British novelist Philip Pullman is the author of the fantasy series "His Dark Materials", and the companion pieces Lyra's Oxford, Once Upon a Time in the North and The Book of Dust. He has also written a series of romantic mystery novels featuring the character Sally Lockhart.
Career Background
In 1970, while working as a teacher, Pullman began authoring children's plays. His first published work, The Haunted Storm, won the 1972 New English Library's Young Writer's Award. He continued writing plays and books for children, along with the more mature fantasy novel Galatea.
"His Dark Materials"
While teaching part-time at Westminster College, at Oxford University, in the early 1990s, Pullman began working on the "His Dark Materials" books. The first novel in the series, The Golden Compass, was published in 1996 and won the Carnegie Medal for British children's fiction.
Two more novels in the series, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, followed in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2007, The Golden Compass was turned into a movie, the first in a planned trilogy adapting the "Dark Materials" series. Poor performance at the American box office has stalled the plans to complete the trilogy.
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
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First Novel
The Haunted Storm
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Fact:
Father died in a plane crash when Pullman was 7
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Spouse
Judith Speller
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Fact:
Name "His Dark Materials" is a reference to Milton's Paradise Lost
