The Haunted Storm

The Haunted Storm (1972) is the debut novel of English author Philip Pullman. It was a joint winner of the New English Library's Young Writer's Award in 1972. Pullman later distanced himself from the work, saying "it was published by a publisher who didn't realise it wasn't a very good book", and as of 2016^[update], he omits it from his entry in Who's Who.^[1]

First edition
(publ. New English Library)

Characters

Matthew Cortez.
Elizabeth Cole.

Plot summary

Unease and suspicion divide a small village following violence and death. Matthew Cortez is physically involved in the investigation, finding his spiritual problems have a greater depth of reality. Only in the final disastrous confrontation in a ruined Mithraic temple does he, at last, glimpse the possibility of peace.

The book was described by Antonia Fraser as an "honest and enterprising attempt to interweave the eternal and immortal longings of youth into the texture of a contemporary story". ^{[citation needed]}

Themes

Gnosticism.

References

^ Gilmartin, Sarah (12 May 2016). "'A novel I am prepared to repudiate': 10 books disowned by famous authors". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

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[1] Gilmartin, Sarah (12 May 2016). "'A novel I am prepared to repudiate': 10 books disowned by famous authors". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

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