Philip Pullman is one of the most commercially and critically successful British authors of the past decade. With a writing career extending back to the early 1970s, Pullman's great achievement has been in the publication of the His Dark Materials trilogy: Northern Lights (1995; US title The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000). With these novels, which have appealed equally to children and to adults, Pullman has carved a space for himself as a writer of moral seriousness, imaginative depth and storytelling virtuosity.

Claire Squires' book is the first comprehensive and authoritative study of this great writer. The focus is on Pullman's central achievement with His Dark Materials, but it also considers his entire oeuvre. Importantly, the book informs readers about the contexts, sources and influences behind the trilogy, and examines the controversies and debates that have surrounded the trilogy and its creator, since its publication.