The novelist Philip Pullman, 57, spent much of his childhood on board ships as both his father, who died when he was seven, and his stepfather served in the Royal Air Force overseas. He read English at Oxford University, and for many years was a teacher who wrote novels in the evening. He made his name in children's fiction with the His Dark Materials trilogy, which tells the story of Lyra and Will, a girl and boy who travel through alternative worlds. It is being adapted for the stage at the Royal National Theatre, and is also being made into a film, scripted by Tom Stoppard. Pullman lives with his wife, Jude, near Oxford, and has two sons.
Interesting questions, like: "Did you ever suffer a thwarted passion, like your fictional characters? And what are the defining qualities of a truly great shed?"
What experiences from your own childhood inspired episodes in your fictional stories?
I spent quite a lot of my childhood at sea, firstly sailing to southern Africa and back, and then to Australia and back. In the Fifties, that was how you travelled. I remember those journeys quite vividly. I remember getting a sense of the size of the world that you don't get in a plane. I think a bit of that came across in an episode in Northern Lights, the first part of the His Dark Materials trilogy, when Lyra is going to the North on a ship. And then there was the sense of other landscapes, languages, light and ways of living.
Do you crave adventure?
No. On the contrary, I crave dullness and routine - that's when I work best. What I would really like is a fairly long period of imprisonment, in a reasonably comfortable prison with a good library. That would keep the outside world at bay. I have no desire to be out on the ocean again. It would give me inspiration, but I've got plenty of that. What I don't have is time.
Lyra and Will seemed to be in love by the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy, but they couldn't be together. Did a real unconsummated teenage passion inspire this?
Well, yes, I suppose it did. But then, everyone has that sort of experience, don't they? I mean, if you haven't fallen in love and had your heart broken by the time you are 20, then something's badly wrong. I fell in love many times as a teenager. I was always falling in love. But I don't base what I write on exactly what happened to me. Experience plants a seed, which then grows into something completely unexpected.
What are the defining qualities of a truly great shed?
Well, I'm not a shed person any more. I've shed my shed. I used my shed for 15 years, but I've moved house now and I use a big study to write in. It's also a sort of work room. I've got a lot of power tools in here and I use the room for woodwork.
The important quality about my old shed was that it wasn't in the house. It was down at the bottom of the garden. It was a comfortable place. Insulated. Warm in the winter. Dry. Quiet. The reason for it originally was that my oldest son, who was then about 12, was learning the violin. I was a full-time teacher then, and the only time I had to write was in the evenings when he was doing his violin practice - not that he was bad. He's now a professional musician.
You famously criticised CS Lewis for incorporating Christian values into his books for children, and yet you do the same with atheism in your books. Isn't this a double standard?
Now, let's get to the bottom of this one. I have never criticised CS Lewis for incorporating Christian values into his work - far from it. My criticism is of the lack of Christian values in his work: the lack of charity, for example, and the presence instead of such qualities as misogyny, racism and hatred of all progressive and enlightened thought. He even sneers at people because of their belief in vegetarianism. I mean, really. Whatever else you say about CS Lewis, don't try and make the claim that he was a great Christian writer.
What was your favourite book when you were 12?
I read incessantly and had a number of favourite books, some of which I still regard as such. I was certainly reading Swallows and Amazons and Treasure Island. They have stayed with me, probably because they have a quality that I value more than almost any other in writing, which is clarity. I also remember reading the James Bond books and a lot of ghost stories, although I've grown away from them since.
What have you splashed out on since you made it big?
Well, I bought a new house, but then I had a house before. I got a nice car, but then I had a fairly nice car before. I'm not a splashing-out kind of person. I'm cautious. It could all end tomorrow, you see, so I've mainly splashed out on my pension. But I suppose I do buy more power tools than I used to. I like woodwork, so when I see a power tool now, I buy it. I make furniture. I'm making an oak dining table at the moment.
Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings?
Um. This is one of those Archbishop of Canterbury 12-second silences. I can't really answer the question. I read The Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager and I didn't really like it. I have tried to read it since, but it doesn't really say anything to me because the characters have no psychological depth. The only interesting character is Gollum. And I've only read one Harry Potter book, the second one, and it wouldn't be fair to comment on that basis, although I thought it was funny and inventive. Neither are my particular favourites.
In His Dark Materials, the characters have a "daemon" - an animal that reflects upon their true character. What animal would you have?
I suspect that mine would probably be one of those birds that steals bright things - a jackdaw or a raven. A raven would be nice because it is, in the mythology of some native American tribes, the emblem of a trickster and a storyteller is a kind of trickster. When I make up stories, I steal bright things. Anything that glitters in an interesting way, I pick up and take back to my nest. It doesn't have to be a diamond. It can be a bit of silver paper. It's the glitter that matters. I'm happy to steal from Shakespeare and also from Neighbours.
How much control have you had over the stage and film versions of His Dark Materials?
I've had no control. But I hope I've had a little influence. For the play, I was invited to watch the workshops and read the script, but I've been happy to leave it to them. As for the film, Tom Stoppard has written the script and they're looking for a director. If I did have a problem with handing my book over to someone else, it was assuaged by the money. I supported my family on a meagre teacher's salary and if someone offers you a lot of money, it's difficult to say no - especially when you can see that they know what the story's about.
'Lyra's Oxford' by Philip Pullman is published by David Fickling Books on 6 November,
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