by Tony Watkins; published by Damaris Books, 2004 and IVP (USA), 2006
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is rightly acclaimed as a modern classic. Pullman creates alternative worlds that fascinate and delight, and has built up a loyal army of readers. He has been described as the ‘most significant’, but also the ‘most dangerous’ author in Britain. Who is Philip Pullman, and why have his books provoked such a wide variety of strong opinions?
Tony Watkins explains what makes His Dark Materials such a magnificent work of fiction. He explores the
influences that shaped Pullman’s writing and the major themes of the trilogy, including daemons, Dust and Pullman’s perspective on God.
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Contents
Preface
Part One: The Storyteller
1. The once upon a time business
2. Philip Pullman: places and people
3. Storytelling and other stories
4. His raw materials
Part Two: The World(s) of His Dark Materials
5. Northern Lights
6. The Subtle Knife
7. The Amber Spyglass
8. Beyond The Amber Spyglass
Part Three: Shedding light on dark matter
9. Dæmons and growing up
10. Dust, sin and the Fall
11. Consciousness, wisdom and the second Fall
12. Truth, integrity and the alethiometer
13. The Magisterium and the Authority
14. The republic of heaven
15. Once upon a time lasts for ever
Bibliography
Appendix: The science of His Dark Materials
Click here to download a sample chapter – ch. 13, ‘The Magisterium and the Authority’ (contains spoilers!)