Country United Kingdom Publication date 1935 Originally published 1935 Preceded by The Midnight Folk Genre Fantasy Fiction | Language English Pages 309 Page count 309 Publisher Heinemann | |
 | ||
Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Similar John Masefield books, Children's literature | ||
The Box of Delights is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to The Midnight Folk, and was first published in 1935.
Contents
The box of delights fan trailer
Plot
Kay Harker is returning from boarding school when he finds himself mixed up in a battle to possess a magical box. It allows the owner to shrink in size, to fly swiftly, to go into the past and to experience the magical wonders contained within the box.
The current owner of the box is an old Punch and Judy man called Cole Hawlings whom Kay meets at the railway station. They develop an instant rapport, which leads Cole to confide that he is being chased by a magician called Abner Brown and his gang, which includes Kay's former governess. For safety, Cole (who turns out to be the medieval philosopher and alleged magician Ramon Llull) entrusts the box to Kay. The schoolboy then goes on to have many adventures as he protects the box from those who wish to use it for bad deeds.
BBC radio
There have been several radio adaptations of The Box of Delights.
Children's Hour
This six-part adaptation, with a script by Robert Holland and John Keir Cross, was produced three times by the BBC as part of its Children's Hour, in 1943, 1948 and 1955.
1943
1948
1955
Saturday Night Theatre
This was a one-off drama, with a script by John Keir Cross, broadcast in 1966, and repeated in 1968 and 1969. It was then remade with a new cast in 1977.
1966
1977
Radio 4
1995
Two-part drama with a script by John Peacock.
BBC Television 1984
The BBC TV adaptation of the The Box of Delights was broadcast in six parts between 21 November and 24 December in 1984. It featured notable British actors of the time, such as Patrick Troughton, Robert Stephens, Patricia Quinn, John Horsley and James Grout, and starred a newcomer, Devin Stanfield, as Kay. An innovative mixture of live action and animation, using Quantel Paintbox and chroma key effects, was used to portray the adventure. The music included an orchestral arrangement of "The First Nowell" from the Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson, and incidental music by Roger Limb.
Awards
The BBC TV production of The Box of Delights won three British Academy of Film & Television Arts awards (BAFTAs) and a Royal Television Society award: The serial was nominated for five BAFTAs - for best Children's Programme, Video Cameraman, Graphics, Video Lighting and VTR Editor; and won three - for best Children's Programme, VTR Editor and Video Lighting. The Royal Television Society award was won for Technique, for Robin Lobb and the BBC Special Effects team.
The episodes:
- "When the Wolves Were Running"
- "Where Shall the 'Nighted Showman Go?"
- "In the Darkest Cellars Underneath"
- "The Spider in the Web"
- "Beware of Yesterday"
- "Leave Us Not Little, Nor Yet Dark"
Railway station scenes were filmed at Bewdley and Arley on the steam heritage Severn Valley Railway; Tewkesbury became the fictional Tatchester; the bishop's children's party was done at Kinlet Hall, Shropshire (the location of Moffats Independent School, whose pupils and staff served as extras); Hereford Cathedral and its choir took centre stage in the final episode; and the exterior shots of Abner Brown's theological college were filmed at Eastnor Castle, near Ledbury, Herefordshire.
During December 1986 the series was repeated on BBC1 as three 50-minute episodes. For this transmission the episodes were titled
- "When the Wolves Were Running"
- "The Spider in the Web"
- "Fire and Flood"
The television version was shown by PBS in the US for three years in the late 1980s.
BBC Worldwide released the serial on DVD in 2004.
Opera
John Masefield adapted an opera libretto from his book, also incorporating elements of The Midnight Folk, which was eventually set to music in the late 1980s by the British composer Robert Steadman.