Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford in 1970. After studying English Literature at York University, he moved to London, where he worked as an editor in a publishing firm.

He is also the author of the best-selling Bartimaeus sequence, which is published in 35 languages and has sold 6 million copies worldwide, and also of four other novels: Heroes of the Valley, The Last Siege, The Leap and Buried Fire. He lives in Hertfordshire with his family. He has yet to see a ghost, but is keeping his eyes open.