The secular angel in contemporary children's literature: David ...

ABSTRACT
This thesis explores the representation of the contemporary secular angel in children’s
literature, focusing on the works of three authors: David Almond, Philip Pullman, and Cliff
McNish. In the works in question, the secular angel has been removed from all religious
frameworks, including its traditional allegiance and obedience to a God or Devil figure. This
absence, however, does not negate the existence of a moral compass, nor the importance of
free will, which is bestowed upon and used by angelic and human characters alike.
Transformation, one of the thesis’s key themes, becomes significant as I argue that the angelic
figures bring about a transformation in the novels’ protagonists. Intertextuality forms an
integral part of the analysis as the works of John Milton and William Blake are key reference
points. The Introduction traces the angel’s trajectory from its scriptural tradition in the Middle
Ages, to its progressive secularisation in the 20 th century, and a chapter on each author
follows. The thesis concludes by arguing that these angels’ role in children’s literature is to
challenge and complicate notions of religion, innocence and experience, and science vs. faith,
as they become representatives of a contemporary, secular philosophy, while retaining and
embracing the spiritual.