In an introduction to
Reading Round Edinburgh, a guide to children's books set in the city, J.K.Rowling has
written about her writing life, in relation to the Scottish city.
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The author took to wandering the halls of the National Galleries of Scotland in a "desperate and random measure" as she sought inspiration.
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Memories of Edinburgh "leap out of the pages of Harry Potter for me", Rowling writes, "the places I wrote particular chapters and passages; where I despaired of ever having another idea; where I experienced all the delights and the frustrations of living in a fictional world."
But while the city has many "Potteresque vistas", she cannot point to particular buildings or streets featured in her books.
She slaps down the idea that Hogwarts was based on a "certain public school" in the city.
J.K.Rowling's Scottish inspiration 
