The Collectors

A short story from the world of His Dark Materials and the Book of Dust


'D'you - er - have you seen her before?'
'Yes. I know who she is.'
'But, Grinstead, this painting is seventy years old - probably nearer eighty! You're not being serious - I mean . . . What do you mean?'

On a dark winter's night in 1970, Horley and Grinstead huddle for warmth in the Senior Common Room of a college in Oxford. Conversation turns to the two impressive works of art that Horley has recently added to his collection.


What the two men don't know is that these pieces are connected in mysterious and improbable ways; and they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story which has travelled time and worlds.