THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER

Book ID/图书代码： 06580107B13626

English Summary/英文概要： In the city of Agora, anything can be bought and sold. Even children are possessions until their twelfth birthday. Mark has been sold by his father, and Lily, an orphan from birth, has bartered for her life. Thrown together by chance, in the ancient tower of Count Stelli, they face an existence of poverty and servitude, unless they can find a way to break free. But, unbeknown to Mark and Lily, they are being watched by the ruler of the city. Can they survive the traps and treachery that await them and discover the dark secret that binds them together? Their lives depend on this question: what is the Midnight Charter?

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 與世隔絕的國度之城Agora，在這裡什麼東西都可以買賣交易，舉凡貨物、服務、人類、思維、觀念、以及任何情感都可以用等價物交換，是一個沒有金錢的經濟結構，唯有靠交易才能存活的地方，而負債只有死路一條。
成功的菁英份子主控這個社會，而貧民於陋巷中飽受瘟疫無情的肆虐，孩童在12歲生日以後才有自主權。而這個城市最有權力的占星師，史坦利伯爵的古塔中，有兩個小孩相遇了，他們兩個都被賣為奴隸。
馬克-一個感情脆弱，富有想像力的男孩，父親為了治病將他賣給伯爵的孫子。
莉莉-沉默寡言，但思考周慮的女孩，是個孤兒，為伯爵所擁有。
原本害怕惹主人不高興而被驅趕到充滿疾病陋巷中孤寂死亡的兩人，唯一的目標就是為了存活而工作。漸漸地他們發覺命運是可以自己掌握的，對於未來開始有了希望。馬克想取得控制這個社會的權力，莉莉則想改變這個社會的生存法則。然而，他們兩人都不知道，創立此城存活規則的統治者早已在暗地裡監視著兩人……而他們唯一存活的機會，就是取得午夜密令……
這裡的人在權力、道德與貪腐中掙扎，書中主角所面臨的人生抉擇恰與現實社會相符，這是一個具有正面教育意味且富有想像力的奇幻冒險。(Chris)

Awards/获奖情况：史上獲得英國兒童文學
桂冠殊榮最年輕的作家

版權已售16國
午夜密令三部曲

版權已售:
Puffin (UK)
Roaring Brook Press (USA)
Doubleday (Canada)
Sesam (Danish);
Moon Books (Finnish);
Gallimard Jeunesse (French);
Goldman (German);
Motibo (Greek);
Salani (Italian);
Chungrim Publishing Group (Korean);
Editorial Presenca (Portuguese/Portugal);
Editora Rocco (Portuguese/Brazil);
Eksmo (Russian);
Ediciones Oniro (Spanish);
B. Wahlstroms (Swedish);
Pearl Publishing Co Ltd (Thai)

About the Author/作者介绍： David Whitley was born in 1984 and at the age of twenty he won the Cheshire Prize for Literature. He later graduated from the University of Oxford with a double first in English Literature. TV quiz fans will have spotted David on BBC2’s University Challenge, when he was a member of Oxford’s Corpus Christi team who became Series Champions in 2005. At the age of seventeen he was shortlisted for the Kathleen Fidler Award for a children’s novel and at twenty he won the Cheshire Prize for Literature for a children’s short story. TV quiz fans will have spotted David on BBC2’s University Challenge, when he was a member of Oxford’s Corpus Christi team who became Series Champions in 2005. In 2009 he published his debut, The Midnight Charter, which sold in 18 countries and 12 languages around the world.
David Whitley 1984 年出生，畢業於牛津大學，熱愛兒童文學寫作的他，17歲時便寫了第一本兒童文學，且入圍童書獎項Kathleen Fidler Award決選名單。20歲時獲得Cheshire Prize for Literature兒童短篇故事獎，是史上獲得此項殊榮中最年輕的作家。
英國兒童文學桂冠作家Michael Morpurgo相當推崇其作品，也因此激勵David Whitley花一年研究生的時間寫下THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER。除了寫作外，David Whitley也熱愛表演，於多場音樂劇擔任重要角色。

Format:插图

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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