FANS of fantasy author Sir Philip Pullman are celebrating after he announced the second instalment of his latest trilogy will go on sale in October.
The first instalment of The Book of Dust trilogy, La Belle Sauvage, was published to great acclaim in October 2017 and fans queued outside Waterstones in Oxford to be among the first to get their hands on a copy.
Featuring lots of Oxford locations, including The Trout pub at Wolvercote, the novel reintroduced readers to Lyra Silvertongue, who first appeared in the author’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
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Now Lyra’s story is set to continue but this time round, in The Secret Commonwealth, she will be an adult.
Sir Philip said: “The Secret Commonwealth tells the continuing story of the impact on Lyra’s life of the search for, and the fear of, Dust.
“I found it intriguing and deeply exciting to discover how great events can turn on a little moment, and how revenge can be nurtured and fed and watered till it grows beyond control.”
Life, the Cumnor author has warned, is not as easy for the grown-up version of the character readers will remember as an 11-year-old running around with her daemon Pantalaimon.
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He added: “It’s the story of some people we know, and others we’ll meet for the first time. Their journey is going to take them far from their homeland towards a mysterious desert in central Asia, where they hope to find, at last, the secret of Dust.”
La Belle Sauvage introduced Lyra as a baby, as a huge flood hit Oxford and the 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead became her protector.
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The Secret Commonwealth is set 20 years after these events, and seven years after the end of The Amber Spyglass, the concluding volume in the His Dark Materials trilogy.
The latest novel will be published by Beaumont Street-based David Fickling Books, in association with Penguin Random House UK on October 3.
The publisher called it “a timely exploration of what it is to be human, to grow up and make sense of the world around us, from one of the UK’s greatest writers”.
The new instalment of the trilogy will be published before the screening of the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials.
The series could be screened soon after the new book comes out.
The series featuring Dafne Keen as Lyra, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel and Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter will include some scenes shot in Oxford.
A trailer for the series has been released by BBC One ahead of an eight part series, which will also be shown on HBO.
Oxford streets can be seen in the trailer, which has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Releasing the footage, the BBC said: “We’re keeping our daemons close.
“Here’s an early sneak peek of #HisDarkMaterials”.
A second series is also being made.
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