The Box of Delights (Classic Mammoth) - Softcover

Masefield, John

3.92

3,402 ratings by Goodreads

9780749712860: The Box of Delights (Classic Mammoth)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749712864 ISBN 13: 9780749712860

Publisher: Mammoth, 1994

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A magical old man has asked Kay to protect the Box of Delight, a Box with which he can travel through time. But Kay is in danger: Abner Brown will stop at nothing to get his hands on it. The police don't believe Kay so when his family are scrobbled up, he knows he must act alone.

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About the Author:

John Masefield was born in 1878 in Hertfordshire. After leaving school he went to sea, but deserted his ship when the urge to write professionally overtook him. He spent two years doing odd jobs in New York whilst learning his craft as a writer. He moved back to England in 1897. After serving in the First World War, Masefield became a full time writer, writing many popular novels and collections of poetry, including the children's novels The Box of Delights and The Midnight Folk He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1930. He was a prolific writer until his death in 1967. His ashes are buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Review:

For Masefield, The Midnight Folk was 'a tale full of episode made to be read aloud'...These new recordings are, I think, phenomenal. The actor Richard Mitchley is the sole speaker for each book and demonstrates a considerable range of characterisation. He uses a large range of accents to help differentiate between different characters: Rollicum Bitem becomes Irish...and Otter reveals a Scottish lilt. Abner Brown's 'silky voice' has a velvet legato about it whilst Sylvia Daisy Pouncer has a clipped harshness that is both authoritative and soft. It is all achieved in a virtuoso display and the one actor doing everything enables tight and effective dramatic timing. This is not a product that cuts corners! ... the choice of Saint-Saens' Dance Macabre for The Midnight Folk...is, I think, a magnificent complement to the book...these recordings will appeal to all and I heartily recommend them. --Phillip W Errington, The Journal of the John Masefield Society

Finding good readers for books written from a child s viewpoint is not easy; mumsie voices or over-egged juvenility ruin many recordings of fine books...Richard Mitchley relishes the glorious rhythms of Masefield s prose but sustains the matter-of-factness essential to a convincing reading of fantasy. --Christine Hardyment, The London Times

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