La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One by Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman returns to the world of His Dark Materials with this magnificent first volume of The Book of Dust - now available in paperback and illustrated throughout by Chris Wormell.

Malcolm Polstead's Oxford life has been one of routine, ordinary even. He is happiest playing with his daemon, Asta, in their canoe, La Belle Sauvage. But now as the rain builds, the world around Malcolm and Asta is, it seems, set to become increasingly far from ordinary.
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 forever . . .

Philip Pullman

Formats & editions

Paperback

9780241365854

September 3, 2018

Penguin and David Fickling Books

RRP $16.99
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Trade Paperback

9780857561084

October 19, 2017

David Fickling Books

448 pages

RRP $32.99
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Hardback

9780385604413

October 19, 2017

David Fickling Books

448 pages

RRP $39.99
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Audio CD

9781846577703

October 20, 2017

RHCP Audio

RRP $32.99
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EBook

9781409025474

October 19, 2017

RHCP Digital

448 pages
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Extract

Malcolm Polstead, the eleven-year-old at the centre of the story, sees a great deal of the secret life of Oxford from the perspective of the rivers and the canal in his canoe La Belle Sauvage. Here he witnesses something he'd never expected to see, and discovers something that will change his life.

– Philip Pullman

Malcolm let the canoe drift to a halt and then silently slipped in among the stiff stems and watched as a great crested grebe scrambled up on to the towpath, waddled ungracefully across, and then dropped down into the little backwater on the other side. Keeping as quiet as he could and moving very slowly, Malcolm wedged the canoe even deeper into the reeds, and watched the bird shake its head and paddle across the water to join its mate.