The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Solo Narration at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020

It is twenty years since the events of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One unfolded and saw the baby Lyra Belacqua begin her life-changing journey.

It is almost ten years since readers left Lyra and the love of her young life, Will Parry, on a park bench in Oxford's Botanic Gardens at the end of the ground-breaking, bestselling His Dark Materials sequence.

Now, in The Secret Commonwealth, we meet Lyra Silvertongue. And she is no longer a child . . .

The second volume of Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust sees Lyra, now twenty years old, and her daemon Pantalaimon, forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined, and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed. Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right.

Theirs is a world at once familiar and extraordinary, and they must travel far beyond the edges of Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost - a city haunted by daemons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the mystery of the elusive Dust.

The Secret Commonwealth is truly a book for our times; a powerful adventure and a thought-provoking look at what it is to understand yourself, to grow up and make sense of the world around you. This is storytelling at its very best from one of our greatest writers.

"Michael Sheen throws himself wholeheartedly into narrating this sequel to La Belle Sauvage and listeners will be rapt. For the ever-expanding international cast of characters, Sheen conjures a multitude of accents and delivers rapid-fire conversations between them. He's in step with the text at every turn; when situations become fraught or dangerous, Sheen ramps up the tension exquisitely. Thanks to Pullman's intricate storytelling and Sheen's propulsive narration, listeners will be on the edge of their seats right up to the cliff-hanger ending" AudioFile

Auteur

Philip Pullman was born in Norwich and educated in England, Zimbabwe, Australia and Wales. He studied English at Exeter College, Oxford.

His first children's book, Count Karlstein, was published in 1982. To date, he has published thirty-three books, read by children and adults alike. His most famous work is the His Dark Materials trilogy. These books have been honoured by several prizes including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Book Prize, and (for The Amber Spyglass) the Whitbread Book of the Year Award - the first time that prize had been given to a children's book. Pullman has received numerous other awards, including the Eleanor Farjeon Award and the Astrid Lindgren Award. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year's Honours List for Services to Literature. Chris Wormell is an award-winning, well-loved illustrator and storyteller. Most recently, he has illustrated the cover of Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust, and has lent his woodcut style to Dinosaurium. Chris has created many award-winning books, including Molly and the Night Monster (shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal), Two Frogs (winner of the Nestlé Bronze Award), *and *One Smart Fish (winner of the Booktrust Early Years Awards Best Picture Book). His books include the much-loved George and the Dragon and also Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice (winner of the Children's Book Award). Michael Sheen, OBE, is a renowned Welsh actor and homelessness activist. His incredible work on stage and screen has gained him numerous awards, and in 2009 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama. A passionate social activist, Michael is the honorary president of Wales Council for Voluntary Action, and a patron of numerous British charities, including NSPCC's Child's Voice Appeal and Social Enterprise UK. In 2021, Sheen declared himself a not-for-profit actor. Michael lives in Wales with his partner and two daughters. A Home for Spark the Dragon is his debut picture book.

Texte du rabat

Philip Pullman (Author)
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. He lives in Oxford.

Christopher Wormell (Illustrator)
Chris Wormell is an award-winning, well-loved illustrator and storyteller. Most recently, he has illustrated the cover of Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust, and has lent his woodcut style to Dinosaurium. Chris has created many award-winning books, including Molly and the Night Monster (shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal), Two Frogs (winner of the Nestl ronze Award), *and *One Smart Fish (winner of the Booktrust Early Years Awards Best Picture Book). His books include the much-loved George and the Dragon and also Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice (winner of the Children's Book Award).

Résumé
[Pullman] has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in rigour and stylistic elegance. This is a book for getting older with Guardian, Book of the Week