 First edition cover | |
| Author | John Masefield |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1935 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 309 |
| Preceded by | The Midnight Folk |
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. It is also known as When The Wolves Were Running.
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 Harker meets at the railway station. They develop an instant rapport, which leads Hawlings to confide that he is being chased by a magician called Abner Brown and his gang, which includes Harker's former governess. For safety, Hawlings (who turns out to be the medieval philosopher and alleged magician Ramon Llull) entrusts the box to Harker. The schoolboy then goes on to have many adventures as he protects the box from those who wish to use it for bad deeds.
There have been several radio adaptations of The Box of Delights.
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
|
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
|
Two-part drama with a script by John Peacock.
A BBC TV adaptation of The Box of Delights was broadcast in six parts between 21 November and 24 December in 1984. It starred Devin Stanfield, Patrick Troughton and Robert Stephens as Kay Harker, Cole Hawlings and Abner Brown respectively [1] and adapted for television by Alan Seymour, directed by Renny Rye and produced by Paul Stone. [2]
It featured an innovative mixture of live action and animation, in particular Quantel Paintbox and chroma key effects. The series cost £1-million to make in 1984, the most expensive children's series the BBC had made to that date, [2] but it was widely acclaimed and won a number of BAFTA and RTS awards, in particular for its special effects. [3] [4]
The opening and closing title music features an orchestral arrangement of "The First Nowell" extracted from the third movement of the Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson. It had been used for earlier radio adaptations and has become synonymous with the story. [5]
Big Finish Productions produced an audio play of The Box of Delights, which was released on CD and download in June 2021, [6] starring Derek Jacobi, Mark Gatiss and David Warner. The script was adapted by Christopher William Hill.
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.
Wilton's Music Hall presented an adaptation by Piers Torday between 1 December 2017 and 6 January 2018. Billed as a world stage premiere, the production was directed by Justin Audibert and designed by Tom Piper. [7] The production was reprised, with a new cast, between 30 November 2018 and 5 January 2019. [8]
The Royal Shakespeare Company presented the production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 31 October 2023 and 7 January 2024. [9]
John Edward Masefield was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and the poems "The Everlasting Mercy" and "Sea-Fever".
Robert Oxton Bolt was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and A Man for All Seasons, the latter two of which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Sir Robert Graham Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. He was one of the most respected actors of his generation and was at one time regarded as the natural successor to Laurence Olivier.
The Midnight Folk is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield first published in 1927. It is about a boy, Kay Harker, who sets out to discover what became of a fortune stolen from his seafaring great grandfather Aston Tirrold Harker. The treasure is also sought by a coven of witches who are seeking it for their own ends. Kay's governess Sylvia Daisy Pouncer is a member of the coven. The witches are led or guided by the wizard Abner Brown.
Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actress. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
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Christian Victor Noel Hope Hely-Hutchinson was a British composer, conductor, pianist and music administrator. He is best known for the Carol Symphony and for humorous song-settings.
Carol Symphony is a collection of four preludes, written by Victor Hely-Hutchinson in 1927. It is based on five Christmas carols, given additional orchestration and counterpoint arrangements. The four movements are written to be played uninterrupted consecutively.
Kay Harker is a fictional character, the young hero of the books The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights by John Masefield, and the BBC series of The Box of Delights. The series ran in 1984, where the character was played by actor Devin Stanfield. Kay is of an unspecified age, and the book follows his adventures one Christmas Holiday alongside his contemporaries who are staying for the holidays.
Sard Harker (1924) by John Masefield (1878–1967) is an adventure novel first published in October 1924. It is the first of three novels by Masefield set in the fictional nation of Santa Barbara in South America. The others are ODTAA and The Taking of the Gry.
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The Box of Delights is a BBC Television adaptation of John Masefield's 1935 children's fantasy novel The Box of Delights starring Devin Stanfield, Patrick Troughton and Robert Stephens. It was broadcast on BBC1 between 21 November and 24 December 1984. The series was adapted from Masefield's novel by Alan Seymour, directed by Renny Rye and produced by Paul Stone.
Piers Torday is a British children's writer. The son of the novelist Paul Torday, he was born in Northumberland and was a theatre and television producer for many years.
The Box of Delights is a play by Piers Torday based on the 1935 children's novel of the same name by John Masefield.