So, obviously, when I heard about La Belle Sauvage, I simply had to bury my skepticism and read it.Īnd I think this book digs up the past pretty well. Along with Harry Potter, it is one of the standout reads of my childhood and, perhaps, my entire life. It's hard to believe, but I was ten years old when I first read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Could you bargain with fairies? Did they keep their promises? Malcolm tried to remember the fairy tales he knew. And Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm. Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. All are asking about the same thing: a girl-just a baby-named Lyra. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcolm sees suspicious characters everywhere Lord Asriel, clearly on the run enforcement agents from the Magisterium an Egyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a dæmon. He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust-and the spy it was intended for finds him. Malcolm and his dæmon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue. Malcolm's father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy. Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. Finding himself linked to a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua, Malcolm is forced to undertake the challenge of his life and to make a dangerous journey that will change him and Lyra for ever. But now as the rain builds, the world around Malcolm and Asta it seems is set to become increasingly far from ordinary. He is happiest playing with his daemon, Asta, in their canoe, La Belle Sauvage. Malcolm Polstead's Oxford life has been one of routine, ordinary even.

Philip Pullman's magnificent bestseller is now in paperback, with new additional illustrations. From the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials- now a major critically acclaimed BBC series *Now coming to the stage in the summer of this year! Performed at The Bridge Theatre from July 2020, it will be a theatrical spectacle not to be missed* A rich, imaginative, vividly characterised rite-of-passage tale - Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times WINNER- AUTHOR OF THE YEAR, BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNER- UK AUTHOR, NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2018 A coming of age story like no other.

Philip pullman la belle sauvage