The Republic of Heaven

I came across this board while searching for the video of Philip Pullman speaking in Oxford against the closure of public libraries and thought it looked like my sort of forum.

I am a great admirer of his books and am an avid reader generally. I discovered his books while browsing in a bookshop and thought I would give Northern Lights a try based just on the comments on the cover. This was after The Amber Spyglass had been published so I came to his books quite late. I hadn't been aware of them as I don't generally read fantasy novels but Northern Lights took hold of me and wouldn't let me go. I bought two copes of all three books in the trilogy so I had one set to lend to friends to persuade them to read them too. Sadly, none of them seemed to share my passion although they liked them. I seem to have found some kindred spirits here, which is wonderful.

I work in London but live just outside Oxford - I often think of Lyra and Will whenever I see the Pitt Rivers Museum there.

Welcome to the forum! Perhaps give our chatroom a try?

wow, you're so lucky to live near Oxford. I wish I could live in England too Welcome, and have a great time around here. My friends recommended me HDM, as they are pretty passionate fantasy readers.

Hello from a fellow newb.

I love to wax lyrical to my friends about HDM and was lucky enough to give away 48 copies of NL yesterday for World Book Night.

I go to Oxford quite a lot and have never been there without thinking of HDM since I first read the trilogy. I Imagine Lyras Oxford to be considerably different from ours though as the absence of Jordan collage hints at.

I can't imagine kids in the real Oxford making mud castles and battling against each other in the clay beds, just texting on their phones or trying to get you to buy them vodka from One Stop instead!

Hello cats! Welcome! All our base are belong to you!

But seriously, good to see you Your friends may not have caught the bug the way you did, but I'm here because a friend of mine lent me her copy of The Golden Compass long ago.

I'll second the sentiment that it must be really nice to live near Oxford. I visited there for a day, and while part of my awe was the standard American reaction to being anywhere with so many years of history, most of it was how I felt connected to so many years and so many facets of literary history. It would probably wear down a little if I lived nearby, but I'm glad you seem to be one of those who doesn't take it for granted.

Hope you enjoy yourself around the forum and the site.

Hi and thank you all very much for your welcome. I have just had a thought - this is probably the only place where anyone would understand why I once spent a long time in the Botanic Garden in Oxford trying to decide which was the bench!

I tried logging in to the chat room but my computer didn't seem to like it I'm afraid.

Coming here has reminded me about the Book of Dust. I expect there is plenty about it here but I haven't found my way around yet. What's the latest news?

I spotted something when I was browsing here this morning about Will becoming a doctor and that it's mentioned in later editions of HDM. My copies quite old so I had no idea!

Hi and thank you all very much for your welcome. I have just had a thought - this is probably the only place where anyone would understand why I once spent a long time in the Botanic Garden in Oxford trying to decide which was the bench!

It's this one.

It has something along the lines of "Lyra & Will" carved into the arm.

Did you find it in the end?

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to TRoH!

I think the maps of the Botanic Garden (which you get as you go in) are now updated and have 'Lyra and Will's Bench' marked. At least they did the two times I went (in 2009 and 2010).

Hi and thank you all very much for your welcome. I have just had a thought - this is probably the only place where anyone would understand why I once spent a long time in the Botanic Garden in Oxford trying to decide which was the bench!

It's this one.

It has something along the lines of "Lyra & Will" carved into the arm.

Did you find it in the end?

Thank you! I am not sure whether I decided on the right one - I will have to go back and have another look some time.

I feel oddly disappointed that the names have been carved on it - I think I preferred it to be a mysterious secret but there you go.

Welcome to TRoH, Cats!

I know what you mean about it remaining a mystery. A part of me wishes it was too. As much as it was great to know exactly which one it is, it would have been nice to have had to go back to the book and read the descriptions to find out. I think the worst thing is that some tool has scratched in 'by PP' on it, which contributes nothing aside from ugliness. Anyone who understands why it's Will and Lyra's probably knows who the book is by. And those who don't wil be none the wiser from just that. It makes me sad.

I hope chat works for you soon! Downloading a version of IRC tends to work better than Java chat. I'm currently on another laptop with no IRC and keep screaming at the Java chat to work for me.

Damn, they should arrest whoever wrote "by PP" on the bench. It just took all the magic away. It's one of my dreams to meet Oxford and sit on this bench, but now I'm slightly less excited about it

When I visited the Bench in 2007, the "Lyra + Will" carving in the arm was very subtle - only visible once I sat down and looked for it. I felt like it was part of the secret that way.
(I found it because of the little bridge and the fact that there was a tree right behind it. There was also a very tame squirrel that climbed up on the arm while I was sitting there - I suspect it got more handouts from people who could pretend momentarily that they had a daemon with them than it did at any other bench.)