J.K. Rowling was 25 years old when she started writing the first Harry Potter book, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. The idea for the story came to her during a train journey from Manchester to London in 1990. She spent the next several years developing the plot and characters while facing numerous personal challenges, including financial difficulties and the loss of her mother.
Rowling completed the manuscript in 1995, and the book was published in 1997, when she was 32 years old. The series went on to become one of the most successful and beloved book series in history, inspiring movies, theme parks, and a vast array of merchandise.