Learn Mrs. Coulter’s backstory in ‘His Dark Materials: The Collectors’ book’

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Fans of young adult fantasy novels will be familiar with Philip Pullman’s work. As the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, which includes Northern Lights (also known as The Golden Compass to readers in the U.S.), his books have been adapted into theatrical productions, movies, and TV shows. Now the prolific author has written a new companion story from the His Dark Materials universe.

Pullman’s Gothic novella The Collectors starts with a conversation between two art collectors, Horley and Grinstead, during a cold winter’s night in 1970 as they huddle by a fire in an Oxford College senior common room. Horley has recently added two pieces to his collection, a portrait of a beautiful young woman and a bronze sculpture of a terrifying monkey. Little do the two men realize the works have an interconnected and mysterious past that they are now involved in.

One of the most interesting characters from the His Dark Materials trilogy is the manipulative and misunderstood Mrs. Coulter, whose dæmon (someone’s inner self manifested as an animal) is a golden monkey. The Collectors dives deeper into Mrs. Coulter’s past and explores how she came to be who she is.

This short story was previously only available as an audiobook narrated by British actor Bill Nighy or on Kindle. However, on September 20, you’ll be able to get a gift edition hardback, though the cover art won’t be revealed until summer.

Head over to Amazon where you can pre-order your copy of The Collectors for $13.

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