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The Box of Delights John Masefield 9780434950508 Books

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The Box of Delights John Masefield 9780434950508 Books

The Box of Delights (1935) by John Masefield is a miracle and a masterpiece of magical literature. I admit to getting lost in the narrative. I was complete absorbed in Kay Harker’s adventures. The actual box of delights allows the holder to travel quick or small or both – the depiction of magical and enchanted journeys held me enthralled. We encounter Herne the Hunter, the Lady of the Oak Tree, lions, unicorns and talking animals. There are kidnappings, chases, robberies and great escapes. I set the book aside reluctantly and came back to it with great anticipation. The evil Abner Brown and his henchmen were indeed creepy and sinister – really quite scary. The final chapter had me in tears – I just wanted to be there literally experiencing the joy and wonder. Now I must read The Midnight Folk by the same author.


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The Box of Delights John Masefield 9780434950508 Books Reviews

Here is a Christmas story my children come back to again and again! For years the only copy we had was a dog-eared paperback issued after the BBC dramatization was aired in this country. This facsimile edition is just beautiful...appropriate to the magical story it contains.
Another reviewer warns against this edition (the New York Review Children's Collection), saying that it is an abridged one; it is not. There is another version that is available that is abridged, but this is not it.
Love this book, bought to give to a family last xmas.. my British grandmother bought this for me when I was a kid
A wonderful pair of stories - great for any age! Every child should hear these.
This and John Masefield's other childrens book, "The Midnight Folk" are without a doubt two of the finest most imaginative examples of children's literature I have ever read. Far too little known to Americans, these books demand more attention, and like me many adults reading this for the first time will ask, "Where has this been all my life?"

The fascinating thing is the counter point this sequel to "The Midnight Folk" offers, while this fantasy is centered at the Christmas/Solstice/Yule season with all the magical symbolism that entails, the "Midnight Folk" offers a wonderful autumnal Halloween/Samhain mood. You will note that I combine the Christian and pagan holidays, Masefield does a masterful job blending these rich folkoric elements that will delight both children and adults. The verbal imagery is breathtaking as you can feel the sharp wind and icy needles our main character Kay feels while out in a winter's night skulking to find the answers to the mysteries of the titled box of delights. The villainous Abner Brown is both hilariously inept and frightening at the same time.

As the other reviewer noted, though a sequel to the "Midnight Folk" this work stands solidly on its own. I encourage you to track down a copy of this neglected masterpiece of children's fantasy.
I like it, but I wanted to like it more. The story itself is great, so magical and very festive for christmas time. Most people reading this would already have an idea of the storyline so I won't repeat it, but following Master Kay Harker on his fantastical Christmas adventure was good reading fun. I found the songs in it too long and too many and I often skipped verses of those. For me, the songs interrupted the story. My main disappointment with the book was the very last page which ends the book on a total disappointment that I just don't understand. I was happy to suspend my disbelief and go along with all of the magic of the story and found the end completely unnecessary.
The BBC adaptation follows the book closely and in my opinion uses the best bits.
I have been looking for an unabridged copy of this that I could afford for ages.
Why on earth anyone would abridge it in the first place is beyond me. I was very happy to find this copy, big plus that it is a hardback.
The book was used, but clearly never opened. Very sad that this great children's book was given to three children who never so much as turned a page in it. All of my children and grandchildren and a fair few friends of both have read this now.
The Box of Delights (1935) by John Masefield is a miracle and a masterpiece of magical literature. I admit to getting lost in the narrative. I was complete absorbed in Kay Harker’s adventures. The actual box of delights allows the holder to travel quick or small or both – the depiction of magical and enchanted journeys held me enthralled. We encounter Herne the Hunter, the Lady of the Oak Tree, lions, unicorns and talking animals. There are kidnappings, chases, robberies and great escapes. I set the book aside reluctantly and came back to it with great anticipation. The evil Abner Brown and his henchmen were indeed creepy and sinister – really quite scary. The final chapter had me in tears – I just wanted to be there literally experiencing the joy and wonder. Now I must read The Midnight Folk by the same author.