The Northern LightsThe Golden Compass (United States) Author Philip Pullman Cover Artist Philip Pullman and David Scutt Country United Kingdom Language English Series His Dark Materials Genres Fantasy, Steampunk Publisher Scholastic Point Publication Date 1995 Media Type Print (hardcover and paperback) Pages 416 pp ISBN 0-590-66054-3 Followed by Subtle Knife Northern Lights is the first novel of the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman and published in 1995. The superficial resemblance of protagonist Lyra Belacqua's alethiometer (depicted on the book cover) to a large compass led the North American publishers of Northern Lights to rename the book The Golden Compass.[1] In fact, The Golden Compass was an early proposal for the trilogy's name (instead of His Dark Materials), taken from Milton's Paradise Lost, where it refers to the drawing tool, rather than the navigation tool.[ 1]Northern Lights won. was awarded the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995[2], and in 2007 it was selected by the Carnegie Medal judges as one of the ten most important children's novels of the last 70 years.Contents [hide] 1 Plot summary 2 Film 3 Video game 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links [edit] Plot summary The story begins when Lyra Belacqua, an eleven-year-old orphan girl residing at Jordan College, secretly enters the restricted room, despite resistance from his dжmon, Pantalaimon; an animal-shaped, shape-shifting manifestation of his soul. Inside the room, they see the Master of Jordan College attempt to poison Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle. Lord Asriel shows the resident scholars an image of mysterious elementary particles called Dust. Shortly thereafter Lord Asriel goes north, and Lyra continues with her normal life. However, before long his friend Roger is kidnapped by the "Gobblers", who are the subject of a childhood superstition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayLyra vows to save him and finds her chance when a visiting woman of great importance, Mrs. Marisa Coulter, offers to take Lyra away from Jordan College to become her apprentice. Lyra agrees, but before leaving the Master of the College entrusts her with an object of inestimable value: an alethiometer. Similar to a golden compass, it is a device that can reveal the answer to any question posed by the user. Although initially unable to read or understand its complex meanings, Lyra takes it with her to Mrs. Coulter's apartment. Lyra becomes suspicious of Mrs. Coulter's motives when Mrs. Coulter's dжmon searches Lyra's room for the alethiometer. At a party hosted by Mrs. Coulter, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is the head of a church organization known as the "General Oblation Board". " and that this council are, in fact, the "Swallowers" who have been kidnapping children. The horror of this discovery causes Lyra to take advantage of the uproar at the party to escape from Mrs. Coulter's apartment. After escaping the apartment she is saved by the gyptians, a group of nomads who live on canal boats, who later reveal that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are none other than Lyra's father and mother. She also learns that many children like Roger have disappeared between the Gyptians and that the Gyptians are planning an expedition into the north to rescue the missing children. During her time with the Gyptians, Lyra intuitively learns how to use the alethiometer)