The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Dr. Hannah Relf knows little about Oakley Street; her only forms of contact with the organization are with Professor Papadimitriou and through the acorn. She can also speak with a cataloger at the Boolean Library using a specific code, so she arranges a meeting with the man to discuss replacing her murdered insulator. They agree to arrange for new drop box locations for the secret messages. Hannah asks if Lord Nugent is part of Oakley Street and what importance the baby at the priory has, but the cataloger either refuses to answer or doesn’t know.

Malcolm, meanwhile, visits the priory, where he helps Mr. Taphouse finish with the shutters. Then, he visits Sister Fenella in the kitchen and asks to see Lyra, hoping to give the baby a lanyard he made for her. Lyra is conversing unintelligibly but energetically in her crib with her little dæmon, Pantalaimon. Malcolm gives her the lanyard, which the baby immediately starts happily chewing on, but worried she might swallow it, he decides she is still too small for the toy. He asks to hold the baby, and Sister Fenella puts her in his arms. He speaks to her gently, saying she can play with the toy when she’s older, and he will teach her to swim and take her for rides in his canoe. They are interrupted by the appearance of Sister Benedicta and a grey-haired woman Malcolm doesn’t know. The woman criticizes Malcolm’s toy in a “harsh tone” that makes Lyra cry, and he says goodbye quickly, noticing that Sister Fenella looks frightened.

At school, Malcolm’s friend Eric says his father has learned that the man who drowned in the canal was a spy, but he doesn’t have any more information. Later that day, the students line up with the bell, but instead of going to class, their teacher leads them to the hall where the teachers are assembled, and the children are addressed by a woman Malcolm recognizes as the stranger from the priory. As she talks, Malcolm notices tension among the teachers and tears on one of the teacher’s cheeks. The woman, Miss Carmichael, explains that she represents a part of the Magisterium called the League of St. Alexander. She tells the children that St. Alexander was a little boy who lived in North Africa, and his family worshiped traditional “evil” gods, not Jesus Christ. When Alexander learned about Jesus from a missionary, he was baptized and became a Christian. However, the rest of his family pretended to be Christian in public but maintained their belief in the old gods and protected others from the Christian authorities. Alexander told the authorities about his family and the other “pagans” they were hiding. They were all caught and executed in the marketplace.

Miss Carmichael explains that Alexander did a very brave thing. Even though it might seem like everyone is a true Christian now, she tells the children that there are still “enemies of the Church” (112) who don’t believe in God. She says that the Church needs the children to “be the eyes and ears of the Authority” (113) and report anyone who doesn’t believe in the “true faith.” Children’s hands shoot up when she asks who wants to join the League of St. Alexander, but Malcolm notices the teachers looking uncomfortably at the floor, and his hand stays at his side.

During their Saturday meeting, Malcolm updates Hannah on the news about the man in the canal being a spy and about the woman at the priory and the League of St. Alexander. He tells her that one teacher told the students they couldn’t wear their St. Alexander badges at school, and the teacher hasn’t been seen since Thursday. The headmaster has also vanished. Malcolm tells her he doesn’t want to join because he doesn’t think it’s good to sneak around and tell on people, but then he wonders if he’s doing that in his own way by meeting Hannah. Hannah tells him the people they are working for are the good ones, against the CCD and the League of St. Alexander.

Meanwhile, Oakley Street finds Hannah a new insulator, and she can finally send a new report on her work with the alethiometer in the acorn. She then turns her attention to her official work, worried that her alethiometer privileges will be revoked if she doesn’t make progress before the scholars’ next monthly meeting.

At Malcolm’s school, the headmaster doesn’t return, and the pro-League deputy is installed in his place. Malcolm notices that the teachers behave differently, and lessons are “duller and more careful” (119). Children in the League begin to bully and pressure others to join. More teachers vanish, and the new headmaster makes a hesitant plea for the members of the League to relax their vigilance so that the school can continue functioning. Some of the members want to continue “zealously,” but the rest favor acting more subtly. No more teachers are dismissed, but the League continues to assert its power by making teachers apologize publicly for various misdeeds, like not starting class with a prayer.

Malcolm’s notoriously chatty friend Eric is a member of the League, and through him, Malcolm learns various details. However, he still wants to know why Miss Carmichael was visiting Lyra in the priory. Sister Benedicta asks to see Malcolm and wants to hear about Miss Carmichael’s visit to his school. He tells her about the League, and Sister Benedicta wonders why no one has reported on children “being encouraged to behave badly” (127). Malcolm suggests that the newspapers aren’t allowed to print the story. Before he leaves, Sister Benedicta takes him to see Lyra’s room, which has been freshly painted to make it more suitable for a child. Malcolm is delighted with the change and offers to help build all the furniture Lyra will need as she grows up.

On Saturday, Malcolm has trouble navigating to Hannah’s because the river is so swollen with rain. He finds Hannah placing sandbags in front of her home, anticipating a flood. Inside, he updates her on his news, and she has surprising news for him. She tells him that Lyra’s mother, Mrs. Coulter, is in charge of the League of St. Alexander. Malcolm is shocked and wonders if that is why Miss Carmichael is interested in Lyra.

Malcolm is helping Mr. Taphouse with the shutters when interrupted by a frantic Sister Fenella, who claims that some men have come to take Lyra away. The men are speaking to Sister Benedicta. They show her a paper from the Office of Child Protection, which they explain is under the authority of the CCD. Sister Benedicta tears up the warrant and throws it into the fire. Holding Lyra tightly, she scolds the men for entering a holy place forcefully and frightening Sister Fenella. She says the priory has a legacy of care and hospitality that they will not abandon for “three billies in uniform” (136). Unable to argue more, the men leave.

That night, the inn is quiet, and Malcolm does some homework upstairs in his room. While looking at his atlas and wondering if he could ride his canoe to France, a strange sparkling line slowly fills Malcolm’s vision. It grows larger and larger for several minutes before passing. Asta doesn’t see it. She feels something, but neither of them is frightened. Once the episode has passed, Malcom’s father comes looking for him, saying there is someone downstairs who wants to speak to him. Surprised, Malcolm carries a glass of wine to the Terrace Room, where a man with a spotted leopard dæmon introduces himself as Lord Asriel, Lyra’s father and a friend of Dr. Hannah Reif.

Malcolm describes the evening’s events at the priory when asked. Lord Asriel tells Malcolm that he has not been able to visit his daughter because he is being followed and she would be found and taken away. He asks about Lyra’s well-being. Malcolm assures him that the nuns love and care for her. Asriel tells Malcolm he is being pursued but wants to see Lyra before he leaves. He wants Malcolm to take him to the priory and show him which room is Lyra’s. Malcolm hesitantly agrees, and they venture out into the moonlight. To avoid the bridge, they climb into Malcom’s canoe and cross the river. Once they reach the priory and arrive at the correct window, Malcolm taps on the shutters several times, trying to wake Sister Fenella. She finally answers but refuses to give Malcom the baby. Lord Asriel speaks to her quietly, and she finally passes Lyra through the window. Asriel holds his daughter gently, whispering and holding her up toward the moon. Then, he passes her back to Sister Fenella and gestures to Malcolm to leave with him.

As they return to the canoe, Malcolm and Asriel hear the gas engine of Asriel’s pursuers. Malcolm tells him to take the canoe and escape down the river. Asriel promises to return the vessel, then sails away.