minerva was the roman goddess of warriors and wisdom. william mcgonagall is celebrated as the worst poet in british history. there was something irresistible to me about his name, and the idea that such a brilliant woman might be a distant relative of the buffoonish mcgonagall.
a small sample of his work will give a flavour of its unintentional comedic value. the following was written as part of a poem commemorating a victorian railway disaster:
beautiful railway bridge of the silv'ry tay!
alas! i am very sorry to say
that ninety lives have been taken away
on the last sabbath day of 1879,
which will be remember’d for a very long time.
—
j.k. rowling, professor mcgonagall on pottermore.