La Belle Sauvage cover art

La Belle Sauvage

The Book of Dust, Volume One

Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

La Belle Sauvage

By: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: Michael Sheen
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year 2018

2019 CAMEO Book to Audio
Best Solo Narration - New York Festival Radio Awards
Shortlisted Best Audiobook Narrator - Audio Production Awards

Penguin presents the audio download edition of La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, read by Michael Sheen.

Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua . . .

"As a reader and a fan, I was hugely excited on hearing that Phillip was returning to the story of Lyra and Dust and challenging the Authority. And, as an actor, it was a true privilege to be asked to record La Belle Sauvage, the first book of this new work." Michael Sheen

"The best piece of narration I've ever heard" - The Bookseller

"Michael Sheen's narration of Philip Pullman's new novel is better than an army of voice actors his voice is impressive, from the crisp, definitive consonants of its higher registers to the rumbly bass notes Sheen summons when some menace enters the scene, to the vast, buttery expanse of his middle range." Slate

Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama cover art
Honour Thy Father cover art
Great Poets of the Romantic Age cover art
The Penelopiad cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
The Boy Made of Snow cover art
The Lost Witch cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
Virgins cover art
Dark Horse cover art
The Naturalist cover art
War and Peace cover art
Sabriel cover art
This Rough Magic cover art
Birdcage Walk cover art
Mr Nobody’s Eyes cover art
All stars
Most relevant
I've been hoping it will be good and it didn't disappoint. However, too much of the book is taken up by the journey. It gets a bit repetitive... I would have welcomed more 'theory' rather than adventure, but I enjoyed it.

Oh and narration is perfect.

80% Perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Really fantastic book, with great pace, imagination, and delivery. The pace of the narration flows with the book, and adds to the suspense. Highly recommend!

Exceptional book - kept me gripped throughout!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What a fabulous treat! Philip Pullman weaves fantasy and reality together to make a world that is easy to believe in. His characters, and, of course, their daemons, are believable and distinct. This adventure rolls along and then lurches into tense peaks and troughs. Of course, Michael Sheen is completely perfect and brings the whole world to life. I can’t wait for the next instalment

Stunning story, brilliantly read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I was nervous as a mature reader of investing in what I assumed mr Pullman intended as young adult fiction. Surely it could not be taken seriously could not engage a serious mind and would not stand up in comparison with true landmarks of the fantasy genre (Tolkien, Rowling etc ). I stand radically corrected.
This is a tale told with a much pared down narrative style compared to the dark materials trilogy, and all the better for it.
And Michael Sheen’s reading sets the bar very high for the rest - frankly if he recorded the train timetable I’d probably buy it now. It seems to be reported Mr P has already written the next instalment of this trilogy and I hope it appears soon. I also pray someone at his publishers had the nouse to book Mr Sheen else I fear whoever gets to narrate it may not do it justice.

Until you hear this you don’t know great narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I write that futile just incase someone buys it for anyone under the age of maybe 15? It is very dark.
Besides that point the book is incredible I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Philip pullman is such an inventive author. The narration by Michael sheen is brilliant hope he does the next ones too.

Definitely not a children’s book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews