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Box of Delights
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A world with magic in it
Review date: 2008-02-23 Rating: 8 out of 10
"The wolves are running" "If you see Someone, tell them Someone is safe"... those phrases have stayed with me ever since I first read this book as a child.
(SPOILER) I agree that the very end is a mistake, because Masefield has created such a marvellous world where magic is intermingled with normality and one really doesn't want it to be dismissed as 'only a dream'. However, that's my only criticism of this lovely book.
Recommended for any imaginative child or adult. Reading The Midnight Folk first adds another dimension - personally I don't think it's quite such a good book, but it's full of wonderful imagery too (and doesn't use the 'dream' explanation either).
Similar Products
- The Box of Delights [1984]
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Reviews
When the Wolves Were Running
Review date: 2006-12-26 Rating: 8 out of 10
A delightfully enchanting "English" story, managing to stir up images of those traditional Christmasses - that of snowy English landscapes & glowing fires, contemporary crooks, chases, scrobbling and mystical encounters with mythic archetypes.
The book was a product of its time, and not very politically correct for some palletes today - children being placed on trains alone, talking to strange people and accepting magical boxes from shabby hobos! LoL
The book fails to deliver in the last 6 lines where it is finally revealed that it was "all a dream" which severally disappointed me as a child first reading it, and even now as an adult.
The 1984 BBC tv adaption did at least leave the outcome subjective as to whether you thought it was just a dream, or infact, real.
Hence to say, the book makes for a much more insightful read if all you've seen is the tv series. You can clearly tell from reading the book that Masefield is more of a poet, than a writer.
It's nice to see a story not dumbed down or condescending to children, like a lot of comtemporary children's fantasy.
I felt left wanting more and not especially finding it, but that may be because I have too high expectations. Others may not find that.
Those wanting to learn a little more need to read the prequel, "The Midnight Folk."
Personally I wanted to know more about "the wolves," the connection to Herne, Arthur, who the ring bearers were, why the henchmen bore Arthurian names...
It may be that Masefield didn't know either and was just writing a work filled with English imagery that summed up the spirit of the season??
It has thrilled me for 30 years and a book that can do that has done more than its job... Go read this with a cup of cocoa, or glass of mulled wine, and an open fire and tell me Herne the Hunter doesn't exist! LoL
Surreal children's classic, but good for adults too
Review date: 2005-11-29 Rating: 10 out of 10
The (largely faithful) TV adaptation of this is probably better known than the book, but the latter is more rewarding. The lines between reality and magic are blurred throughout the story, and that's the way John Masefield likes it - he was Poet Laureate, after all, so you expect to be dazzled. It's most definitely a story to be read at Christmas, as the plot takes place the week before the big day.
In places the book shows its age - it was written in the 1920s - and isn't politically correct by today's standards. However, it's very funny, especially Abner Brown's evil monologues, the completely loopy Arnold of Todi and little Maria's constant attempts to shock people. The ending has been described as cliched, but may have been less so at the time it was written.
It's certainly worth reading "The Midnight Folk" (the Box of Delights is actually a sequel) as this helps to explain the origin of the characters such as Abner, the Rat and Caroline Louisa. The books complement each other very well, with one set in summer and the other at Christmas, but with largely the same characters and setting.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
John Masefield
Recording label: Egmont Books Ltd
Manufacturer: Egmont Books Ltd
EAN: 9781405210119
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 1405210117
Number of pages: 320
Publication date: 2003-07-25
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)