Biography
Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman was born on 19 October 1946, in Norwich, England, the elder of two sons born to Alfred Outram Pullman, a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, and Audrey Evelyn Pullman (née Merrifield). Pullman, his mother and younger brother Francis followed Alfred to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) but moved back to England to live with Pullman’s grandparents and aunt in Norfolk. His grandfather was the rector of the local church at Drayton, and Pullman has credited his grandfather’s influence as a master storyteller, writing, “When I was young he was the sun at the centre of my life” (Pullman, “I Have a Feeling” 13). In 1953, Alfred Pullman was killed in a plane crash in Africa.
After his mother's remarriage to another airman, the family moved again, this time to Australia....
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Citation: Swank, Kris. "Philip Pullman". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 July 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5064, accessed 06 October 2026.]
