The Shadow in the North facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Philip Pullman |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Sally Lockhart series |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
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Publication date
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1986 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 0-192-71548-8 |
| OCLC | 59317478 |
| Preceded by | The Ruby in the Smoke |
| Followed by | The Tiger in the Well |
The Shadow in the North, published in 1986, is an exciting mystery book. It was written by the famous English author Philip Pullman. This book was first known as The Shadow in the Plate. It is the second book in the popular Sally Lockhart series.
Contents
What is The Shadow in the North About?
This story is the second adventure for Sally Lockhart. It takes place in late 1878, about six years after the first book, The Ruby in the Smoke. Sally Lockhart now works as a financial consultant. She helps people with their money.
A New Mystery Begins
A woman named Miss Walsh visits Sally's office. Miss Walsh is very upset because she lost all her money. She believes Sally gave her bad advice about a company called Anglo-Baltic. Sally promises to get Miss Walsh's money back. She decides to investigate Anglo-Baltic.
Sally has a big, friendly black dog named Chaka. Frederick Garland, Sally's good friend from the first book, is also in the story. Frederick runs a photography shop that also does private investigations.
Strange Events and Psychic Powers
Sally's friend Jim Taylor works at a local theater. He helps a stage magician named Alistair Mackinnon escape from two men. Mackinnon believes these men want to harm him. Jim takes Mackinnon to Frederick's office.
Mackinnon shows them he has special abilities. He can see things about an object's past just by touching it. He tells them he saw a terrible event by touching a man's cigar case. Mackinnon is scared because he thinks the man knows what he saw.
Investigating a Mysterious Company
Jim and Frederick go to a spiritualist meeting as part of their detective work. During the meeting, a medium named Mrs. Nellie Budd seems to go into a trance. She says things that connect to a secret business called North Star. This business is linked to Anglo-Baltic.
Frederick secretly takes a photo of Nellie during the meeting. Later, he tells Sally what he found. Sally explains that Axel Bellmann used to own Anglo-Baltic. Now he owns North Star. Sally suspects Bellmann caused Anglo-Baltic to fail on purpose. She thinks he used the money to start North Star. She believes he is a very dangerous person.
Danger and Discoveries
Mackinnon is set to perform at a charity event. He asks Frederick to come along for protection. Frederick brings his friend Charles to help identify people at the event. Mackinnon sees the man he believes is after him in the audience. It turns out to be Axel Bellmann.
Frederick and Charles also meet Lord Wytham and his daughter, Lady Mary. Mackinnon suddenly disappears, which worries Frederick and Charles. The next morning, Bellmann's employee, Mr. Windlesham, tries to scare Sally. He wants her to stop her investigation, but Sally refuses.
Bellmann has made a deal with Lord Wytham, who is in debt. If Bellmann marries Lady Mary, he will pay off Lord Wytham's debts. Lord Wytham does not like the deal, but he feels he has no other choice.
Frederick visits Nellie again. He shows her his photo, which reveals she used fake arms and wires during the meeting. Nellie is cheerful and agrees to tell him more about her trances. She says she cannot remember what happens during them. She has had them since she was young. Frederick tells her what she said during her trance. She is surprised he takes it seriously.
Sally confronts Bellmann and demands he return Miss Walsh's money. He refuses. Sally accidentally drops Nellie's business card in Bellmann's office.
Jim searches for Mackinnon and meets Isabel Meredith. Isabel tells Jim she cares deeply for Mackinnon. She also tells Jim where Mackinnon is. Charles discovers that Bellmann and Lady Mary Wytham are engaged. Jim meets Lady Mary and is very impressed by her. She tells him she cannot marry Bellmann.
Bellmann's helpers search Isabel's room. Frightened, she tells them where Mackinnon will perform next. Frederick, Sally, and Jim manage to help Mackinnon escape before he is harmed. Before he leaves, Sally demands to know why Bellmann is after him. Mackinnon reveals that he is Nellie Budd's son by Lord Wytham. Then he runs away. Isabel comes to stay with Sally's friends.
The Steam Gun and Its Secrets
Frederick visits Nellie again but finds she has been attacked. She is taken to the hospital, and it is unclear if she will survive. Windlesham hires someone to harm Sally.
Sally discovers that North Star is a company building weapons. They plan to create a huge "Steam Gun" that can fire many bullets at once. Frederick learns how the Steam Gun works. He also finds Nellie's sister, Jessie, in the north of England. He tells Jessie about Nellie's injury. Jessie tells him that Mackinnon is not Nellie's son, but her partner. Jessie decides to go to Nellie.
Frederick learns that Mackinnon is secretly married to Lady Mary Wytham. It becomes clear that Bellmann knows this. That is why Bellmann is trying to harm Mackinnon. It also becomes clear that Nellie was not Mackinnon's partner. Nellie helped Mackinnon and Lady Mary get married.
The person hired by Windlesham tries to harm Sally. But the person he attacks is actually Isabel. His knife gets stuck in her clothing. Instead, he harms Chaka, Sally's dog, who sadly passes away. The attacker is also harmed. Sally is heartbroken by the loss of Chaka.
The next day, Sally finds her office has been searched. Neither her landlord nor the police are helpful. Sally asks Frederick for help. Frederick and Jim manage to get the stolen files back from Bellmann's house. Sally realizes the Steam Gun is meant to be used against people in their own country.
Jim meets Lady Mary in a park. They talk and share a brief moment. He advises her to make her marriage to Mackinnon public. She tells him where Mackinnon is hiding. Sally tells Isabel that Mackinnon is married, which makes Isabel very sad.
Jim and Frederick go to see Mackinnon. They find him being attacked by Bellmann's helpers. Jim and Frederick fight them off. Mackinnon helps them for a moment. They tie up the helpers and send them to a police station. Mackinnon returns to Sally's friends.
Sally tells Frederick that she cares for him deeply. They decide to get married.
A Tragic Fire and a Final Confrontation
Meanwhile, Windlesham and Bellmann set fire to the building. Jim smells the smoke and warns everyone. Everyone climbs out of the window. Jim falls and breaks his leg. Isabel refuses to leave her room. Frederick climbs back up to save her, but she still refuses to move. The ceiling collapses, and both Frederick and Isabel are lost in the fire.
After Frederick's body is found, Sally is in shock. She unknowingly goes to the North Star headquarters and confronts Bellmann. In London, despite his broken leg, Jim manages to find Mackinnon. Mackinnon uses his special powers to see where Sally is. Jim makes him go to the North Star headquarters.
At North Star, Sally tells Bellmann that she cared for Frederick and blames Bellmann for what happened. Bellmann tells Sally he wants power. He believes the Steam Gun will give it to him. He asks her to marry him, saying she would be a better partner than Lady Mary.
Just then, Mackinnon arrives to bring Sally to Jim. Sally tells Mackinnon to wait. She agrees to marry Bellmann if he gives her the money Miss Walsh lost. Bellmann gives Sally the money. Sally tells Mackinnon to take it to Miss Walsh. Mackinnon takes the money to Jim, and Jim suspects Sally has a plan.
At Sally's request, Bellmann takes her to see the Steam Gun. Sally criticizes Bellmann for not understanding people. Then, Sally sets off the Steam Gun, which causes Bellmann to be lost. Sally survives and is rescued by Jim and Mackinnon from the wreckage.
Bellmann's passing is reported as an accident. Miss Walsh gets her money back. She decides to invest it in Garland & Lockhart, the photography firm Sally helped set up. Jim will walk with a slight limp for the rest of his life because of his efforts to rescue Sally. Nellie Budd recovers and returns north with Jessie. Mackinnon and Lady Mary leave England for America.
The next spring, Charles shows Sally, Webster, and Jim a possible new location for Garland & Lockhart. It is a beautiful place with an orchard. The only unusual thing is that it is said to have a spirit. They decide to take it. Charles gives Sally a photograph he took of Frederick earlier in the story. The book ends with Sally sharing happy news: she is expecting Frederick's child.
TV Adaptation
The Shadow in the North was made into a BBC TV movie. It starred Billie Piper as Sally Lockhart and JJ Feild as Fred Garland. Jared Harris played Axel Bellmann, and Matt Smith played Jim Taylor. Part of the movie was filmed in Kent at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.
The movie was shown in the UK on December 30, 2007, on BBC1. It also aired in the United States on the PBS show Masterpiece Mystery!. There, it was called The Sally Lockhart Mysteries: The Shadow in the North.
It was planned that all four Sally Lockhart books would be made into TV shows. However, as of March 2014, there has been no news about a TV show for The Tiger in the Well.
