THE COLLECTORS: A SHORT STORY FROM THE WORLD OF HIS DARK MATERIALS AND THE BOOK OF DUST

By Philip Pullman

Synopsis

On a dark winter's night in 1970, Horley and Grinstead huddle for warmth in the Senior Common Room of a college in Oxford. Conversation turns to the two impressive works of art that Horley has recently added to his collection. What the two men don't know is that these pieces are connected in mysterious and improbable ways; and they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story which has travelled time and worlds.

Sample Player

Narrator	Bill Nighy
Length	30mins
Catalogue No.	618034
Publisher	Penguin Audio; 2022

Other audiobooks by Philip Pullman

THE ADVENTURES OF THE NEW CUT GANG

Benny, Thunderbolt, Bridie, Sharky and the Peretti twins are a mixed bunch of vagabonds and urchins who come together to form the New Cut Gang in two comic tales of stolen silver and skulduggery.

ALADDIN AND THE ENCHANTED LAMP

Aladdin is a shiftless good-for-nothing boy until he unwittingly acquires a magic lamp inhabited by a genie - and the adventure that follows both makes his fortune and makes him a man.

THE AMBER SPYGLASS: HIS DARK MATERIALS

Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated. But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been - and a journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned . . .Book three in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy.

CLOCKWORK

A tormented apprentice clock-maker, a deadly mechanical knight in armour - and the sinister Dr Kalmenius, who some say is the devil ... Wind up these characters, fit them into a story on a cold winter's evening, with the snow swirling down, and suddenly life and the story begin to merge in a peculiarly macabre - and unstoppable - way. Almost like clockwork ...

THE FIREWORK MAKER'S DAUGHTER

What Lila wants to be more than anything else in the world is...a Firework-Maker! But firework-making is not just about being able to make Crackle-Dragons and Golden Sneezes. There is also one special secret: every Firework-Maker must make a perilous journey to face the terrifying Fire-Fiend! Not knowing that she needs special protection to survive the Fire-Fiend's flames, Lila sets off alone. Her friends, Chulak and Hamlet - the king's white elephant - race after her. But can they possibly reach her in time?

THE GAS-FITTER'S BALL

The New Cut Gang is a group of urchins ranging from six-year-old Sharky Bob to 13-year-old Bridie Malone. They inhabit the streets around Lambeth Walk and the New Cut, in 1892. In this second adventure, £10,000 worth of silver is stolen from the Gas-Fitters' Hall and the New Cut Gang are immediately on the case. They enlist the help of Orlando, the strongest man in the world, and the Gas-Fitters' Ball provides them with the perfect opportunity to expose the villain.

THE GOOD MAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST

In this ingenious retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman re-imagines the most influential story ever told. He offers a radical new take on the myths and the mysteries of the Gospel truth and the resulting church that has so shaped the course of the last two millennia.

GRIMM TALES: FOR YOUNG AND OLD

In this beautiful book of classic fairy tales, award-winning author Philip Pullman has chosen his 50 favourite stories from the Brothers Grimm and presents them in a 'clear as water' retelling, in his unique and brilliant voice. From the quests and romance of classics such as 'Rapunzel', 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella' to the danger and wit of such lesser-known tales as 'The Three Snake Leaves', 'Hans-My-Hedgehog' and 'Godfather Death', Pullman brings the heart of each timeless tale to the fore, following with a brief but fascinating commentary on the story's background and history.

HIS DARK MATERIALS: THE COMPLETE BBC RADIO COLLECTION: FULL-CAST DRAMATISATIONS OF NORTHERN LIGHTS, THE SUBTLE KNIFE AND THE AMBER SPYGLASS

A breathtaking epic spanning multiple worlds His Dark Materials follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, two children catapulted into a life-or-death struggle to save the future of the Cosmos. In Northern Lights, 11-year-old Lyra discovers dark forces at work involving kidnapped children and a mysterious substance called 'Dust'. With her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimon, she leaves her Oxford college home and embarks on a dangerous journey to the frozen North, aided by armoured bears, Gyptians and a witch-queen... The Subtle Knife sees 12-year-old Will finding an opening into the haunted world of Cittagazze, where daemon-destroying Spectres roam. There he meets Lyra, and together they acquire the most powerful weapon in all the universes - an object many would kill to possess. In The Amber Spyglass, a colossal war is brewing in Heaven, and Lyra and Will have been separated. They must find each other and journey onward - even into the World of the Dead...

I WAS A RAT! OR, THE SCARLET SLIPPERS

I was a Rat! Roger insists, and insists . . . In fact, when Bob the cobbler and his washerwoman wife, Joan, find the young boy abandoned on their doorstep, these are the only words he says. And he does have ratty behaviour, it's true. Staying with Bob and Joan, however, Roger learns quickly to behave more like a human child. They try to find his parents, but the orphanage, police and hospital all have nothing on their records about a lost boy in the city. What is the truth? As more and more people find out about Roger the mysterious rat-boy he faces more and more danger. But sometimes help comes from the most unexpected of places . . .

LA BELLE SAUVAGE

Eleven-year-old Malcolm and his dæmon, Asta, live at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames, which Malcolm navigates using his beloved canoe, La Belle Sauvage, is Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a baby with them by the name of Lyra Belacqua. Malcolm and Lyra are caught up in a terrifying adventure that takes them into a new world. Volume 1 of 'The Book of Dust' series.

LYRA'S OXFORD

Follows Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon in their attempt to help Ragi, another daemon, to find a healing cure from an infamous Oxford alchemist. As they get close to the alchemist’s house Lyra senses that she is walking into a deadly trap.

LYRA'S OXFORD

Two years after the events of His Dark Materials, Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon sit high on the roof of Jordan College, gazing down on the streets of Oxford. But their peace is shattered by a flock of enraged starlings, who seem intent on knocking another bird out of the sky - a bird that Lyra and Pan quickly realise is a witch's daemon. The daemon carries worrying tidings of a terrible sickness spreading in the north, and claims that only Lyra can help him - but is he really friend, or foe?

NORTHERN LIGHTS: HIS DARK MATERIALS

Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon, Pantalaimon, always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle - a struggle born of stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears. Book one in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NORTH

Another wonderful tale from the world of "His Dark Materials" giving us an extraordinary insight into the very first meeting of those two legends and friends, Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison. As they cement a friendship that will continue throughout their lives, the tensions and pressure lead to a deadly conclusion…

PUSS IN BOOTS

A sparklingly original reimagining of this classic fairytale from one of the most respected talents in children's books. Discover the tale of Puss in Boots as you've never experienced it before....Imagine how Jacques feels when he learns that his older brothers have inherited the mill and the donkey, and all he's got is the cat! Well, he's not fed up for long, because he soon discovers that Puss is no ordinary cat....Not only can he talk (which is pretty unusual for a cat), but he's also got brains. And he's got a plan - a plan that involves Jacques, a Royal Princess and a very large fortune! However, there are some things that Puss hasn't included in his plan, such as a very hungry Ogre, some sleepless Ghouls and more than a touch of magic....

THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE

Sally Lockhart receives a strange anonymous letter soon after her father drowns at sea. This fuels her determination to find out what really happened and she is soon embroiled in a mystery centred on a deadly blood-soaked jewel.

THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH

Lyra is now twenty years old, and Malcolm is a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right. They must travel far beyond the edges of Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost - a city haunted by dæmons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the mystery of the elusive Dust. Volume 2 of 'The Book of Dust' series.

THE SHADOW IN THE NORTH

An elderly lady loses her money on an investment; a conjuror is pursued by thugs; and a clairvoyant mentions the name of the richest man in Europe and his mysterious company. Seemingly unconnected events set Sally Lockhart on the trail of an evil far more awful than she could ever imagine.

THE SUBTLE KNIFE: HIS DARK MATERIALS

From the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials - now a major critically acclaimed BBC series. She had asked: What is he? A friend or an enemy? The alethiometer answered: He is a murderer. When she saw the answer, she relaxed at once. Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld - Citti, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: twelve-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another's, has also stumbled into this strange new realm. On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will uncover a deadly secret: an object of extraordinary and devastating power. And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat - and the shattering truth of their own destiny. Book two in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy.

THUNDERBOLT'S WAXWORK

Lambeth, South London, 1894. Meet the New Cut Gang - Sharky Bob, Benny, Thunderbolt, Bridie and the Peretti twins: the greatest detectives since Sexton Blake. They inhabit the streets around Lambeth Walk and the New Cut, in 1894, a place bristling with gangsters, bookies, pickpockets, horse thieves and the occasional policeman. But who's passing counterfeit coins 'round Lambeth? Surely not Thunderbolt's dad, who's just been arrested....

THE TIGER IN THE WELL

Sally Lockhart has been driven from her home and is in hiding. She is desperately trying to find out who is turning her life upside down. The man she seeks is in Spitalfields, but no one will stop him because he is the Tzaddick!

THE TIN PRINCESS

Sally Lockheart’s friend, Jim Taylor, solves a mystery when he finds Adelaide, a missing girl who is about to become the Crown Princess of Razkavia. The Princess is in danger from unknown enemies and Jim is employed as her bodyguard