But the plot is a little thicker. The character,serial killer Dennis Creed,who presents as a woman to trick his female victims,is not labelled as a"transvestite"or as transgender. As a boy,Creed stole underwear and masturbated into them and he is described as having a"convivial,sexually ambiguous persona". One near-victim reports he is"dark and stocky because he was wearing a wig at the time and all padded out in a woman’s coat."The novel is more than 900 pages long and,reviewers have pointed out,Creed is one of several suspects,not the prime villain,and his cross-dressing is not a key component of the novel.Rowling posted on Robert Galbraith's website that Creed was “was loosely based on real-life killers Jerry Brudos and Russell Williams – both master manipulators who took trophies from their victims”.

Why is it important?

The satirical website The Betoota Advocate this week published the article"Year 4 Students Boycott Philosopher's Stone After Learning J.K Rowling Got Cancelled". The headline teases the apparent distance between social media,where the latest Rowling saga has once again largely unfolded,and the offline world where Harry Potter is still Harry Potter. In the year to June alone,Rowling sold nearly 2.6 million books. Local publisher Hachette said more than 35,000 copies ofTroubled Blood had been sent to local bookshops,making it the biggest Robert Galbraith release for Australia on record.

But to dismiss what happened as a social media spat is to also miss a chance to consider the dynamics of the so-called culture wars and cancel culture,and to have complex conversations about gender identity. Rowling was long seen as an ally of the left,but her comments have opened a debate about how cisgender women,feminists and trans and non-binary activists interact. The saga also reveals a generation gap,both in terms of the platforms where current cultural debates are being held and their content. It shows how"cancellation"doesn't apply equally to everyone. Rowling herself has poked fun at her repeated"cancellation"- she is too wealthy,too well known and too well-connected to ever be truly silenced. The response toTroubled Bloodalso offers a chance to consider how a writer's public politics affect the framing of their work. Fans who once went to bookstores at midnight to pick up the latest Harry Potter novel and now see Rowling as perpetuating transphobia are left asking,what do we do when the gilt of our icon rubs off on our hands?

While a fascinating case study of a cultural climate,some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our society say they have been harmed by Rowling's comments. Those who have struggled with their gender identity feel they have lost the refuge they once found in Harry Potter.Sex and the City actor Cynthia Nixon highlighted this sense of heartbreak when she described how painful Rowling's comments were for her transgender son Max,who grew up reading the series."The books seem to be about championing people who are different,so for her to select this one group of people who are obviously different and sort of deny their existence … it's really baffling,"Nixon was quoted as saying. Rowling hasn't directly addressed the discussion provoked byTroubled Blood,and even though the novel was likely turned over to editors before she doubled down on identity politics this year,it is hard to imagine she wouldn't have been aware that her use of gender performance as a characteristic would be controversial. Perhaps this week has ultimately proved a useful reminder that,to quote Hogwarts'headmaster Albus Dumbledore,words are"our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury,and remedying it."