The Box of Delights by John Masefield
The Box of Delights tells the story of Kay Harker, a schoolboy who has been entrusted with a magic box by the mysterious Cole Hawlings, a travelling Punch and Judy man. Snowed in without a guardian at Seekings, Kay’s house in Condicote, he and his friends experience many wonderful things while trying to thwart the evil plans of Abner Brown. Full of the twists and turns that can only happen when there’s magic involved, this book is a wonderful almost dreamlike fantasy with a phoenix in the fireplace, paintings that come to life and vicars that turn into wolves. A classic struggle between good and evil, full of figures of English folklore and history, all against the backdrop of 1930s England in the Christmas holidays. Will Kay and his friends get to the midnight service at Tatchester Cathedral without being scrobbled?