Lynne Reid Banks was born in London in 1929. She was an actress in the early 1950s and later became one of the first two women TV News reporters in Britain. She is a best-selling author for both children and adults, and has written over thirty books, including The L-Shaped Room.Lynne Reid Banks has three grown-up sons and lives in Dorset and London with her sculptor husband, Chaim Stephenson.

Praise for The Indian in the Cupboard 'An assured piece of story-telling, well able to stand comparison with older classics." Times Educational Supplement "Enthralling and hair-raising reading." TLS "The Key to the Indian is a swiftly-moving, tightly-plotted, exciting, funny tale, which will keep the reader firmly hooked and frantically turning the pages." Carousel Praise for The Secret of the Indian "There have been many famous stories in which children's toys come alive: this book is in the same great tradition." School Library Association