The cover art for the final volume in Philip Pullman’s bestselling The Book of Dust sequence – The Rose Field – has been revealed, giving readers a first glimpse at the events set to unfold in the culmination of this cultural phenomenon.
On 23 October, The Rose Field: The Book of Dust Volume Three will be published simultaneously by David Fickling Books in association with Penguin Random House in the UK, and by Random House in the US.
The reveal marks thirty years to the day, 09 July 1995 – since publication of Northern Lights, when the world was first introduced to Pullman’s remarkable heroine Lyra Belacqua and her daemon, Pantalaimon. The Rose Field is the long-awaited and highly anticipated conclusion to The Book of Dust and His Dark Materials, and to Lyra’s story.
The cover of The Rose Field is illustrated by Chris Wormell – the official illustrator of Pullman’s His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust sequence – and depicts Lyra’s final adventure through Wormell’s distinctive and much-loved woodcut style. The cover shows Lyra and Ionides atop camels, travelling through the desert of Karamakan.
On the announcement of The Rose Field in April, Philip Pullman said: “I think of The Rose Field as partly a thriller and partly a bildungsroman: a story of psychological, moral and emotional growth.
“But it’s also a vision. Lyra’s world is changing, just as ours is. The power over people’s lives once held by old institutions and governments is seeping away and reappearing in another form: that of money, capital, development, commerce, exchange.
“Over a long and dangerous journey searching for her dæmon Pan and with him her lost imagination, Lyra comes to discover a new understanding of the world: that this change affects everything, from the way roads are built to the relationship people have with their deepest selves.”
Chris Wormell said: “It is eight years since I began illustrating Philip’s wonderful stories and became part of Lyra’s much-loved universe through what has been an incredibly special collaborative process. Working with Philip’s words has been a joy, and I’m delighted to share the cover for The Rose Field and, with it, a first look at Lyra’s final adventure.”
Philip Pullman is marking the 30th anniversary of Northern Lights with an in-conversation event at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 31 July at 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale.
The Rose Field: The Book of Dust Volume Three will be published in hardback, trade paperback, eBook and audiobook on Thursday 23 October 2025 by David Fickling Books in association with Penguin Random House in the UK, featuring original new illustrations from Chris Wormell.
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