I mean, even Tolkien let us have all our little hobbits in the end. No happy endings, at least, not in the typical way, either. Not even a goodbye kiss, and I think that stung most of all. And I say that most pointedly, as I find it difficult to imagine how this series ever made it to the Young Adult shelf-it's merciless, is what I'm saying. I'll hand it to Stroud, he stayed true to his style the whole way through. I wanted to see some profound acts of selflessness and boy did I ever. Stroud lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire, with his two children, Isabelle and Arthur, and his wife Gina, an illustrator of children's books. The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States. This is done by examining the perspective of the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni Bartimaeus. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud examines the stereotypes and ethics of the magician class and the enslaved demons. In May 1999, Stroud published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books.Īmong his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. During the 1990s, he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success. He worked with different types of books there and this soon led to the writing of his own books. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor for the Walker Books store. To escape boredom he would occupy himself with books and stories. Between the ages seven and nine he was often ill, so he spent most of his days in the hospital or in his bed at home. Stroud grew up in St Albans where he enjoyed reading books, drawing pictures, and writing stories. Jonathan Anthony Stroud is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and youths.

The bartimaeus series