John Masefield

Former Poet Laureate, John Masefield (1878-1967) was one of the best-selling poets of the twentieth-century: his "Collected Poems" sold over 100,000 copies in the first seven years after publication in 1923. Widely known as a poet of the sea, Masefield's two poems "Sea-Fever" and "Cargoes" were, in Betjeman's opinion, two lyrics 'which will be remembered as long as the language lasts'. Masefield also wrote of the English countryside, however, as in "Reynard the Fox", his classic narrative poem of a fox-hunt, English countryside and community. The work has been seen by many as the author's finest poetic response to the First World War. Despite being a phenomenal best-seller after publication in 1919, "Reynard the Fox" has been latterly out-of-print. For the first time, the poem has been corrected from the original manuscript and presented alongside other pastoral writing by Masefield, including his essay "Fox-Hunting", which was praised by Muriel Spark. The edition also includes an introduction setting the poem in its historical context and detailed notes.

The Midnight Folk introduces readers to Kay Harker, the orphaned boy who is also the hero of John Masefield's classic Christmas fantasy, The Box of Delights. Kay lives in a vast old country house, and is looked after by an unpleasant duo: the oily and egregious Sir Theopompous and the petulant and punitive Sylvia Daisy Pouncer. In her zeal to educate Kay on the finer points of Latin grammar, Sylvia Daisy has even taken away all of Kay's toys. Life seems very dull, until out of an old family portrait steps Kay's great-grandfather, a sea captain, who, if legend is to be believed, made off with a fabulous treasure. Soon Kay is engaged in a thrilling quest that begins each night as the clock strikes twelve, taking him into the enchanted and dangerous world of the Midnight Folk: pirates, highwaymen, talking animals, and a gang of witches led by none other than Sylvia Daisy (in cahoots, as in The Box of Delights, with the arch-villain Abner Brown). In the end, it is that ragtag team of old toys that rallies to support Kay and save the day. A book to set beside C. S. Lewis's Narnia tales and Joan Aiken's Wolves of Willoughby Chase--not to mention the Harry Potter series--The Midnight Folk is a wonderful and enthralling contribution to the great English tradition of children's literature, beloved by adults and children alike.

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. At once a thriller, a romp, and a spellbinding fantasy, The Box of Delights is a great English children's book and a perfect Christmas treat.