The Midnight Folk (New York Review Children's Collection) [Hardcover]

John Masefield (Author), Madeleine L'Engle (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2008 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: New York Review Children's Collection

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In its playful inventiveness and eventfulness, this fantasy is the grandparent of Mary Poppins, of Joan Aiken's Dido Twite books, and even of Eleanor Farjeon's short story collections...Names such as Brassy Cop, Pimply Whatto and young Roper Bilges - or Sir Hassle Gassle - can still amuse, even after 80 years, and there are only a few moments when attitudes grate on modern sensibilities. Hilder's black and white illustrations, from the 1930s, hark back to the era of 19th century boys' adventure stories. They also give the book added spice." --The Toronto Star


“Mr. Masefield has written the sort of book that grown-up people like to give a child for Christmas, and then enjoy reading for themselves. The Midnight Folk is a story to be read aloud in the traditional Winter fireside setting….The style is imaginative and glamorous…Children will like to hear their elders read the tale.” –The New York Times

“John Masefield's much-loved 1920s children's book about a boy who must fight dark magic to uncover his family's treasure. It won't be easy, but luckily he has an owl, a fox, a cat and a box of toys to help him on his way.” –The Guardian (London)

“An imaginative and adventurous tale.” –The New York Times

“Masefield the children’s writers is unbeatable… The Midnight Folk is a truly remarkable book.” –Daily Telegraph (London)

A “charming tale…Pirates and buried treasure, smugglers and witches, mermaids and an ancient wrong, all have parts in this story of the small boy who had friends among the animals, and lived a life of adventure when he was supposed to be asleep.” –The Bookman

“There is a little boy for hero, there are witches, a good deal of excellent magic, a hidden treasure, and a profusion of talking animals and toys come to life…It may be added that anyone who has, in infancy, greatly disliked his governess will derive a special gratification from The Midnight Folk.” –The Living Age (London)

About the Author

John Masefield (1878-1967) was born in Herefordshire, England. After being orphaned at an early age, he was sent to sea aboard the school-ship HMS Conway in preparation for a naval career. Masefield’s apprenticeship was disastrous—he was classified as a Distressed British Seaman after a voyage around Cape Horn—and he soon left the ship. Arrangements were then made for him to join another ship in New York. But Masefield had other plans: he deserted ship vowing “to be a writer, come what might.”

At seventeen Masefield was living as a vagrant in America. He found work as a bar hand but eventually secured employment at a carpet factory. Thinking that journalism might allow him to write for a living, Masefield returned to England in 1897.

Masefield’s first volume of oetry, Salt-Water Ballads, was published in 1902, however, it was not until the publication of The Everlasting Mercy in 1911 that he made his mark on the literary scene. The success of his second book was followed by the publication of several long narrative poems, including Dauber (1914) and Reynard the Fox (1919).

With the outbreak of the war, Masefield became an orderly at a hospital in France. He also took charge of a motorboat ambulance service at Gallipoli in 1915. After the Allied failure there, Masefield visited America and undertook a series of lectures in support of the war effort. IN 1930 he was appointed Poet Laureate, and five years later the much-loved Masefield was awarded the Order of Merit. He died on May 12, 1967, and his ashes were interred in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey.

The two Kay Harker books, The Midnight Folk (1927) and The Box of Delights (1935), are Masefield’s lasting contribution to children’s fantasy literature. The Box of Delights is now an established Christmas favourite and as much a part of the season as Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.


Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) was an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: NYR Children's Collection (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590172906
• ISBN-13: 978-1590172902
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure of a book, November 16, 2008

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A Reviewer (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Midnight Folk (New York Review Children's Collection) (Hardcover)

Endlessly inventive, funny, scary, and heartwarming -- The Midnight Folk is a children's book for the ages. I first discovered it in England, where it's a classic nearly as famous as Alice in Wonderland. I can't fathom why it's less well known in the U.S. Kay Harker lives in a wonderfully funny and spooky old house, where the chess pieces play themselves at night and there are secret corridors behind the walls, where the witches (his governess and her gang) look out from the eyes of the portraits. The scene near the end where all Kay's toys come to his aid in the grand battle is just thrilling. I'm so glad this book has been reissued -- for many years it's been available only in a condensed edition that leaves out lots of the good stuff. This is one adults will enjoy as well as kids.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood Memories Rediscovered, March 27, 2009

By 

Fae Deaton "WomenHeart 06" (Elizabeth City, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Folk (New York Review Children's Collection) (Hardcover)

My mother brot me this from New York on her various day trips to see plays etc. She said there was a great display of books in grand Central Station and would pick up a book for me on her way back to the train platform back to New London CT. I read it over and over all my years as has my oldest daughter. When the pbs tv show came on it was such a fabulous visualization of all the wonderful adventures of Kay. The story seemed so real and when we lived in England 60-64 more pleasant memories in living "on the economy". Very satisfying story, easy to get caught up in w/ references to the Knights of the Roundtable, pure joy to read at any age. Fae Deaton

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Masefield's fiction for children ROCKS!, March 4, 2009

By 

M. Graviett "an old homeschooling mom" (Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Midnight Folk (New York Review Children's Collection) (Hardcover)

Imagine a world where a young boy can do anything. That's the world of Kay Harker. What creative books these are (The Box of Delights is the second Kay Harker book)! My 10 year old daughter is impressed and couldn't put either book down.

I highly recommend both books and thank the New York Review Children's Collection for bringing back these two wonderful voyages for a child's imagination.