Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman is a short book telling an adventure of His Dark Materials leading heroine, Lyra Silvertongue set shortly after the end of the trilogy. It was released to whet the appetite of fans of the trilogy while they wait for the release of The Book of Dust in 2005. Philip Pullman Philip Pullman, (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer, educated at Exeter College, Oxford, who is the bestselling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels and a number of other books, purportedly for children, but attracting increasing attention by adult readers. ... Wills bench and the bridge in the Oxford Botanic Gardens His Dark Materials is a trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman, comprising Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. ... Lyra Belacqua is a fictional character created by Philip Pullman and the heroine of the His Dark Materials trilogy. ... The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman will be a companion novel to His Dark Materials, focusing on the stories of the secondary characters of the trilogy, such as how the balloonist aeronaut Lee Scoresby met the armored bear Iorek Byrnison. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The book consists mainly of an illustrated short story, "Lyra and the Birds". A foldout map of "Oxford by Train, River and Zeppelin" is bound in the book, which also includes some advertisements for books and traveller's catalogues. Two pages from a Baedeker published in Lyra's world, a postcard from the character Mary Malone, and a brochure for the cruise ship Zenobia are also included. Karl Baedeker (not Baedecker) (3 November 1801 - 4 October 1859) was a publisher whose company set the standard for authoritative guidebooks for tourists. ...

The preface by Pullman begins:

"This book contains a story and several other things. The other things might be connected with the story, or they might not; they might be connected to stories that haven't appeared yet. It's hard to tell."