In Philip Pullman’s young-adult novel Northern Lights, what is the book called in the United States?

Philip Pullman’s young-adult novel Northern Lights is called The Golden Compass in the United States.

Northern Lights was published in the United Kingdom in 1995 as the first novel of Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. American publishers used the title The Golden Compass. Both titles refer to the alethiometer, a truth-reading device carried by the protagonist, Lyra Belacqua.

The title difference has a publishing history rather than a plot-based explanation. The British title refers to the book’s northern setting and its exploration of the aurora, while the American title emphasizes the mysterious instrument central to Lyra’s journey.

The novel is sometimes confused with the 2007 film, which also uses The Golden Compass as its title. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass are the second and third books in the trilogy, not alternate names for the first novel.