The Truth About JK Rowling's Secret Past ｜ Who Do You Think You Are

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels have sold almost 450 million copies, transforming her from a struggling writer into the most successful author in the world. But Jo has been unable to share her success with one of the people she cared about most. Mum died when I had just started writing Harry Potter. It's a real regret, actually, but I never even mentioned it to her, that she died without knowing anything about something so huge. She knew I had literary ambitions, but she never knew that I'd had the idea of my life to date. My mother's maiden name was Anne Vollon. She was a quarter French, and she was very interested in her French roots, but never had a chance to explore them. So the huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother. It's very much bound up in that loss. Jo Rowling lives and works in Scotland, but can trace her French roots back three generations. My mother's father's father, Louis Vollon, married an English woman, and I know the marriage failed. I know something about his war record. He was very brave in the First World War. I don't know all the details, but I know he was awarded the Légion d'Honneur. In 2009, Jo herself won the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest honour, for her services to world literature. I made my speech in French, and it was an opportunity to speak about Louis. It was one of the most meaningful awards that I've ever received because of that family connection, but I don't really know where he came from. I don't know what kind of family he came from, and I don't know anything at all about the generations behind him. Jo has decided to start her search into Louis Vollon and her French roots in the Scottish capital. I'm going into Edinburgh to see my auntie Marion, who's staying with friends here, and she's my mum's big sister, and she's the last link to the French family. She was born in Vollon, that's her maiden name. Marion Fox is Jo's maternal aunt, and the daughter of Stanley Vollon, the youngest of four children born to Jo's great-grandfather, Louis Vollon, and his wife Lizzie. Marion has brought the family's collection of letters and photos to show Jo. I'm very excited. This is the So this is your wedding to Liz? This is wedding to Liz. So this is me with my 18-inch waist. Your 18-inch waist. And Liz with hair. Tiny. There's mum. We had that dress for dressing up. It was pale blue. That's right, yep. This is Lizzie, your great-grandmother. She was lovely. Was she? She taught me my prayers, she cuddled me. She was a natural grandma. You know, she was really gorgeous. So Lizzie married Louis. Have you found Louis? Yes, there's some here. Do you have a photo of Lizzie? Oh my god. He's incredibly handsome, isn't he? I've never seen that before. He's gorgeous, isn't he? This is Louis' good conduct certificate. Right. This is from National Service, is it? Yes. And look at this, Jo. Was he born on your birthday? He was born on the 31st of July. Exactly the same day. Yeah. Oh my god. How bizarre. Same date as me and Harry Potter. That's right. And he was born in Paris in the 10th arrondissement. Wow. And I think this is a photo of his mother. Oh my goodness. And her name, would you believe, is Salome Chouque. Very strong featured lady. What do you know about her? Very little. Just that she grew up in the countryside in France. Right. So when did Louis arrive in England and why did he come to England? We know he came over in the 1890s and he worked over here as a waiter in places like the Savoy. Classy joints. Oh, classy joints. And that's where he met Lizzie, who was working as a nursery maid for a family off Marble Arch. Have a look at these. They're all letters that Louis wrote Lizzie over the years, right from when they first met. They made me cry. They are so lovely. Everything is, my dearest Lizzie. This was written about 1896. Right. And he was having to go back to Paris to do his national service. Now darling, just have a little more patience. Think this shall be one of the last letters I am writing to you. So with all my fondest love and kisses to my dearest Lizzie from your own forever Louis. P.S. Write soon Liz. Time will fly now. Now ta-ta my love. Oh, it's lovely. It's so sweet. And that is Lizzie and Louis' wedding photo. Oh, you can see what they saw in each other. Oh yes. She was 25, he was 22. So he was very young, wasn't he? Very young. Now this one is the first family baby photo taken when Marcel was born in 1901, I think it was. Right. It's actually very touching because you know the marriage didn't work out. That's right, yeah. So when did Louis leave the family? I don't know. It was almost a bit of a mystery. Louis had gone back to France for some reason or other and Lizzie wouldn't go over and join him. She wouldn't pack up everything and go to France. Right. So they split. After that we haven't got any family photos. Yeah. But we've got this from the First World War. Oh my goodness. His identity card. Wow. Wasn't there a photograph of him wearing the Legion of Honour? No. This was the only thing we had from his effects that we found. The buttonhole badge of the Legion of Honour, but not the medal. Isn't that wonderful? I would love to know what the citation was for him being awarded that medal because I feel he did something very brave and sadly we don't know what it was. And I'm proud of him. Yeah, me too. And where is he buried? I don't know where he's buried. I don't know anything else because there was no funeral service that anybody attended that I ever heard of. You see, there's nobody to ask anymore. I'm going to put all these back in here Joan. I want you to take them with you. So look after Louis and Lizzie for me. I will really. Thank you so much. I'll look after them. I feel this weird pull towards Louis. He left France to go to London, a massive city that's also a foreign city, so he's an immigrant. That's very gutsy. And then I found the letters so moving. This very young man writing to his English girlfriend and Marion's told me he was a waiter and he worked at the Savoy. So I'm going to London.