John Masefield (1878—1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death. He is remembered as the author of the classic children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, two novels Captain Margaret and Multitude and Solitude and a great deal of poetry, including his anthology Saltwater Ballads.
"A wintry fantasy classic." —Michael Dirda, Washington
Post, List of 66 Favorite Books
“This witty and wonderful children’s novel by the onetime Poet
Laureate of the UK is widely beloved on the other side of the pond,
but lesser known here. A travesty, that, since it’s a magic box in
itself: a magical adventure that begins with a boy on his way home
for Christmas, stopped by a man who implores him, 'And now, Master
Harker, of Seekings, now that the Wolves are Running, as you will
have seen, perhaps you would do something to stop their Bite?'
Enter wizards and witches, mice, Roman soldiers, the toughest
little girl you’ll ever meet, and Christmas just might be saved
after all.” —Flavorwire“The book that always had the magic of a
snowy English Christmas…. It’s still a lovely book, magical and
funny, to be read by anybody of any age.” —The Horn Book
"This classic of English children's literature, sadly overlooked by
most on this side of the Atlantic, has just been reissued in a
beautiful edition by the New York Review Children's
Collection...Although "The Box of Delights" was first published in
1935, Masefield's intoxicating prose has lost none of its pull...in
this wonderful tale of bravery and intrigue that deserves to become
another staple of the holidays." --The San Francisco
Chronicle "First published in 1935, The Box of Delights by
John Masefield is newly available. In the adventure-laden Christmas
story, Kay Harker (also the protagonist of Masefield's The Midnight
Folk) returns from boarding school for the holidays and becomes
involved in a struggle with a wizard and witch who wish to possess
the eponymous box." --Publishers Weekly "This uniquely
imaginative tale would be a delight for fans of old-fashioned,
English Literature and could be compared to the likes of A
Christmas Carol and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe." --CLEAR
Reviews “[Masefield’s] most popular children’s
book…Original and remarkable.” –The New York Review of
Books “Masefield's novel, a plum pudding of strange
adventures, English legend, and spiritual feeling, should be more
widely appreciated” –The Washington Post “The Box of Delights'
is based on a 1935 story by famous English poet John Masefield, and
it's crammed full of fantasy and adventures, almost as if every
known children's story had been combined in one. There's space
travel and time travel and evil villains and holiday sentiments and
adventures, adventures, adventures.” –The Seattle Times “Every
chapter in this book is marvelous, but the real delight derives
from Masefield’s style and the idiosyncratic, colorful speech of
his various characters…Lovely stuff.” –The Washington
Post “This book is a writer’s oft-raided treasure trove…the
world’s best ‘crossover book’…It does time-travel better than
Narnia…The story floats on brilliant, eccentric dialogue and…never
loses its snowy-Christmas, Nutcracker enchantment…” –The
Independent (UK) “Masefield the children’s writers is
unbeatable.” –The Daily Telegraph (UK)
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