His Dark Materials at a Glance

  • Author Philip Pullman’s trilogy, Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, has been given a two season order from the BBC, with HBO picking up the worldwide rights. to release in 2019.
  • Pullman was born in Norwich in 1946, and educated in England, Zimbabwe, and Australia
  • Secondary education at the Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, and Exeter College, Oxford
  • He began teaching at the age of 25, and taught at various Oxford Middle Schools and  Westminster College
  • These books have been honored by several prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Book Award, the Costa Award, and the Eleanor Farjeon Award for children’s literature.
  • The series will star Dafne Keen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, and Ruth Wilson.

 

Series Summary

the golden compassNorthern Lights/The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)  by Philip Pullman

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal–including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.  Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want–but what Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

 

subtle knifeThe Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2) by Philip Pullman

Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld – Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky.  But she is not without allies: twelve-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another’s, has stumbled into this strange new realm.  On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will uncover a deadly secret: an object of extraordinary and devastating power.  And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat – and the shattering truth of their own destiny

 

amber spyglassThe Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3) by Philip Pullman

Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel – by the command of his dying father.  But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and and intrigues that beset him.  The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead.

Novels Related to the Series

once upon a time in north (1)Once upon a time in the North [electronic resource]  by Philip Pullman

(Prequel) After winning his hot-air balloon in a poker game, Scoresby finds himself floating north. On the Arctic island of Novy Odense, Scoresby and his dæmon Hester become involved in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and a hired killer who is Lee’s longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country. Forming an alliance with one of the island’s reviled armored bears, Scoresby fights to break up the conspiracy.

 

the book of dustThe Book of Dust/Philip Pullman

(Prequel) Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy… Malcolm’s father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his dæmon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.

He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust–and the spy it was intended for finds him.  When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcolm sees suspicious characters everywhere; Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; an Egyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a dæmon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl–just a baby–named Lyra.

 

lyra's oxfordLyra’s Oxford [electronic resource] / Philip Pullman

Lyra’s Oxford begins with Lyra and Pantalaimon spotting a witch’s dæmon. Lyra shelters the daemon from the pursuit of a frenzied pack of birds, and then attempts to help by guiding the daemon to the home of an alchemist living in a part of Oxford known as Jericho. The journey through Oxford reveals more dangers than Lyra had anticipated

 

 

Related Trailers

 

BBC Trailer of His Dark Materials Series