Best-selling author J.K. Rowling has captivated millions with the Harry Potter series, but when it comes to her own favourite author, there is one clear winner. Rowling told Business Insider that Jane Austen is her favourite author of all time, with Emma being her top choice of Austen’s entire collection.
The author has mentioned her deep love of literature and appreciation for Austen in numerous interviews stating that she has influenced her both as a writer and as a reader. In an interview with BBC Radio 4 Rowling said: “I reread Austen’s novels in rotation. Emma, which is the most skilfully managed mystery I’ve ever read, has the merit of having a heroine who annoys me because she is in some ways so like me. I must have read it at least 20 times.
“I have never set up a surprise ending in a Harry Potter book without knowing I can never, and will never, do it anywhere near as well as Austen did in Emma.”
Despite Austen’s focus on realistic fiction and Rowling’s focus on fantasy fiction, both authors are masters at building highly detailed worlds with a focus on personal growth and complex relationships with characters that evolve over time.
While declaring her admiration for Austen, Rowling has also joked about living with her.
She said on X: “I revere Jane Austen, but I think I’d find her scary as a housemate.
“I imagine her running a finger over surfaces I’d pretended to dust, then looking at me with cool, judgmental eyes.”
As she holds the writer to such a high standard, Rowling has also been known to heavily critique film and television adaptations of Austen’s novels.
She told BBC Radio 4: “I’m excruciating company when watching a Jane Austen television or film adaptation because I writhe with irritation whenever I see a large, florid actor playing Mr Woodhouse – or Mr Darcy taking a gratuitous dip because apparently he isn’t sexy enough without a wet shirt.”