Philip Pullman

Born

in Norwich, Norfolk, England, The United Kingdom

October 19, 1946

Website

http://www.philip-pullman.com

Twitter

PhilipPullman

Genre

Children's Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy

Influences

John Milton

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In 1946, acclaimed author Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, into a Protestant family. Although his beloved grandfather was an Anglican priest, Pullman became an atheist in his teenage years. He graduated from Exeter College in Oxford with a degree in English, and spent 23 years as a teacher while working on publishing 13 books and numerous short stories. Pullman has received many awards for his literature, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal for exceptional children’s literature in 1996, and the Carnegie of Carnegies in 2006. He is most famous for his “His Dark Materials” trilogy, a series of young adult fantasy novels which feature freethought themes. The novels cast organized religion as the series’ villain. Pullman told T In 1946, acclaimed author Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, into a Protestant family. Although his beloved grandfather was an Anglican priest, Pullman became an atheist in his teenage years. He graduated from Exeter College in Oxford with a degree in English, and spent 23 years as a teacher while working on publishing 13 books and numerous short stories. Pullman has received many awards for his literature, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal for exceptional children’s literature in 1996, and the Carnegie of Carnegies in 2006. He is most famous for his “His Dark Materials” trilogy, a series of young adult fantasy novels which feature freethought themes. The novels cast organized religion as the series’ villain. Pullman told The New York Times in 2000: “When you look at what C.S. Lewis is saying, his message is so anti-life, so cruel, so unjust. The view that the Narnia books have for the material world is one of almost undisguised contempt. At one point, the old professor says, ‘It’s all in Plato’ — meaning that the physical world we see around us is the crude, shabby, imperfect, second-rate copy of something much better. I want to emphasize the simple physical truth of things, the absolute primacy of the material life, rather than the spiritual or the afterlife.” He argues for a “republic of heaven” here on Earth.

In 2007, the first novel of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy was adopted into the motion picture "The Golden Compass" by New Line Cinema. Many churches and Christian organizations, including the Catholic League, called for a boycott of the film due to the books’ atheist themes. While the film was successful in Europe and moderately received in the United States, the other two books in the trilogy were not be adapted into film, possibly due to pressure from the Catholic Church. When questioned about the anti-church views in His Dark Materials, Pullman explains in an interview for Third Way (UK): “It comes from history. It comes from the record of the Inquisition, persecuting heretics and torturing Jews and all that sort of stuff; and it comes from the other side, too, from the Protestants burning the Catholics. It comes from the insensate pursuit of innocent and crazy old women, and from the Puritans in America burning and hanging the witches — and it comes not only from the Christian church but also from the Taliban. Every single religion that has a monotheistic god ends up by persecuting other people and killing them because they don't accept him. Wherever you look in history, you find that. It’s still going on” (Feb. 2002). Pullman has received many threats by ardent believers over his choice of subject matter.

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70 posts
Philip Pullman's Blog

Philip Pullman isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

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Combine Editions
Philip Pullman's Books

Average rating: 3.98 · 1,596,355 ratings · 36,918 reviews · 120 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) 3.92 avg rating — 908,275 ratings — published 1995 — 271 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2) 4.09 avg rating — 249,244 ratings — published 1996 — 188 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3) 4.06 avg rating — 200,783 ratings — published 2000 — 174 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3) 4.24 avg rating — 96,329 ratings — published 2000 — 77 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 17,931 ratings — published 1985 — 72 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lyra's Oxford (His Dark Materials, #3.5) by Philip Pullman, John Lawrence (Illustrator) 3.50 avg rating — 13,571 ratings — published 2003 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Shadow in the North (Sally Lockhart, #2) 3.82 avg rating — 10,238 ratings — published 1986 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart, #3) 3.85 avg rating — 8,872 ratings — published 1990 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ 3.33 avg rating — 8,807 ratings — published 2009 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials, #0.5) by Philip Pullman, John Lawrence (Illustrator) 3.77 avg rating — 6,538 ratings — published 2008 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philip Pullman…

Series by Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials (3 books)
by Philip Pullman
3.98 avg rating — 1,475,439 ratings

Sally Lockhart (4 books)
by Philip Pullman
3.79 avg rating — 42,841 ratings

The New Cut Gang (2 books)
by Philip Pullman
3.41 avg rating — 355 ratings

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Quotes by Philip Pullman

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman

tags: books, needs, stories, storytelling, writing

3956 likes

“We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.”
― Philip Pullman

tags: books, inspirational

2325 likes

“I think it's perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don't know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away. Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it's because he's ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they're responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I'd want nothing to do with them.”
― Philip Pullman

tags: cruelty, religion

1043 likes

See all Philip Pullman's quotes »

Polls

Which Classic SF/F Novel do You want to Discuss with the Group in July?

Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, #1) by David Eddings

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

4 votes, 44.4%

That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, #3) by C.S. Lewis

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

4 votes, 44.4%

The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga, #1) by Mary Stewart

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

1 vote, 11.1%

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

0 votes, 0.0%

9 total votes

2 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Next Best Boo...: Jane in France's 2009 Reading List	11	134	Feb 28, 2009 07:34AM
Paranormal & Urba...: Audiobooks: Do You Listen?	63	272	Jul 28, 2009 07:56AM
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SUMMER CHALLENGE 2009	6739	10827	Aug 31, 2009 10:23PM

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Philip Pullman's Blog

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Philip Pullman's Books

Series by Philip Pullman

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Quotes by Philip Pullman

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Philip Pullman’s Followers (9,904)

Philip Pullman

70 postsPhilip Pullman's Blog

Combine EditionsPhilip Pullman's Books

Series by Philip Pullman

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Philip Pullman

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

70 posts
Philip Pullman's Blog

Combine Editions
Philip Pullman's Books