
I would imagine the same will happen to me. Thats fine, my
shoulders are broad enough.
Rowling has written two unpublished adult novels and is keen to
return to a liberating mystery project she worked on between the
fourth and fifth Potter books.
I was writing something else for a while, which was great. I might
go back to that, she said.
Danuta Keane, a former editor of the Bookseller, the publishing
trade magazine, said she feared Rowling might struggle to master
the demands of more complex, adult emotions in her work.
I think her first novels were the most successful, before she had
to start dealing with teenage emotions. They were much tighter. The
last one felt a bit flat. But she is still a great storyteller and
adult fiction badly needs good storytellers.
Keane added that Rowling might struggle to carry many of her
existing readers with her. It will be interesting to see if she
attracts a big following after Harry Potter. It cant be taken as a
given.
Last night a spokeswoman for Rowling refused to be drawn on which
genre she intended to pursue. It is far too early for her to
comment in any detail about what she will write next, she
said.
-The Times of London
Will anyone read them? 