Joanne "Jo" Rowling is known to readers the world over as J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling book series of all time. The creator of Harry Potter was once a single mother writing in cafés and living on welfare, who experienced a fairytale-like rise from poverty and obscurity to becoming one of the richest and most influential women on the planet. And following her controversial stances in the cultural and political war over transgender rights, Rowling found herself a pariah in circles that had previously adored her.

Wunderkind author Solomon Schmidt spent years studying Rowling's life and books. He spoke with her reclusive ex-husband in Portugal, along with relatives who shared substantial memories and never-before-seen photographs of Rowling and her family. During the course of his research, Schmidt uncovered certain dark family secrets that have remained concealed until now. He has also revealed numerous autobiographical references that Rowling hid in plain sight inside her bestselling published work.

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This biography follows Rowling from her childhood in pastoral southern England, to seaside Porto where she became entangled in a violent marriage, to the depths of poverty as a single mother in cloudy Edinburgh, to buzzing studios and red-carpet premieres in London, and beyond. In exploring Rowling’s troubled past, Schmidt gives readers a window into her fraught teens and her formative experiences of abuse, depression, and the tragic death of her mother. He also chronicles the full story of Rowling's writing of Harry Potter and provides the complete account of her involvement in the conflict over sex and gender. This dramatic book is the definitive biography of J.K. Rowling’s momentous life – a must read for all those intrigued, uplifted, or triggered by this era-defining billionaire.