JK Rowling, author of the best-seller Harry Potter series, has been given France's highest civilian award, the so-called Legion of Honour. It appears that she is not the only one who received the honorary title in her family. Her great-grandfather had been made a knight because of her bravery during World War I.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy himself handed the medal to Rowling who happens to be fluent in French; as her great-grandfather was French we can say British is not the only blood that runs in her veins.
She apologised to the people who were present at the ceremony as it turns out that the name of Harry Potter's arch nemesis, Voldemort, means thief or the flight of death in French.
According to BBC Rowling was just looking for a "name that evokes both power and exoticism". The reply of the crowd indicated that no offense had been taken.
But why the award? According to Mr Sarkozy Rowling made millions of children read again by creating the story of the young wizard with the lightning scar on his forehead; to make one read is not easy nowadays in the world of the Internet. It takes some effort to cajole children into reading so that they are not glued to the display all day. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series, had already been a best-seller in France when works on the translation into French started.
Note that the Legion of Honour had originally been made up by Bonaparte Napoleon almost two hundred years ago and officially only French citizens can be made members of the society. Yet, foreigners can receive the honorary title, as well.
JK Rowling is not the first to receive the Legion of Honour: Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand had been given the merit before.
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