Jonathan Stroud: 'Right from the beginning, libraries were there for me'

Jonathan Stroud, author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, discusses his love of libraries in this video interview.

Born in Bedford, England, he was beset by illness as a young child, according to his website.

He wrote, "Between the ages of seven and nine I was quite often ill, and spent long periods in hospital and at home in bed. During this time I escaped from boredom and frustration by reading furiously: books littered my bedroom floor like bones in a lion's cave. I tended to enjoy stories of magical adventure more than ones about real life – I think this was because they provided a more complete escape – and around this time I fell in love with fantasy."

Stroud went to on to produce the best-selling trilogy told from the perspective of the djinni Bartimaeus. He also produced such works as the novel Heroes of the Valley.