In crossed worlds ( His Dark Materials ) is a series of pounds written by Philip Pullman.

This series is at the base a trilogy made up of the books:

  1. 1995 : Kingdoms of North ( Northern Lights )
  2. 1997: the Tower of the angels ( The Subtle Knife )
  3. 2002: the amber Mirror ( The Amber Spyglass )

Three additional books are added to it:

  • Lyra and the birds ( Lyra' S Oxford ), a very short history which occurs two years after the Mirror from amber and is not essential with the series.
  • It was once in North ( Once upon has Time in the North ), also a short history centered on the meeting of Lee and Iorek, which will be published in the United Kingdom in April 2008.
  • The Book off Dust (in preparation), a book which without being a continuation of the work, presents additional details, in particular on Dust, and even the characters. It will be held a few years after the trilogy, with Lyra then old of 16 or 17 years.

Influences and Criticisms

The three major literary influences that Philip Pullman recognized are the test Puppet theater of Heinrich von Kleist, work of William Blake, and especially, the Paradise lost of John Milton of which the title of its English trilogy (: His Dark Materials ) and much of basic ideas of the book comes. The idea of Pullman was to reverse the history of Milton of a war between the Sky and the Hell. In its introduction, it adapts to joke, celebrates it sentence of William Blake that it (Pullman) " is off the Devil' S party and does know it." (In French: He (Pullman) is party of the Devil, and knows it very well). The novel rests also enormously on the ideas Gnostique S and its trilogy In crossed worlds was the subject many controversies, in particular because of Christian organizations extremists.

Christendom and the Church are often criticized by the characters. For example, Ruta Skadi, a minor character, appealing with the war against the Authority and Magisterium (the Church in the world of Lyra), known as that “During all the history the Church, this one tried to remove and control the natural inclinations of the human one. And when it cannot control them, it gets rid some” (see Intercision). It extends its criticism to all the organized religions “It is what the Church made, and all the Churches are the same ones: to control, destroy and obliterate all the finer feelingss”. In another passage, Mary Malone, one of the main characters, are a former nun who lost the faith, affirms that “the Christian religion is nothing more than one very powerful and very convincing error”.

However, Pullman found the support of more liberal Christians, in particular Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, which retorts with the attacks the fundamentalist ones that criticisms of Pullman are concentrated on the dangers of dogmatism, and the use of the religion as a means of oppression, not on Christianity itself. Pullman itself declared during interviews that its arguments can apply to all the religions.

On another side, those which criticize the work have the impression that Christian God is described like a false god, this being fed by the fact that in the trilogy of Pullman, the " life after the mort" proves to be a true camp where the phantoms are parked, which must undergo without stop the torments of Harpies savage and cruel, where, contrary to the Christian religion, the virtuous ones are not separated from the sinners: a world of torture created by the Authority itself. Moreover, there is no good or bad practice of the religion: all the Christian and religious characters are introduced like bad individuals, underhand and malicious, or are shown only under one day more lenient than after they cut any bond with the Church. Cynthia Attic, a catholic écrivaine, the interpreter in this manner: " In the world of Pullman, God himself (Authority) is a tyrant without pity, its Church is an instrument of oppression, and true heroism is to reverse them all the deux". It should nevertheless be stressed that the Authority is not really God, it is only one angel being made pass for God. This fact is often forgotten by the detractors of work.

Some present its trilogy like the Antithèse of the Monde of Narnia , the series of 7 books of C.S. Lewis, even if Pullman denies any conscious relationship between the two. This impression was however reinforced by the public statements of Pullman showing Lewis " to disparage the femmes" completely; and to be " openly raciste" in its novels. Moreover, the series of Narnia supports openly and distinctly the faith and Christianity against skepticism and the autonomous and free thought, whereas the trilogy of Pullman recommends the opposite, and defends freedom to think, and for the individual choice, tinted Existentialisme sometimes.

In term of popularity, the trilogy is sometimes compared with the books of Madeleine Engle, a short cut in time , or the series of Diane Duane the Jeunes Wizard , and the books Narnia themselves.

Adaptations

In Croisée Worlds was adapted into serial-radio on radio operator Radio operator British BBC 4, with Terence Stamp as a Lord Asriel, and Lulu Popplewell as Lyra. This radio version was diffused in 2003, and is now published (in English) out of CD and cassettes. The same year, the Irish Public radio RTE diffused the radio version of the Kingdoms of North.

Nicolas Hytner adapted the books in plays, a 6 hour old part in two parts, for the London' S Royal National Theater, played of December 2003 to March 2004. Anna Maxwell-Martin played the part of Lyra, Dominic Cooper celuin of Will, Timothy Dalton that of Lord Asriel, and finally the role of Mrs Coulter was held by Patricia Hodge. The dæmons-puppets had been indicated by Micheal Curry. The part was an enormous success, and was rejouée (with a different casting) of November 2004 until April 2005.

Cinema

A film adaptation is planned for a French exit on December 5th 2007. Produced by New Line Cinema, the company having produced the Lord of the Rings , the first film will be directed by Chris Weitz and should take in France the title " In crossed worlds: the compass of or" (in original version: The Golden delicious Compass ). Chris Weitz, first realizer to be named, is a time withdrawn of the project of which he wrote the scenario, by fear not to be with the height. He had also explained in an interview, little before his departure, why the project seemed to minimize allusions to the religion not to shock certain spectators. Replaced by Anand Tucker, it has took again finally its post of director following the unloading of this last. Nicole Kidman was seen offering the role of Mrs. Coulter. As for the role of Lord Asriel, it will be held by Daniel Craig (new 007, in the Casino Royal one ). The actress Eva Green (also seen in Casino Royal ) will be with the poster with the role of the witch Serafina Pekala.

At the end of June 2006, a press release of New Line announced that it would be an unknown factor, Dakota Blue Richards, which will incarnate Lyra with the screen. The young girl was located in Cambridge at the time of a campaign of casting carried out through the United Kingdom to March. Turning began on September 4th, 2006 with the Shepperton studios from London to be completed in January 2007 before long months of post-production. Pullman, which had chosen not to be invested in the cinematographic draft amendment, however recently required of the producers and of New Line Cinema " stick to the book" , i.e. " Remain close to the livre". He also would have written certain scenes and advises the team of film. Its last declarations remain positive, evoking a script " truly excellent" and a distribution of very high-quality.

Rewards

the Mirror of amber gained in 2002 Whitbread Book off the Year Award, a prestigious British reward. It is the first time that this reward is decreed with a book of the " category; literature for enfants".

The first volume, the Kingdoms of North , gained Canergie Medal for a fiction for children in the United Kingdom in 1995.

May 19th, 2005, Pullman was invited to British Library in London, to be formally congratulated for its work by the British Minister for the Culture, Tessa Jowell, " in the name of the gouvernement". It also received the reward of the government Swedish, Astrid Lindgren memorial award, category literature youth. The price, second price of the literature in the world after the Nobel Prize, is worth 560.691 €.

The trilogy finally arrived third at the contest of BBC Big Read, a national survey determining the books preferred of the participants, after the Lord of the Rings and Orgueil and Préjugés . It was at the time the only book of signal 5 not to be adapted to the cinema.

Note in connection with dæmons

See also: Dæmon

In the world of Lyra, heroin of the trilogy, the heart of each Human being is visible outside its body. It is called “Dæmon”. Although human and dæmon forms two distinct entities, they are in fact a single Être. A bond intimates the dregs between them and if they are physically separated by a too long distance, one and the other manages to feel a deep discomfort which obliges them to remain in the vicinity. Moreover, the two entities share the feelings and feelings of the other, whether it is joy or pain. Certain people, in particular the witches, succeeded in breaking the bond of proximity by forcing separation. Each of the two entities can then go where good seems to him without more no faintness being made feel. However, they continue to share their feelings and the death of the one always results in the death of the other.

The Dæmon is presented in animal form, but of sometimes disproportionate size. Before maturity, it can be metamorphosed at will. Then it takes its final form, forms which corresponds to its personality and that of its human. This dæmon is endowed with a clean conscience, and can be slightly different from its human. It is generally sex opposed to this one.

There exists a great taboo, universal, implicit and acquired by all which stipulates that no human must touch some manner that it is a Dæmon which is not it his. Even during the engagements, the human ones attack the human ones, dæmons them attack dæmons them!

Finally it should be known that the Dæmon is created ex-nihilo with the birth and evaporates with dead the human one. Contrary, if the dæmon is killed, this one disappears suddenly and results in the death of the human one.

Note:: the translator of the French version advises to pronounce the word “demon” with the Frenchwoman, as we would say “demon”. However much of people prefer the anglophone pronunciation which makes well the difference with the direction that we commonly give to the demons.

External bonds

  • Randomhouse His Dark Materials, official site
  • Cittagazze.com, information and news on the trilogy, its author, and all that refers to it
  • BridgeToTheStars.net, American Site anglophone devoted to the trilogy
  • HisDarkMaterials.org, British Site devoted to the trilogy
  • Official site of the multilingual Version film
  • The Archbishop off Canterbury and Philip Pullman in conversation in The Daily Telegraph
  • BridgetotheStars.net interview with Chris Weitz and a summary of the interview coming from the British newspaper The Times, 2004.
  • RPG Forum on the trilogy " With Crossed of Mondes".

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