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The Ruby in the Smoke

The Ruby in the Smoke (1985) is a novel by the English author Philip Pullman. It went on to win the 1987 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award.[1] It was also adapted for television in 2006. This book is the first of the Sally Lockhart Quartet. It is followed by The Shadow in the North, The Tiger in the Well and The Tin Princess. The book was also adapted for the stage at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2016.[2]

Author

Fred Booth

ENGLISH

1985

United Kingdom

Print (hardback & paperback)

200 pp

Stage adaptation[edit]

In the summer of 2016, a stage adaptation written and directed by Madeleine Perham was performed at The Pleasance during the Edinburgh Fringe[6] after receiving Pullman's blessing.[7] Running for the month of August in the King Dome venue, the performance was hailed as a critical success, with The Scotsman stating that the show was "a compelling tale, and full of surprises, moral ambiguities and people who are other than they seem".[8] Jane Berg from Three Weeks awarded the show five stars, stating that the show "was one of the most enjoyable hours I've spent at this festival".[9] Broadway Baby, the local reviews website, stated that the show "delighted in its Victorian setting" and was an "excellent piece of storytelling", going on to award The Ruby in the Smoke four stars.[10]


The show was created by new theatre company Reprint Productions (now Escapade), with a cast of six who multi-roled the numerous characters in the show: Rebecca Lenihan, Sydney Austin, Tris Hobson, Martin Coates, Hamish Forbes and Madeleine Golding (who also served as producer and co-founder of Reprint).[11]

(Advertisement for stage adaptation. Archive.org)

Tickets.edfringe.com

(Archive.org)

Pullman's page on the book

Overview and background

(written at the time of the BBC adaptation), Scotland on Sunday, 10 December 2006

Review of the book

BBC mini-site

at IMDb

The Ruby in the Smoke