Ruth Wilson is lending her voice to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
Listening Library will release Wilson’s new narrations of Pullman’s popular fantasy novels for young readers, the audiobook publisher announced in a news release.
Pullman launched his trilogy, about two young children who explore alternate universes, in 1995 with Northern Lights, published in the U.S. a year later as The Golden Compass. The Subtle Knifefollowed in 1997, with The Amber Spyglass hitting shelves in 2000.
The books proved popular with young readers. The Golden Compass was adapted into a 2007 film directed by Chris Weitz and starring Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, and Daniel Craig, and the trilogy formed the basis for a BBC One and HBO series that ran from 2019 to 2022.
Wilson, known for her work in the series Luther and The Affair, starred as villainous, power-hungry Marisa Coulter in the television adaptation of His Dark Materials. The actor said in a statement, “I fell in love with Philip’s world…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.”
Pullman praised Wilson’s casting as the narrator for the new audiobooks. “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.”
The new audiobook edition of The Golden Compass is set for release on Sept. 5; the next two installments will come out in early 2025.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
