Philip Pullman

[orionsixwings]

There's no section for this very talented author, so I will post this here.


Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946), is a British writer, educated at Exeter College, Oxford, who is the best-selling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels and a number of other books, purportedly for children, but attracting increasing attention by adult readers. His Dark Materials consisted of Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the US), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass (a short companion piece, Lyra's Oxford, containing items of interest and a short story, has also been published). Pullman was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list in 2004.


The first volume of that trilogy, Northern Lights, won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995. The Amber Spyglass, the last volume, was awarded both 2001 Whitbread Prize for best children's book and the Whitbread Book of the Year prize in January 2002, the first children's book to receive that award. The trilogy won popular acclaim in late 2003, taking third place in the BBC's Big Read poll.

Like the Harry Potter books, the His Dark Materials books have been at the heart of controversy, especially with certain Christian groups. It is claimed by some that he actively pursues an anti-Christian agenda. Proponents of this view point to the critical articles he wrote regarding C. S. Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia (which Pullman denounces as propaganda), and the usually negative portrayal of the "Church" in His Dark Materials.
The two series resemble each other in many ways. Both feature children facing adult moral choices, talking animals, religious allegories, parallel worlds, and the fate of those worlds hanging in the balance. The first published Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe starts with a young girl hiding in a wardrobe, as does the first Dark Materials book, Northern Lights.

Indeed, some have seen the His Dark Materials series as a direct rebuttal of C. S. Lewis's Christianity-inspired series. Pullman has criticised in particular Lewis's use of a fictional cure for cancer in one of the Narnia books, which Pullman claimed would raise false hopes in children who were themselves, or who had friends or family members who were, seriously ill. He has also criticised the way Lewis excludes the character Susan from the final heaven scenes in The Last Battle, saying that she is rejected for her growing worldliness and her rejection of Narnia. Lewis devotees argue that Pullman has read far too much into this; indeed, Lewis made no such statement about Susan's final destiny, and never excluded the possibility of her rejoining her friends in heaven later.

However, Pullman has also found support from more liberal groups, most notably Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. These groups and individuals point out that Pullman's attacks are focused on the constraints of dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not Christianity itself. Dr. Williams has gone so far as to propose that His Dark Materials be taught as part of religious education in schools.

In 2005 Pullman was announced as joint winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's literature.

He is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

In addition to writing, Pullman also began teaching Master level courses in English at his alma mater, Exeter College, Oxford, in 2004.

[orionsixwings]

Bibliography

• The Haunted Storm (1972)
• Galatea (1976)
• Ancient Civilisations, illustrated by Gary Long (1978 or 1981) non-fiction
• Using the Oxford Junior Dictionary, (1979) non-fiction
• The White Mercedes (1981) (later renamed The Butterfly Tattoo)
• Count Karlstein (1982)
• Detective Stories, illustrated by Nick Hardcastle (1985 or 1998)
• How to be Cool (1987)
• Spring-Heeled Jack: A Story of Bravery and Evil, illustrated by David Mostyn (1989)
• The Broken Bridge (1990)
• Frankenstein (1990)
• The Firework-maker's daughter, illustrated by Susan Saelig Gallagher (1995)
• Clockwork or All Wound Up, illustrated by Leonid Gore (1996)
• Mossycoat, retold by Philip Pullman, illustrated by Peter Bailey (1998)
• I was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers (1999)
• Puss in Boots: The Adventures of That Most Enterprising Feline, illustrated by Ian Beck (2001)
• The New-Cut Gang:
  • Thunderbolt's Waxwork (1994)
  • The Gasfitter's Ball (1995)
• Sally Lockhart series: modern "penny dreadfuls"
  • The Ruby in the Smoke (1985)
  • The Shadow in the North (first published as The Shadow in the Plate) (1986)
  • The Tiger in the Well (1991)
  • The Tin Princess (1994)
• His Dark Materials trilogy and related works:
  • Northern Lights, retitled The Golden Compass in the US (1995)
  • The Subtle Knife (1997)
  • The Amber Spyglass (2000)
  • Lyra's Oxford (2003): postcards, a map of Oxford, and a short story from the His Dark Materials universe.
  • The Book of Dust (not yet published). A companion to His Dark Materials.
• The Scarecrow and his Servant (2004)

A recorded version of His Dark Materials has Pullman reading as narrator, with dialogue performed by a cast of voice actors.

[Alia]

There's no section for this very talented author, so I will post this here.

*looks stunned*
*mouth gaps in awe*
I don't know how that was done... how I missed him.
*sighs*
I really need to tend to this forum better. Thank you, Orion for this and doing all this research. Where did you draw your information from?

Also, I'll add this and the other threads to the Great Reads post tonight.

[Teresa Edgerton]

There have been a number of Philip Pullman threads, but they never seem to provoke the sort of enthusiastic response that leads members to agitate for a separate sub-forum. Strange, considering how popular his books are. Maybe your bibliography will generate some interest, orion.

I'm not a big fan of His Dark Materials -- fascinating premise, great setting, but it never quite touched me in the way I felt it should with all that going for it. Maybe I will give it another try one of these days.

But I did like the Sally Lockhart books, especially The Tiger in the Well. Daniel Goldberg is a great character, an unexpectedly flesh-and-blood and complex hero to find in a series for that age group.

[Green Knight]

I was always of the school of thought that saw an irony in Philip Pullman challenging the existence of God. 'Have you read your own books lately?' I wanted to ask him. 'You quite obviously ARE God.'

Yes, I am an abject Pullman fan. He's one of those writers who, along with John Irving, just have the ability to make me slack-jawed with fawning admiration.

It is a shame he's not even more acclaimed than he is already... some people don't seem sure how to classify his books. He's not entirely a fantasy writer as he subverts the genre somewhat; nor is he a 'children's' writer (his stories are more sophisticated than most adult novels!). He is a genre unto himself, almost. Ironic indeed that he only enjoyed massive success on the back of Potter-mania - he couldn't be more different from J K Rowling.

[Kailana]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

There have been a number of Philip Pullman threads, but they never seem to provoke the sort of enthusiastic response that leads members to agitate for a separate sub-forum. Strange, considering how popular his books are. Maybe your bibliography will generate some interest, orion.

I'm not a big fan of His Dark Materials -- fascinating premise, great setting, but it never quite touched me in the way I felt it should with all that going for it. Maybe I will give it another try one of these days.

But I did like the Sally Lockhart books, especially The Tiger in the Well. Daniel Goldberg is a great character, an unexpectedly flesh-and-blood and complex hero to find in a series for that age group.

You sound like me! I have only read the first book in the series, I am a little slow, but I was not really as impressed as I expected to be. Everywhere I look I see people talking about them and they are so great, but while it was good and I didn't mind reading it, I also don't feel the compulsion to rush into book 2.... I will read them, though, maybe I will like the last two books better than the first or gain an appreciation for the first. I tend to do that from time to time. Maybe this summer.

[orionsixwings]

Originally Posted by Green Knight

I was always of the school of thought that saw an irony in Philip Pullman challenging the existence of God. 'Have you read your own books lately?' I wanted to ask him. 'You quite obviously ARE God.'

Yes, I am an abject Pullman fan. He's one of those writers who, along with John Irving, just have the ability to make me slack-jawed with fawning admiration.

It is a shame he's not even more acclaimed than he is already... some people don't seem sure how to classify his books. He's not entirely a fantasy writer as he subverts the genre somewhat; nor is he a 'children's' writer (his stories are more sophisticated than most adult novels!). He is a genre unto himself, almost. Ironic indeed that he only enjoyed massive success on the back of Potter-mania - he couldn't be more different from J K Rowling.

Yeah, I think that is one of the biggest effect Rowling has in the book industry in general. Harry Potter has raised quite an awareness to books that people are beginning to notice this entirely new world away from technology. There is a return to books if you can call it that.

And yes, Philip Pullman is in my opinion a better writer than JK, and is a writer in his own genre.

[Kailana]

Originally Posted by orionsixwings

Yeah, I think that is one of the biggest effect Rowling has in the book industry in general. Harry Potter has raised quite an awareness to books that people are beginning to notice this entirely new world away from technology. There is a return to books if you can call it that.

And yes, Philip Pullman is in my opinion a better writer than JK, and is a writer in his own genre.

Pullman is better, I must say. Can someone refresh my memory as to why Rowling's novels are considered better than all these books? It was a while ago, good advertising?