The Midnight Folk

The Midnight Folk introduces readers to Kay Harker, the young hero who also figures in John Masefield’s classic Christmas fantasy The Box of Delights. Kay, an orphan, has for a guardian the oily and egregious (though certainly aptly named) Sir Theopompous, who can hardly be said to care for the boy, and he is looked after by a petulant and punitive governess, Sylvia Daisy, who has even taken away all his stuffed animals. But Kay’s loneliness is alleviated when his great-grandfather steps out of his portrait to tell him of his adventures on the high seas and of the treasure he found there, which he came by honestly, though people will say he stole it. Kay must track down the lost treasure if the stain on the family name is to be lifted.

Soon enough Kay is engaged in a thrilling treasure hunt that begins each night at midnight and that takes him to an enchanted and dangerous world of 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 cast-off but beloved team of old stuffed animals who rally 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.