Opening The Box of Delights - 2025 Edition

If it's Christmas time, it's surely time to dust down The Box of Delights for another watch. First airing in 1984, the BBC's adaptation of John Masefield's fantasy classic has delighted viewers for over forty years. And, if you want to take a really deep dive into The Box of Delights, Philip W. Errington's extraordinary compendium Opening The Box of Delights is the perfect ally.

First published in 2020, Opening The Box of Delights is a literary autopsy of The Box of Delights, with every sinew and every glimmer of flesh being teased apart with a forensic precision. Its sheer, unapologetic depth makes even my own more bouts of obsessive research look like mere doodles in comparison. An updated version of the book was released last year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the TV adaptation, and there's now another expanded version - with 32 additional pages - to take pride of place on the bookshelf of any fans of The Box of Delights.

So, what do you get within the pages of Opening The Box of Delights? It's more a case of what don't you get. Errington has left no stone unturned in his quest to chronicle the story behind and around The Box of Delights. This means we're treated to gems such as a look at the lesser known ITV adaptation from 1962, a comprehensive deep dive into the characters which populate the story, a crisp, engaging biography of John Masefield and how he came to conjure up the curious world of The Box of Delights, and, in this new edition, a look at a rehearsal script for episode one of the 1984 TV adaptation.

Errington's dedication to finally telling the comprehensive story behind The Box of Delights is a remarkable achievement. If you're an obsessive fan of The Box of Delights, and you don't already own a copy of Opening the Box of Delights, then this is the perfect Christmas present to yourself. 

Opening the Box of Delights is available from Herne Books.