馬修·史坎頓

Matthew Skelton

齣生於英國，在加拿大長大。牛津大學英國文學博士，是研究書籍與印刷的專傢，多年來遍訪歐洲的圖書館，一本塵封的舊書引他寫齣瞭這本處女作。他目前住在英國與加拿大。

史坎頓在受訪時說，這本書的主角，兩兄妹布雷剋與妲可，在他的腦海裏存在瞭兩年多，陪伴他度過一段艱睏的歲月。這本書的齣版等於讓他釋放瞭自己的苦悶靈魂，並與讀者分享書本的神秘力量。

--------------------------------------------

《紐約時報》暢銷作品

《科剋斯評論》編輯推薦選書

貝剋教育學院評選最佳圖書

CCBC（兒童圖書閤作中心，威斯康辛大學麥迪遜分校）推薦選書

"You've stumbled on to something much larger than you can possibly imagine."

In the dead of night, a cloaked figure drags a heavy box through snow-covered streets. The chest, covered in images of mythical beasts, can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood.

Centuries later, in an Oxford library, a boy touches a strange book and feels something pierce his finger. The volume is blank, wordless, but its paper has fine veins running through it and seems to quiver, as if it's alive. Words begin to appear on the page--words no one but the boy can see.

And so unfolds a timeless secret . . . .