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.