About Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman is the acclaimed author of novels, short stories and plays for readers of all ages. He has received many accolades and awards for his books for children. The first volume of the His Dark Materials Trilogy, NORTHERN LIGHTS, won the 1996 Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the British Book Award. THE FIREWORK-MAKER'S DAUGHTER won the 1996 Smarties Gold Award. CLOCKWORK was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year 1997, and for the Carnegie Medal. He is one of the most talented and well-known children's writers in the world today. He lives in Oxford.

Bibliography:

Sally Lockhart
1. The Ruby in the Smoke (1985)
2. The Shadow in the North (1986) aka The Shadow in the Plate
3. The Tiger in the Well (1990)
4. The Tin Princess (1994)

New Cut Gang
1. Thunderbolt's Waxwork (1994)
2. The Gas-Fitters' Ball (1995)

His Dark Materials
1. Northern Lights aka The Golden Compass (1995)
2. The Subtle Knife (1997)
3. The Amber Spyglass (1999)
4. Lyra's Oxford (2003)

Novels
The Haunted Storm (1972)
Galatea (1976)
Count Karlstein (1982)
How to Be Cool (1987)
Spring-heeled Jack (1989)
The Broken Bridge (1990)
The White Mercedes (1992)
Clockwork: or All Wound Up (1995)
The Firework-Maker's Daughter (1995)
The Butterfly Tattoo (1998)
I Was a Rat!: or The Scarlet Slippers (1999)
The Scarecrow and His Servant (2004)


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His Dark Materials 01 - Northern Lights, also titled The Golden Compass



In Northern Lights (released in the United States and Canada as The Golden Compass), the heroine, Lyra Belacqua, a young girl brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, and her dæmon Pantalaimon learn of the existence of Dust, a strange elementary particle believed by the Church to be evidence for Original Sin. Dust appears to be less attracted to the innocence of children, and this gives rise to grisly experiments being carried out by Church-controlled scientists on kidnapped children in the icy wastelands of the distant North.

Lyra and her dæmon journey to save their best friend Roger Parslow and other kidnapped children from this peril, with the aid of the Panserbjørne (armoured bear) Iorek Byrnison, John Faa and Farder Coram, leaders of the Gyptians, the aeronaut Lee Scoresby, and the witch Serafina Pekkala. After dealings with armoured bears and witches and success in many arenas, Roger is killed by Lyra's father Lord Asriel in his own successful experiment to create a bridge into another world. Lord Asriel, followed by Lyra and Pantalaimon, journey through it separately in search of the source of Dust, unaware that they both mean to prevent the Church from destroying it.





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His Dark Materials 02 - The Subtle Knife



In The Subtle Knife, Lyra journeys through the Aurora to Cittàgazze, an otherworldly city who discovered a clean path through the worlds at a far earlier point in time than others in the storyline. Cittàgazze's reckless use of the technology has released soul-eating Spectres, rendering the world incapable of transit by post-adolescents. Here, Lyra meets Will Parry, a twelve-year-old boy from our own world who has stumbled into Cittàgazze after recently killing a man to protect his ailing mother in an effort to locate his long-lost father.

Will becomes the bearer of the titular Subtle Knife, a tool forged 300 years ago by Cittàgazze's scientists of the same materials as the silver guillotine, capable of cutting through the barriers between the worlds with one edge and literally anything with the other. After meeting with witches from Lyra's world, they journey on. Will finds his father, who has been lost in Lyra's world under the assumed name of Stanislaus Grumman, only to watch him murdered soon after, and Lyra is kidnapped by her mother, Mrs. Coulter, who has learned of the prophecy that Lyra is to be the next Eve. Will is then instructed by a pair of angelic lovers, Balthamos and Baruch, that he must travel with them to give the Subtle Knife to Lyra's father, Lord Asriel as a weapon against The Authority.




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His Dark Materials 03 - The Amber Spyglass



In The Amber Spyglass, Will ignores the angels and with the help of a local girl named Ama, the Bear King Iorek Byrnison, and Lord Asriel's Gallivespian spies the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, rescues Lyra from the cave she has been hidden in. They journey to the Land of the Dead to release the ghosts from their captivity imposed by the oppressive God, The Authority.

Mary Malone, a scientist of our world interested in Dust (or Shadows as she knows them), travels to a land populated by strange sentient creatures called Mulefa. There she learns of the true nature of Dust, existing as panpsychic particle of self-awareness. Lord Asriel and a reformed Mrs. Coulter team up to destroy The Authority's Regent, Metatron, but are killed in the process, taking Metatron down with them. The Authority himself dies of his own frailty amongst a massive battle between the rebels and his servants.




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His Dark Materials 04 - Lyra's Oxford



An exciting new tale set in the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials saga. Lyra's Oxford opens in the thrilling comfort and familiarity of Jordan College, where Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon sit on the sun-drenched roof looking out over all of Oxford. But their peace is shattered when a strange bird (a witch's daemon, on its own) tumbles out of the sky.

It is Ragi, daemon of Yelena Pazhets, and he seeks a healing elixir from an infamous Oxford alchemist (and rumored man slaughterer) to cure his witch of a strange new disease from the South. Lyra and Pan decide to help and guide him (witches are friends, of course) but the closer their winding walk leads them to the alchemist's house, the stronger Lyra's sense that she's walking into a deadly trap.




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Sally Lockheart 01- The Ruby in the Smoke



If you haven't met Sally Lockhart before, prepare to be bowled over. Sally is sixteen and uncommonly pretty. Her knowledge of English literature, French, history, art and music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol.

When her dear father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally is left to fend for herself, an orphan and alone in the smoky fog of Victorian London. Though she doesn't know it, Sally is already in terrible danger. Soon the mystery and the danger will deepen--and at the rotten heart of it all lies the deadly secret of The Ruby in the Smoke.

Sally Lockheart 02 - The Shadow in the North



An elderly lady loses her money on an investment; a conjuror is pursued by thugs; and a clairvoyant mentions the name of the richest man in Europe and his mysterious company. Seemingly unconnected events set Sally Lockhart on the trail of an evil far more awful than she could ever imagine.



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Sally Lockheart 03 - The Tiger in the Well



Sued for divorce when she's never been married, by a man she's never heard of, Sally Lockhart's life is completely uprooted. There seems nothing she can do to prevent the loss of her money, her home, her business, and her two-year-old daughter, Harriet.



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Sally Lockhart 04 - The Tin Princess



A complex tale of romance, intrigue, and adventure. Adelaide, Mrs. Holland's maid, vanished towards the end of The Ruby in the Smoke (Knopf, 1987).

Now, 10 years later, in 1882, detective Jim Taylor tracks her down. Beautiful, tough, and illiterate, 22-year-old Adelaide has secretly married Prince Rudolf of Razkavia. When his brother is shot, the couple travels to that tiny European country. Jim accompanies them, as does Becky Winter, 16, Adelaide's tutor and interpreter. In rapid succession the old king dies, Rudolf is crowned and assassinated, and Adelaide becomes queen. Surprisingly, she's remarkably good at the job. She's not without enemies, though, and Becky and Jim have their hands full as they try to stay one step ahead of the schemers.

Pullman writes fluently and descriptively, and his wealth of detail brings the period alive. The unexpected twists and turns will grip readers and make it difficult to set the novel down. At times, the large cast and numerous subplots needlessly complicate matters, and the introductory list of names and family tree are more a distraction than a help. Pullman's habit of shifting perspective (from Becky to Jim to assorted others) can also be annoying. Still, this book stands above most YA novels of its type due to its richness, its fascinating characters, and its story that, while sometimes far-fetched, is firmly rooted in reality.

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