I have been a fan of this wonderful story by John Masefield for the last nearly 40 years. Despite having worked in libraries since the mid 1970s I had not read the book until the television series came along in the 1980s and I sat and watched with my two sons.
This is a story of deep fantasy, set during the Christmas period and with a young central hero who is pitted against some very dark and dastardly villains. The story was written in 1935, so we have a real sense of time, although the place itself is totally fictitious. The story centres around young Kay Harker as he travels to stay with family at Christmas. He meets with a mysterious old Punch and Judy man called Cole Hawlings, who gives him and old box to safeguard. However, the villainous Abner Brown and his hired thugs are also after the box; because this box allows the owner to travel through time! The story is full of action, adventure magic and fantasy and the twist at the end leaves you wondering if it was real, or just a dream. You really have to read the book and make up your own mind about that.
The author of this book is a world renowned expert on the works of Masefield and his enthusiasm is
evident in the way that he writes about the author and his work. This work is a wonderful introduction to the life of Masefield and to his other works, but especially his role as the Poet Laureate. I must admit that my knowledge was limited to reading some of his poetry at school in Abingdon. It has just come as something of a surprise to discover that the great man was living only about 6 mile away, at Burcote, until his death in 1967 and that there is every possibility that I could have passed him in the street without knowing. We do indeed live in a very small world.
The book is extremely wide ranging, covering the life of Masefield, his works, the various illustrators, characters, adaptions of all kinds and his world building in his two Kay Harker books. There are an abundance of illustrations, and this creates a sumptuous treat for avid bibliophiles who are spoilt for choice in deciding which is their favourite edition of any of the titles. then of course we have the radio productions, audio books, TV series and stage production by Piers Torday. Each of the chapters is given a two page spread, which allows the author to include so many topics. However I did find myself getting frustrated at times as there were chapters where I wanted more detail, but it does make you want to go and explore further. Whilst there is no bibliography in this book, there are references to other books in the text itself and of course we have access to huge amounts of information via libraries and the internet.
This is a brilliant book for those who are interested in children’s literature, fantasy and Christmas and will have you poring over the fantastic images for hours, probably whilst you remember the first time you came across ‘The Box of Delights’.
What a really great concept for a story. The heroine, Morgana is a witch and lives in a world that has divided into the magical community and the non-magic; the latter have become a highly technical society and robots are used in order to do all of the more menial tasks in life. The main problem is the absolute dislike that the two societies have for each other, it really is a case of “Ne’er the twain shall meet”. The only reason that the magical community visits the city is to get supplies from the small magical community, who live in the ‘undercity’ and are looked down on by the non-magic. Morgana is definitely different and has a fascination for robots; her magical abilities are nearly non-existent and she really wants to go to school. When her father takes her on one of his trip to the city she is delighted and together with her friend Esther she makes several secret visits to the metropolis. A turning point comes when school inspectors arrive in the village and she demands that she be allowed to attend school, something unheard of in the past. The consequences not only put her at odds with her community, but it also puts her life at risk, when she and her new friend Jonathan find that robots have been changed and are ready to take over the world.
When you read that a book was instrumental in giving J R.R Tolkien the inspiration for his Hobbits, then it is time to get excited. The plot of the story is similar to frameworks that we have become used to over the last decades. The two main characters Pip and Flora are orphans and both find themselves living in a somewhat unusual orphanage. The owner, Miss Watkyns, is strict but the children are well looked after. However when a strange woman tries to kidnap Flora, the two children decide to run away and hide. They then accidentally pass through a magical door and find themselves in the land of the Snergs; these are small rather round individuals who have a love of eating cake and other sweet things. Our first introduction to these characters is through the person of Gorbo, who ends up being central to the whole story and helps the children navigate the strange world they find themselves in. The children soon discover that Flora is the target of a rather nasty witch called Mrs Meldrum, but the reason for this is unclear; however she turns out to be the same person who had tried to kidnap Flora at the beginning of the story. How they solve the mystery and save themselves and others from a terrible fate makes for a really tremendous adventure.
original version of the book is still in print and it is still possible to buy both an audio and e-book version. The original author would have appeared to be a bit of an adventurer in his youth but he started writing children’s books after World War I, perhaps as a respite from the horrors of war. the original book has been written with a slightly older audience in mind and the text is much fuller, with quite long sections of description and explanation. However it would be a great choice for avid readers who want to see how a story can have more than one way of being told.
because of his habit of doodling what his father calls ‘squirls’ because they are between squiggles and swirls. He lives with his father as his mother is in a home, due to an accident where she was hit by lightning and his sister disappeared. Then one day Kit is presented with an puzzling invitation, by a drone of all things and he finds himself at a school like no other. Quicksmiths College of Strange Energy is like nothing that Kit has ever seen. The teachers bear no resemblance to those in his previous school and are full of magic, quirkiness and an often odd sense of humour; the school itself is a mix of science and magic, which really appeals to our hero. Kit quickly makes friends with his roommate Albert and their mentors Leela and Timmi. Things start to get very interesting when the school is read a 400 year old letter from the founder of the school, Eartha Quicksmith. She has left a challenge for the whole school to find and solve 10 riddles in 10 days; otherwise the world could face disaster. Of course Kit and his friends are determined to win the challenge, in the hope that it will help him find a cure for his mother, but they find themselves facing an unknown enemy who is determined to beat everyone to the prize; Eartha Quicksmith’s ‘Ark of Ideas’ and maybe even the legendary ‘Aeon Light’.
Loris Owen live in Kent but was born in Bolton and also spent time living in Zimbabwe. She first started writing ideas for children’s stories in 2015 and this is the first of her stories to be published. Firefly Press are a brilliant small press in South Wales and have developed a real reputation for producing some fabulous books by people such as Eloise Williams, Horatio Clare, Shoo Rayner and Catherine Fisher. I have been a fan of theirs for several years and I am delighted to see them go from strength to strength. Thank you so much for the review copy and giving me the chance to share my enthusiasm for this fantastic story.
In the Midnight Howl we are taken back to this magical version of London, that has been frozen in time since 1859. Emily is allowed to go there with her father (a postman in this magical realm) in order to practice her shape changing abilities, but she is banned from contacting any members of her mother’s family, because her mother was banished from the clan years ago. Unfortunately Emily discovers that things are not well and that magic is creeping out of the Hour, because someone is bringing in goods from the real world. The adventure that follows sees Emily re-united with her friend Officer-in-training Tarkus as well as the magical force called the Library (representing Literature) as they try and prevent the total destruction of the Midnight Hour and all of its inhabitants.
Last Chance Hotel” and “The Bad-luck Lighthouse” so I was delighted when this book dropped through my letterbox. I was even more happy when I was asked to take part in this blog tour.
both in characters such as Nightshade and in the names that the author has used. I absolutely love the quirky and zany names that abound in the book. It is not just the characters but also some of the potions that are part of the magical businesses in the town; there are people such as Haddock Troutbean, Herb Camphor and Sagacious Pewter, whilst the potions include Sinful Skin and Delicious Demise. The author has really gone to town with her imagination. This is a world that we are able to identify with, even though there are some very strange differences to the world we live in. However the people have the same personality traits that are found all around us; we have examples of insecurity, greed, jealousy, prejudice and friendship. The author keeps the action going and we are never quite sure who is trustworthy; there are twists and turns that keep us guessing and on the edge of our seats.
