This is possibly my finest hour and as such I think deserves a page of its own… this dissertation formed the greater part of my final year degree coursework way back in 2001.

The Function and Etymology of Proper Nouns in the Work of J.K. Rowling

Yeah, you read that correctly. I credit this essay entirely with my achieving a First-class honours degree – a fact which I suspect some of you may think goes to show how devalued a degree is these days. I disagree, obviously.

Personally I love the fact I was offered a PhD on the strength of it. (The fact I didn’t take the offer is one of my greatest regrets and I will take it to my deathbed.)

There’s an introductory note which sort of sets the scene as to the hows and the whys.

Enjoy (or not).

The Function and Etymology of Proper Nouns within the work of J

Thank you again, Terry Clifford-Amos.

There is a disclaimer on this. I took this essay down ages ago because J.K. Rowling’s views on Trans people were ones I violently disagreed with (and still do – especially since what she says and who she gives money to are quite obviously contradictory.)

But a couple of writer friends encouraged me to put it back up (shout out to Emma and Tristan). You do sometimes have to separate the artist from the art, I suppose. And I am proud of this thesis. I think I did good work.

I still won’t have her books in the house, mind, but to a larger extent it’s the same reason I won’t have JRR Tolkien’s most famous works in the house either: it got too messy, overblown and convoluted with increasingly horrible prose. I will, however, defend the Prisoner of Azkaban to my dying breath as I think it’s a great Children’s (and -for that matter- Adult’s) book, being both concise and deep.It’s just after that it all got too much, and then she went amazingly nuts.