The Box of Delights: Or When the Wolves Were Running (Kay Harker)

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He was the one that suffered because ultimately they never made the films. The one that really hurts is that Richard Burton was going to be in a filmed version of Masefield’s play Good Friday. If Richard Burton had been in a biblical play that was shown every Easter, you would still know about it, but that play has just been forgotten.” A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", 1823) attributed to Clement Clarke Moore Strange things begin to happen the minute young Kay Harker boards the train to go home for Christmas and finds himself under observation by two very shifty-looking characters. Arriving at his destination, the boy is immediately accosted by a bright-eyed old man with a mysterious message: “The wolves are running.” Soon danger is everywhere, as a gang of criminals headed by the notorious wizard Abner Brown and his witch wife Sylvia Daisy Pouncer gets to work. What does Abner Brown want? The magic box that the old man has entrusted to Kay, which allows him to travel freely not only in space but in time, too. The gang will stop at nothing to carry out their plan, even kidnapping Kay’s friend, the tough little Maria Jones, and threatening to cancel Christmas celebrations altogether. But with the help of his allies, including an intrepid mouse, a squadron of Roman soldiers, the legendary Herne the Hunter, and the inventor of the Box of Delights himself, Kay just may be able rescue his friend, foil Abner Brown’s plot, and save Christmas, too."

Le Père Martin" (1888) by Ruben Saillens and unwittingly plagiarized as " Papa Panov's Special Christmas" by Leo Tolstoy 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. The Box of Delights is a children’s fantasy novel about a boy, Kay, returning from boarding school who 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. It's mentioned many many times that several Rats really hate Kay. They say over and over that Kay "should have his head chopped off, because he is going to get a Dog for Christmas." And I kept waiting for that famous Dog to make an appearance. Why is so important that Kay is going to get a Dog for Christmas? How will this affect our plot? Why are the Rats so upset over this? And why is it always "Dog" with a capital D, and not just "dog"? What is so amazingly special about this Dog? Masefield's novel, a plum pudding of strange adventures, English legend, and spiritual feeling, should be more widely appreciated” –The Washington PostEleven-year-old me would have been enchanted with all the period detail & would have giddily given it four stars. Old-old me says, eh, it's a three. Tis the night before Christmas and the author is having an adventure too, with language and history and legends and dreamscapes and so much more, and all of this done with a certain nonchalance because it's not like he hasn't done this sort of thing before! Why does the evil Abner want the Box of Delights? He sure goes to a lot of trouble to get it, but why? We never find out. He steals a lot of jewels, kidnaps a lot of people, and all supposedly to get the Box of Delights. But then he seems content to run off to an island with his jewels, without the Box. Why was the Box so central to his plans if he already had the jewels and his island all prepared? This question is never answered satisfactorily. a b Kingsley, Madeleine (17 November 1984), "A Box Full of Magic", Radio Times, pp.101–103 , retrieved 14 October 2017 In 1894, Masefield boarded the Gilcruix, destined for Chile. He recorded his experiences while sailing through the extreme weather. Upon reaching Chile, Masefield suffered from sunstroke and was hospitalized. He eventually returned home to England as a passenger aboard a steam ship.

John Masefield (June 1, 1878—May 12, 1967) was an English poet, writer and the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until 1967. At the train station on his way home from school for the Christmas holiday, Kay Harker, the main character of The Box of Delights, encounters a mysterious Punch and Judy man named Cole Hawlings. The two hit if off so well that when Hawlings needs someone to hide and guard his box of delights he entrusts it to Kay. As Kay enjoys the powers given to him by the box - to move swiftly, to shrink, to travel through time - he also becomes aware of a strange series of disappearances around town. Not only have several local clergyman been "scrobbled" but some of Kay's houseguests, Kay's guardian Caroline Louisa, and Cole Hawlings himself have gone missing as well. Kay realizes all of these kidnappings must be attempts to gain access to the box of delights and in trying to protect it, he has a variety of thrilling adventures. When Masefield was 23, he met his future wife, Constance Crommelin, who was 35. Educated in classics and English Literature, and a mathematics teacher, Constance was a perfect match for Masefield despite the difference in age. The couple had two children (Judith, born in 1904, and Lewis, in 1910). But I just couldn't get into this book. Perhaps because I haven't read The Midnight Folk, thus coming in mid-story, as it were. But the plot seemed convoluted and disjointed, the characters seemed stilted, and the battle of good vs. evil (the staple of every really good children's books) seemed confused -- I never could sort out why the Wolves wanted to win or what they thought they might gain by winning.So little Maria gets kidnapped, and for days and days no one minds. No one is out looking for her. The police are informed, but they don't care either. "Oh, she'll turn up somewhere," they say. "Maria always lands on her feet. She'll probably join the gang, and teach them a thing or two."