A bird at the window. A journey towards Dawnland.
Something stirs on the window-sill and calls Mig’s name. Beyond her unhappy home lies a world of golden light, extraordinary creatures and unexpected friends. The mysterious Dawnchild offers a way into it—but Cousin Belinda and the Umpis are following.
First published by Faber & Gwyer in 1926, Beryl Irving’s fantasy combines the pleasure of a fairy adventure with humour, courage and moments of real danger. It is a story to share aloud, discover for the first time, or return to after many years.
Drawn by the storyteller
Beryl Irving illustrated her own imagined world: the strange bird at Mig’s window, the children of the stars, and the boat crossing the Midnight Sea. Her line drawings and plates are part of the storytelling, bringing its creatures and encounters into view.
This illustrated EPUB
- The complete story with eight colour plates and Beryl Irving’s line drawings
- Reflowable text: adjust the type size in your reading app
- A linked table of contents for all 16 chapters
- A DRM-free EPUB download; no physical book is included
Read in Apple Books, Google Play Books or Kobo. For Kindle, import the EPUB through Amazon’s Send to Kindle service. Colour artwork appears in colour on a colour screen; pagination varies with your device and text settings.
Your download is available after checkout and remains in your Irving Books account.
How this text returned
The Dawnchild first returned as a free digital edition in 2007, from a typescript that Annette Gregg made chapter by chapter between 2002 and 2004. Her mother had won a copy as a prize. This edition descends from that typescript and acknowledges her part in keeping the story available.
