The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Philip Pullman returns to the world of His Dark Materials with this magnificent new novel, set ten years before Northern Lights and featuring his much-loved character, Lyra Belacqua. 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead, and his daemon Asta, lives by the river Thames at the Trout Inn near Oxford. An infant Lyra Belacqua is being sheltered from her father Lord Asriel (banned by the courts from seeing her, after killing a man) by nuns at Godstow Priory near Oxford. Malcolm is persuaded to help Lord Asriel secretly see his little daughter, and thus they row to the Priory at night in Malcom´s canoe, La Belle Sauvage. Philip Pullman is one of the most highly respected children´s authors writing today. Winner of many prestigious awards, including the Carnegie of Carnegies and the Whitbread Award, Pullman´s epic fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials has been acclaimed as a modern classic. It has sold 17.5 million copies worldwide and been translated into 40 languages. In 2005 he was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.