Sally Lockhart

Sally Lockhart is a fictional character in a series of books by Philip Pullman.

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.

TV Adaptation

All four novels are being adapted into a TV Movie by BBC Drama for television and broadcast on BBC One in the UK, with Billie Piper cast in the role of Sally Lockhart [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/09/pullman.shtml BBC - Press Office - Billie Piper in The Ruby In The Smoke ] ] . The first story, "The Ruby in the Smoke", aired on 27 December 2006 [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk52/trans_bbc1.shtml BBC - Press Office - BBC ONE Transmission Details Weeks 52/1 ] ] . The second, "The Shadow in the North", aired on 30 December 2007 [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shadowinthenorth/ BBC - Drama - The Shadow in the North ] ] .

They air in the US as part of "Materpiece Mystery!" series.

The books

The Ruby in the Smoke

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.

Character histories

ally Lockhart

Sally Lockhart is a young and confident young woman, an unusual young woman too as she is a financial consultant. However, her career was often frowned upon by men as women were not supposed to have such careers in the nineteenth century.

In "The Ruby in the Smoke" she befriends Jim Taylor, an office boy, Frederick Garland, a brilliant photographer, and his sister Rosa, a caring actress. Sally has unusually dark eyes for one so fair, this blonde is the heroine of the first three books, and her way with numbers allows her a successful career as a financial consultant, but sometimes her pride causes her to risk what she cannot bear to lose.

In "The Ruby in the Smoke", late in the story she finds out that Captain Lockhart is not her father.

Sally Lockhart realises she loves Frederick Garland almost too late ("The Shadow in the North"); they consummate their love and conceive their child on the night Fred is killed in a fire started by associates of Axel Bellmann. Sally mourns the fact she and Fred never had a chance to marry and that their daughter (named Harriet) is illegitimate.

At the end of "The Tiger in the Well", Sally realises that Jewish-Hungarian socialist and journalist, Daniel Goldberg, is the only man who would ever measure up to Fred's bravery, understanding, and love. And Sally realises that Fred would have liked Daniel very much. She decides at the end of the book that she should marry Daniel. It is unknown whether Sally Goldberg nee Lockhart converts to Judaism on her marriage to Daniel.

Sally is in all of the books, although her appearance in "The Tin Princess" is only brief.

Jim Taylor

A loveable Cockney ragamuffin, Jim is an avid theatregoer who loves stories and regularly falls in love. He is courageous and outgoing, and has an ability to see a person's true nature long before anyone else. He looks up to Sally and Fred. In "The Shadow in the North" he falls from a window, whilst trying to save Fred, leaving him with a limp for the rest of his life.

Jim is in all of the books, although his appearance in "The Tiger in the Well" is only brief.

Frederick Garland

A photographer with an imaginative streak and a wonderful personality. Although he has feelings for Sally, they almost always argue, but their friendship is still strong. He dies in a fire midway through "The Shadow in the North", causing Sally to murder Axel Bellmann.

Sally's pain for most of "The Shadow in the North" and "The Tiger in the Well" revolves around the fact that had Fred survived the fire, the couple would have married and brought up their daughter, Harriet Beatrice Lockhart, together.

Frederick is in "The Ruby in the Smoke" and "The Shadow in the North".

Ah Ling/Hendrik van Eeden/Tzaddik

A corrupt pirate who illegally ships low-quality opium to Europe. Sally thought that she killed him in "The Ruby in the Smoke", but did not. The bullet pierced his spinal cord, and he was paralyzed. In "The Tiger in the Well", he has assumed the name "Tzaddik" and runs a prostitution ring throughout Europe. He also has a "dybbuk" servant, which is mainly just a monkey. The "dybbuk" is killed by the Tzaddik's valet, Michelet. He is killed in the Blackbourne River Flood.

Ah Ling/Hendrik van Eeden/Tzaddik is in "The Ruby in the Smoke" and "The Tiger in the Well".

Mr 'Trembler' Molloy

He worked for the Garlands in "The Ruby in the Smoke" and is very nervous, hence his nickname. He takes to Adelaide very quickly and loves her like a daughter.

Trembler and Mrs Molloy are one of Sally's ports of call in "The Tiger in the Well" as they now own a boarding house and she arranges to hide with them after running from her court appearance with Harriet.

Trembler is not seen or mentioned in the BBC adaptation.

Rosa Bedwell nee Garland

Fred's sister. She was a small-time actress, and later married a clergyman, Nicholas Bedwell, the twin brother of Matthew Bedwell, the unfortunate opium-addicted sailor from "The Ruby in the Smoke". She and Reverend Bedwell went on to have two children, May and Matthew Bedwell. She helps Sally and Harriet (Sally's daughter, Rosa's niece) through a court case in "The Tiger in the Well".

Rosa and her brother, Fred, were originally disowned by their parents for taking up career choices that their parents did not agree with and were supported by their father's brother, Webster Garland. Rosa was accepted by her parents after giving up the stage and marrying Reverend Bedwell. Although she loves her husband, Rosa still longs for the stage and puts on parish pageants and pastorals ("The Tiger in the Well").

Becky Winter

Born in Razkavia, Becky is employed by a man called Herr Strauss to teach Miss Bevan German. After the first lesson she discovers the danger that Prince Rudolf (a.k.a. Herr Strauss) is in. She befriends Jim Taylor, (a consulting detective) Sally Goldberg, (a financial consultant), Prince Rudolf, (the crown prince of Razkavia) and his Cockney wife Adelaide Bevan (an old friend of Jim and Sally's).

Adelaide Bevan

Adelaide is playful and happy, apart from the fact that once she goes to Razkavia she may never come back to England. Jim finds her living with the prince and helps her to become queen.

See also

* Philip Pullman

Notes