Ruth Wilson, acclaimed for her role in the BBC and HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, is set to narrate new audiobook editions of the beloved trilogy, according to Deadline exclusive report.
Penguin Audio will produce and publish these editions, with the third installment featuring a special conversation between Pullman and Wilson, recorded at the Bodleian Library in 2021.
The His Dark Materials series, consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, follows the coming-of-age journeys of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry. Their adventures across parallel universes introduce them to a diverse array of characters, including armored bears, witches, aeronauts, and spectres. The series has garnered numerous accolades, with The Amber Spyglass winning the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year prize and Northern Lights securing the Carnegie Medal for children’s fiction in 1995. The audiobook of Northern Lights will be released on September 5, with the subsequent two books slated for early 2025.
Reflecting on the new project, Wilson, known for her roles in Luther and The Affair, expressed her enthusiasm: “I fell in love with Philip’s world of His Dark Materials when I first read the books: they’re so complex in their themes and playing Mrs. Coulter on screen allowed me to explore themes deeper than just her villainy: narcissism, freedom, motherhood, imagination. Having the opportunity to narrate this series of audiobooks and delve further into Philip’s profoundly intricate world was an honor and a pleasure.”
Pullman himself shared his excitement about Wilson’s involvement: “I was delighted when I learned that Ruth Wilson was going to narrate the new audio edition of His Dark Materials. I enjoyed her TV performance so much, and I learned from that – and from talking to her separately – how much thought she puts into every characterization. Her voice is naturally rich and attractive, and she can vary it with the tiniest possible intonation here or emphasis there and make the story live as vividly in the ear of the listener as I hoped it would have in the eye of the reader. I count myself very lucky that she was involved in both TV and audio.”
The original full-cast recordings of the novels, narrated by Philip Pullman, will continue to be available alongside the new editions.
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