Long before the Harry Potter empire transformed JK Rowling into one of Britain's wealthiest authors, her family life appears to have been far darker and stranger than previously understood. A forthcoming biography now claims Rowling's estranged father secretly operated a substantial cannabis-growing business from the family's Gloucestershire home during the 1990s.
The allegations appear in 'A Pen to Change the World,' a new biography by writer Solomon Schmidt scheduled for release on 23 June. At the centre of the claims is Peter Rowling, now 81, whose relationship with his daughter collapsed years ago and has remained publicly fractured ever since.
