History
The character of Sally Lockhart first appears in The Ruby in the Smoke, a play Pullman wrote for performance by a secondary school. In the play, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart attempts to investigate her father's apparently accidental death. In the course of her investigation she uncovers her father's connections to the opium trade, the Indian Mutiny, and a cursed ruby.
Pullman was attracted to the story and characters so much that he rewrote the play as a children's book; he later extended the story into a series of four.
TV Adaptation
All four novels were expected to be adapted into TV Movies by BBC Drama and broadcast on BBC One in the UK, with Billie Piper cast in the role of Sally Lockhart[1], although since production of The Shadow in the North finished early in 2007 there has been no indication of plans for The Tiger in the Well to be produced. The first story, The Ruby in the Smoke, aired on 27 December 2006[2]. The second, The Shadow in the North, aired on 30 December 2007 [3].
They air in the US as part of Masterpiece Mystery! series.
The books
The Ruby in the Smoke
In 1872, Sally becomes involved in numerous intrigues involving the identity of her father, the British opium trade in India, and a mysterious ruby.
The Shadow in the North
It is 1878. Following a fraudulent medium's ramblings, a Scottish magician's visions, and a transport ship's disappearance, Sally finds that she must seek help from old friends, and finds herself losing all she holds dear trying to uncover the truth behind the North Star, the Steam Gun, and Bellman.
The Tiger in the Well
It is 1881. A trap has been sprung, a trap which has been in preparation for years. The barely-human Tzaddik is behind this, and his demons are far greater than anything Sally Lockhart can muster. With the law, the Tzaddik's henchmen, and luck against her, she is forced to go undercover, leaving behind her family and friends as she is sucked into the well...
The Tin Princess
It is 1882. Jim finds Adelaide, a girl who went missing as a poor urchin during Sally's first encounter with danger, and finds that she has married into the royal family of Razkavia, a small country near Germany. However, resentment is rife within the palace, and plots develop to dethrone the family and join Germany. Only the Eagle can stop them.
No comments:
Post a Comment