First published in 2017, La Belle Sauvage is the opening installment of The Book of Dust trilogy by British author Philip Pullman. A prequel to Pullman’s acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy, La Belle Sauvage takes place when Lyra Belacqua, the protagonist of His Dark Materials, is six months old. The novel tells the story of 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead, a kind and curious boy living on the banks of the River Thames. When the river is swept by a devastating flood, Malcolm and 15-year-old Alice rescue baby Lyra and begin a treacherous journey in Malcolm’s canoe, intent on delivering Lyra safely to her father. With themes of Maturity and the Loss of Innocence, Authoritarianism and Religious Control, and The Complexities of Good and Evil, Malcolm navigates his youth amidst the uprooting of familiar societal foundations. Out of necessity, Malcolm travels down the river, protecting Lyra and journeying into adolescence.

This guide uses the 2017 Alfred A. Knopf Kindle edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include references to and descriptions of sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead lives on the banks of the River Thames outside of Oxford. His parents own an inn called the Trout, where Malcolm helps and enjoys learning from the diverse patrons. However, what Malcolm likes best is playing in his canoe, La Belle Sauvage, with his dæmon, an animal-shaped exterior manifestation of his soul called Asta. Malcolm also enjoys visiting the nuns at Godstow Priory, across the river from the Trout, whom he also helps with chores.

One night at the Trout, Malcolm serves three men who ask him strange questions about the priory, wondering if the nuns have ever looked after a young child. A few days later, Malcolm sees a man panic after dropping something under a tree and being unable to retrieve it. Malcolm finds it, a carefully carved acorn, but two other men march the owner away before he can return it. Malcolm worries the men are agents of the Consistorial Court of Discipline, the disciplinary branch of the oppressive religious organization called the Magisterium that governs the land. When he returns home, he discovers that the acorn opens and finds a cryptic note inside.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hannah Relf is a scholar studying the alethiometer, a device that gives true answers to questions by indicating different symbols around its clock-like face. Aside from her official job with the device, she also reads the alethiometer for Oakley Street, a secret organization working against the Magisterium. However, Hannah is worried because the Oakley Street acorn containing her next instructions failed to appear. She asks the alethiometer about the acorn, which leads her to Malcolm. She visits him at the Trout and arranges for him to bring the acorn to her house.

Malcolm visits Hannah and agrees to spy for her, reporting anything strange he sees or hears. Soon, he learns that a baby has come to live at the priory. Her name is Lyra, the six-month-old daughter of the explorer Lord Asriel and the beautiful Mrs. Coulter. Malcolm is “enchanted” by the child. Soon, however, it becomes clear that Lyra is in danger. Malcolm worries about the baby’s safety when he sees a strange man with a “horrible” three-legged hyena dæmon close to the priory. Meanwhile, rain falls relentlessly, and the river threatens to flood. One night, Lord Asriel appears in the Trout, asking for Malcolm’s help to see Lyra. Malcolm sneaks him to the priory and later gives Asriel his canoe to escape in. 

Several days later, La Belle Sauvage is returned by a gyptian, a member of a group of water-dwelling people, who has made improvements to the small canoe. He warns Malcolm to stay away from Gerard Bonneville, the man with the hyena dæmon, and tells him that he should be prepared for the river to flood. Meanwhile, Malcolm’s school has been taken over by a group called the League of St. Alexander. The Magisterium enlists students to spy on their behalf, encouraging them to report any instances of heresy or non-belief. Teachers are forced to change the content of their classes to suit the League, and those who don’t comply vanish and are replaced. 

The rain continues, and Alice, the girl who works in the Trout’s kitchen, tells Malcolm that Gerard Bonneville asked her questions about the priory. She tells him that one of the young nuns left a shutter open for Bonneville; if Malcolm comes to the priory that night, he will understand why. Later, Malcolm makes his way to the priory, and Alice tells him to look in the potting shed. He finds Bonneville and the young nun kissing and embracing. Before he can decide what to do, there is a crashing sound, and Malcolm finds that the river has burst its banks. The kitchen is flooded, and Malcolm seizes Lyra and hurries out with Alice, pursued by Bonneville. They go to Malcolm’s canoe and float away on the raging river.

The flood is much stronger than Malcolm anticipated, and he struggles to keep the canoe upright. They tie up among some trees, waiting for morning to navigate further. In the night, Malcolm finds a card in the canoe with Lord Asriel’s address. He wants to take Lyra to Jordan College, where she can be granted scholastic sanctuary, but he thinks they might have to take Lyra to her father in London if the flood is too strong. In addition to his worries about the current, Malcolm knows that Lyra would need to be a scholar and that he would need to speak a secret, Latin phrase in order to ask for sanctuary. As Malcolm, Lyra, and Alice move down the river, they are pursued by the CCD, Oakley Street, and Gerard Bonneville. When they notice the sinister shape of Bonneville’s dæmon in a boat behind them, they stop at a nearby house for shelter. However, Bonneville kills the house’s owner, and the children take refuge in the basement. When they try to escape, Bonneville reappears and attacks them. Malcolm manages to stab the man in the leg, and Alice shoots his dæmon, destroying the creature’s remaining foreleg. 

Shaken and believing Bonneville to be dead, the children sail off. They hide in a patch of trees and are surprised to meet George Boatwright, who hasn’t been heard from since he stood up to CCD agents in the Trout prior to the flood. Mr. Boatwright takes the children back to a cave where a number of people are living, including a boy called Andrew. However, when Malcolm wakes, he notices Andrew is gone. Malcolm starts to worry about the boy’s whereabouts, and when his aunt mentions the League of St. Alexander, Malcolm knows at once that Andrew has reported them. Before he can gather Alice and Lyra, Andrew returns with three uniformed men. The men take Lyra before Malcolm can stop them.

Malcolm questions Andrew and learns that Lyra has been taken to a priory run by the cruel Sisters of Holy Obedience. Once he has discovered all he could about the place, he and Alice set out to rescue Lyra. At the priory, Malcolm has to climb up a drainpipe. He is soaking wet, freezing, and bleeding, but he manages to retrieve the baby Lyra. Back in the canoe, Malcolm is too exhausted to paddle for long, so they tie up on a patch of land. When he wakes, Alice talks to a strange fairy woman. The woman is kind, but Malcolm and Alice are wary. Later in the evening, Alice wakes Malcolm and shows him that the woman is nursing Lyra. When he tries to take the baby back, the woman refuses, saying that Lyra is now her child. Malcolm tricks the woman into returning Lyra and they set off again. 

They haven’t been paddling for long when they find themselves caught in a strong current. They are rushed down a waterfall and end up on the bank of a beautiful garden in front of a large house. Malcolm and Alice begin walking toward it, but no matter how much they walk, they never come any closer. While Alice and Lyra sleep, Malcolm notices Bonneville approaching them from the house. They rush back to the canoe and paddle away but find the river blocked by a large set of doors. A giant appears out of the water and, after some consideration, agrees to let them through. Exhausted, cold, and hungry, the children tie the canoe up on a patch of land that holds a graveyard. They fear they are being followed but are too exhausted to travel further. In the night, they are surprised by Bonneville slicing through the canoe’s tarp with a knife. He seizes Alice’s dæmon, and Alice rushes out after them. Malcolm can hear her screaming, but he cannot leave Lyra alone. Even though it is painful for a human to be separated from their dæmon, Asta tells him to go to Alice while she stays with Lyra.

Malcolm finds Alice and Bonneville on the steps of the mausoleum. Summoning all his strength, Malcolm beats Bonneville with the paddle until the man is dead. In the morning, the children are weak and exhausted from their ordeal. Malcolm paddles ever closer to London, but as they get nearer, the current of the flood becomes wild and dangerous. In the turbulence, two boats pull up alongside the canoe. There is chaos, with waves, wind, and the sound of gunshots. Suddenly, hands reach down, and Lord Asriel’s voice calls them to pass Lyra up. Safe on Asriel’s boat, Malcolm faints on the deck.

Malcolm wakes in an aircraft. They land in front of Jordan College, and Asriel gets out with Lyra, Malcolm, and Alice. The Master of the college opens the door. Ariel speaks a Latin sentence asking for scholastic sanctuary and places the baby in the Master’s arms. The Master protests that the sanctuary is only for scholars, and Asriel tells him to turn the baby into one. He tells him to “treasure” Malcolm and Alice, then leaves. Malcolm collapses with exhaustion, and Lyra begins to cry.