List of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust characters
This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust.
Introduced in ''Northern Lights''
Lyra Belacqua
Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of His Dark Materials and a key character in The Book of Dust. Together with her dæmon Pantalaimon, she is introduced in La Belle Sauvage, where she is being protected from the Magisterium. Initially, as a baby, by the nuns of the Priory of Saint Rosamund, and later she is brought up by the scholars of Jordan College. In Northern Lights, as she leaves Jordan in the company of her mother, Mrs Coulter, the Master of the college gives her an alethiometer, which allows her to find answers on any subject. Searching for a kidnapped friend of hers, she ends up travelling to the far north of her world, and then across the multiverse, where she plays a part in a cosmic war between forces led by an angel named The Authority and her father, Lord Asriel. Lyra is prophesied by the witches to play the part of Eve, bringing about a second fall; this is accomplished when she reaches maturity and starts attracting Dust, halting its loss from the multiverse.By the events of Lyra's Oxford, Lyra is living in Jordan college and studying at St Sophie's. Pantalaimon has settled into the form of a pine marten. In The Secret Commonwealth, Lyra is 20 and an undergraduate.
In the unabridged audiobooks, Lyra is voiced by Joanna Wyatt. In the 2003 dramatisation by BBC Radio she is voiced by Lulu Popplewell. In the 2003 stage production at the Royal National Theatre, the character was portrayed by Anna Maxwell Martin. In the 2007 film adaptation The Golden Compass, she is played by Dakota Blue Richards, who also voiced her in the video game adaptation of the film. Between 2019 and 2022, Dafne Keen played the character in the His Dark Materials BBC television series.
Lord Asriel
Lord Asriel is a member of the English aristocracy and Lyra's father. His dæmon Stelmaria is a snow leopard.Asriel had an affair with Marisa Coulter, a married woman, leading to Lyra's birth. Asriel kills Mrs Coulter's husband after he finds out, but is spared imprisonment because of laws allowing self and family defence. As a part of his punishment, he is barred from seeing Lyra, but he takes an interest in her raising, delivering her to Jordan College and visiting her. Lyra grows up believing Asriel to be her uncle rather than her father.
Asriel is described as being "a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seem to flash and glitter with savage laughter". Possessed of enormous determination and willpower, he is fierce in nature and commands great respect in both the political and academic spheres, being a military leader and a fellow of Jordan College. In Northern Lights, he is able to build a bridge to another world, where he assembles an army to oppose The Authority, an angel that claims to be God. Asriel dies alongside Mrs Coulter killing Metatron, the Authority's regent.
In the unabridged audiobooks, Lord Asriel is voiced by Sean Barrett; on stage in the UK's Royal National Theatre production, he was played by Timothy Dalton; in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation, he is voiced by Terence Stamp. In the film adaptation, he is played by Daniel Craig while Chris Edgerly voices him in the video game adaptation. James McAvoy plays the character in the His Dark Materials TV series.
Marisa Coulter
Marisa Coulter is Lyra's mother and a powerful figure in the Magisterium, the governing organisation of the Church. She founds the League of St Alexander in La Belle Sauvage, and later heads the General Oblation Board, referred to colloquially as the Gobblers. Her dæmon is a golden-coloured monkey, who, in the books, is never named and only speaks once.She is cruel and merciless at times, stopping at nothing to obtain what she wants. She is deceptive, full of grace and beauty, and uses these qualities to get her way. However, when she finds her daughter in peril at Bolvangar, she experiences a sudden realisation of intense maternal love and a wish to care for Lyra which outweighs her previous loyalty to the Church, and thereafter she goes to great lengths to shield her from the events around her. She dies alongside Asriel while killing Metatron, the regent of the Authority.
In the unabridged audiobooks, Mrs Coulter is voiced by Alison Dowling; in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation she is voiced by Emma Fielding. In the film, The Golden Compass, she is played by Nicole Kidman, while Erin Matthews voices her in the video game adaptation. For the Royal National Theatre production in 2003, Patricia Hodge created the role. Ruth Wilson plays the character in the 2019→2022 television series.
Iorek Byrnison
Iorek Byrnison is an armoured bear and companion of Lyra's. Armoured bears, known as panserbjørne in Danish, are a race of polar bear-like creatures with human-level intelligence and opposable thumbs; they have no dæmons and consider their armour, which is made of meteoric iron, to be their soul.Before the events of His Dark Materials, Iorek had met and befriended Lee Scoresby. At that time, Iorek was king of the armoured bears in Svalbard, but he was exiled after killing another bear in a fight. Normally, when a bear realises that they are outmatched, they will surrender, but Iorek's opponent had been drugged by Iofur Raknison, second in line for the throne, to prevent this. Following his exile, the humans of an Arctic port town deceived him by giving him spirits and stealing his armour while he was drunk. In Northern Lights, Lyra finds him in a destitute condition working in a scrap yard, kept docile with a ready supply of spirits. She uses her alethiometer to help him retrieve his armour. Following this, he helps Lyra, naming her Silvertongue. When Lyra ends up imprisoned by Iofur Raknison, she arranges a fight between Iorek and Iofur for the throne, which Iorek wins.
After the opening of a gate to Cittàgazze changes the climate of Svalbard, Iorek is forced to take his fellow armoured bears on a voyage down to the Himalayas, where he meets Will Parry. When Will breaks the Subtle Knife, Iorek is able to repair it without the aid of specialist equipment. He and a regiment of his subjects fight on Lord Asriel's side in the battle on the plains; as part of this he takes Lyra and Will to find their lost dæmons. At the end of The Amber Spyglass, it is revealed that he returns to Svalbard and reigns as king of the armoured bears.
In the unabridged audiobooks, Iorek is voiced by Sean Barrett, and in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation he is voiced by Steve Hodson. In the film, he is voiced by Ian McKellen while Nonso Anozie voices him in the video game adaptation, having been originally cast in the role before being replaced by McKellen for the film. Joe Tandberg voices and motion-captures Iorek in the television series.
John Faa
John Faa, sometimes known as Lord Faa, is the Lord of the western Gyptians. Despite his advancing age, he is a brave warrior, respected by all his followers, open to advice, and considerate of all. He is a good friend of the elderly Farder Coram. His dæmon is a black crow.When the Oblation Board starts kidnapping children, he leads 170 of his men to save them. He is wounded in an ambush but carries out his mission successfully, retrieving the children Lyra helped rescue, and taking them back to England. Faa re-appears briefly at the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass when he and other Gyptians are briefly drawn into the world of the Mulefa to bring Lyra home before the worlds separate once again.
Douglas Blackwell voiced him in the audiobooks and in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation he is voiced by Shaun Dooley. In the film The Golden Compass, Faa is played by Jim Carter while Michael Gough voices him in the video game adaptation. Lucian Msamati plays the character in the His Dark Materials television series
Ma Costa
Ma Costa is a Gyptian woman whose son, Billy Costa, is abducted by the "Gobblers" early in Northern Lights. A year before the beginning of the book, Lyra and her friends had "hijacked" her family's boat and sailed it to Abingdon, the next town downriver. In spite of this, Ma Costa rescues Lyra and takes her to John Faa.When Lyra is hiding with the Gyptians, she discovers that Ma Costa had in fact nursed her, when she was a baby. Ma Costa's dæmon is a hawk.
Jill Shilling voiced her in the audiobooks of Northern Lights and in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation she is voiced by Ann Beach. In the film The Golden Compass, Ma is played by Clare Higgins, while Anne-Marie Duff plays the character in the His Dark Materials TV series.
Bernie Johansen
A minor character whose dæmon has the rare quality of being the same gender as himself. Half-gyptian, he was tasked with watching Lyra for Lord Faa while working as a pastry chef at Jordan College.Serafina Pekkala
Serafina Pekkala is a clan queen of the witches of Lake Enara who, along with her snow goose dæmon Kaisa, is closely associated with Lyra and her journey. She assists Lyra in her fight at Bolvangar and throughout His Dark Materials, travelling into other worlds and attempting to heal Will Parry. At the end of The Amber Spyglass, she names Will's dæmon, and encourages Will and Lyra's dæmons to return to them.Serafina claims to be three hundred years old or more, although this is not considered old for witches. Before the events of La Belle Sauvage, Farder Coram saved her life from an attack by another witch's dæmon, and they became lovers. They had a son who died from a disease from the East.
Pullman claimed on the BBC World Service programme World Book Club in December 2005, that Serafina's name came from a Finnish telephone directory. In context, Pullman was teasing the audience, however the claim has since been repeated on several fan-sites. Later in the same programme and in a speech made in Dundee, he said that the name came from a list of politicians living in Copenhagen.
In the audiobooks, she is played by Susan Sheridan and in the 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation she is voiced by Tracy-Ann Oberman. In the 2003 Royal National Theatre production of His Dark Materials she is played by Niamh Cusack. In the film The Golden Compass, Serafina Pekkala is played by Eva Green while Hellena Taylor voices her in the video game adaptation. In the television series His Dark Materials, Ruta Gedmintas plays the character.