As part of her ongoing attempt to recapture that lightning in a bottle which made her a household name in millions of households around the globe with the publication of the original Harry Potter novel, J.K. Rowling published The Christmas Pig in October 2021. Although unlikely right from the beginning to fire the imagination of readers in quite the same way that the young scarface wizard managed to do, this children’s book instantly hit the best seller lists as it met with a mainly positive critical reaction, including a rave review in The New York Times.
That beginning for The Christmas Pig traces back almost a decade before publication with its stimulating origin story revolving toy pigs enjoyed by her infant son. Rowling has credited the isolation effect of the Covid pandemic with giving her the perfect opportunity to pursue what had long been an unmet goal in her storied career: penning a Christmas story.
The Christmas Pig is, of course, set during the holidays with a plot involving an eight-year-old boy named Jack and his toy pig he calls Dur Pig. Ironically, it is on Christmas Eve that Jack loses DP thanks to the strongarm of a stepsister named—wait for it—Holly. The title character is the less than stellar replacement for the lost DP, but what Christmas Pig lacks up for Dur Pig-ness, he more than makes up for in determination.
Success was not pre-determined for this book in quite the same way it might have been ten or even five years earlier. In the years leading to its publication, the previously fairytale-esque quality Rowling’s reputation had been tarnished by several missteps on social media. Seeming ret-conned revelations of the sexuality of certain characters in the Harry Potter series and some very controversial posts viewed by many as being harshly unsympathetic to transgender rights both created a backlash against the author. The full impact upon sales of future books remained uncertain even in the wake of the release of The Christmas Pig.
