Biografia di |
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Jonathan Stroud
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Jonathan Stroud (Bedford, 27 ottobre 1970) è uno scrittore britannico, autore di libri fantasy.
Nato nel 1970 a Bedford, Inghilterra, Jonathan Stroud ha iniziato a scrivere le sue prime storie all'età di sette anni.
Dopo aver completato gli studi di letteratura inglese all'università di York ha iniziato la sua carriera in una casa editrice di Londra dove
ha lavorato come curatore di libri per bambini.
Negli anni novanta ha iniziato a pubblicare i suoi lavori e ha avuto rapidamente successo.
Nel maggio 1999, Jonathan ha dato alle stampe il suo primo romanzo per bambini, Buried Fire, il primo di una lunga serie di libri
fantasy/mitologici per bambini.
Tra i suoi libri più importanti c'è la Trilogia di Bartimeus.
Una caratteristica di questi romanzi confrontati ad altri del loro genere è il modo in cui Stroud gioca con gli stereotipi del
"buon mago" e del "demone cattivo" quando il sarcastico ed egocentrico jinn Bartimaeus descrive un mondo moderno governato da maghi
corrotti.
I libri della serie sono:
• "L'amuleto di Samarcanda" (titolo originale The Amulet of Samarkand)
pubblicato in Italia nel 2004,
• "L'occhio del golem" (The Golem's Eye) pubblicato in Italia nel 2005,
• "La porta di Tolomeo" (Ptolemy's Gate) pubblicato in Italia nel
maggio 2006.
Nel 2011 è stato pubblicato in Italia "L'anello di Salomone" (The Ring of Solomon), un prequel della Trilogia di Bartimeus.
La moglie Gina, con la quale ha avuto tre figli, è illustratrice di libri per bambini.
Opere
• "The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood" (1996)
• "The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard" (1997)
• "Alfie's Big Adventure" (1999)
• "Word Puzzles" (1999)
• "Buried Fire" (1999), Miramax/Hyperion
• "Little Red Car" (1999)
• "Ancient Rome" (2000)
• "The Leap" (2001), Miramax/Hyperion
• "The Last Siege" (2003)
La Trilogia di Bartimeus
• "L'amuleto di Samarcanda" (2003)
• "L'occhio del Golem". (2004)
• "La porta di Tolomeo" (2005)
• "La valle degli eroi" (Heroes of the Valley) (2009)
• "L'anello di Salomone" (The Ring of Solomon) (2010)
Serie di Lockwood & Co.
• "La scala urlante" (2013)
• "Il teschio parlante" (2016)
Dal sito ufficiale di Jonathan Stroud, leggiamo cosa racconta di sè stesso:
"I was born in Bedford, England, on 27th October 1970. When I was six my family moved to St Albans, near London, which is where I grew up.
From very early on I enjoyed scribbling stories and drawing, and for a long time the two sides were equally balanced: pictures interested me as much
as words.
Between the ages of seven and nine I was 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.
Around this time I fell in love with fantasy.
Throughout my school years I experimented with different kinds of writing, often illustrated. (See Early Stuff for some examples.)
I tried comics, gamebooks, board games, and later poems and plays.
Without being entirely aware of it, I was searching for the kind of writing that suited me best.
Meanwhile, I was getting more and more interested in other people's writing. Finally I went to York University, to read English Literature.
Like many English graduates, I left university without a clue what to do.
But I got an editorial job at Walker Books, in London, and began to learn about children's books. For several years I worked as an editor: helping
authors with their ideas and their texts, consulting with designers and artists about the visual side, helping to create books of many kinds.
I worked on encyclopaedias, history books, game books and even a children's Bible.
This taught me a lot of things about structure, pace and style; meanwhile, in my free time, I was busy writing also.
I did several puzzle books for Walker, and began working on a novel too.
When Buried Fire was published in 1999, I knew that I had found what I truly wanted to do, but it took until 2001 before I finally took the plunge,
gave up being an editor and tried to write full time.
The same year I married Gina, and we now have a daughter called Isabelle, an older son called Arthur and a baby boy called Louis.
Most days I go up to my study (see My Working Day), and shut myself away from the world while I write.
But I also enjoy doing as many events and author visits as possible: it's essential that a writer reminds himself of who he's
writing for ..."
