I'm sure many people will be familiar with the photos of the Cottingley Fairies, photos taken by cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths in the early 20th century and which they were adamant for years showed real fairies. It was not until the 1980s that Elsie finally admitted they were faked but Frances insisted that though the fairies in these photos were not real, she genuinely had seen real fairies. The Cottingley Secret explores Frances' story through an imagined memoir (inspired by Frances' own writing) and links to the present day story of Olivia, reading the notes she has found in her grandparents' cottage in Ireland

This enchanting story had so many elements which I like in a book so I knew that I would enjoy. I did prefer the contemporary story of Olivia perhaps because of the relationships within it. In particular, the portrayal of her relationship with her much beloved Nana Martha was very touching. She always believed that Martha, though now in a nursing home with dementia, was still the person she always had been at heart. And Olivia never stopped trying to connect with her grandmother and help her recall happy memories. I particularly liked the setting of the Something Old second hand bookshop. This place which had been so special to Olivia's grandfather, held so many precious memories for her and was a place which helped her to heal from the sorrows in her life.

The Cottingley Secret is a lovely book which blends the past and present beautifully while exploring what it means to believe. It's a story that will remind you that it's never too late to believe in yourself and that you can create your own magic to change things. It may also have you wondering if maybe, just maybe, Elsie and Frances really did see fairies all those years ago.

This is an absolutely delightful book, comprising two interlinked stories, past and present. The style of writing is a joy to read; I found myself re-reading some passages because they were just beautiful. I love the idea that people need to believe in something, and I certainly didn't believe in fairies before I read this book. It moved me to tears near the end. And the ending is not predictable. I highly recommend it.

I’ve read quite a lot of articles about the Cottingley fairies mystery over the years so thought this was a great idea for a work of fiction. However it didn’t quite work for me. The story is told in two strands – one in 1917 and one in 2017 - an approach that seems to be very common in fiction books and which I am tiring of as I find I forget what happened in the previous time period as I jump from one to another.

The 1917 story starts with Frances Griffiths, aged 9, and her mother taking a long journey from South Africa in 1917 to Cottingley in Yorkshire. They are to stay with Frances’ cousin, Elsie Wright, aged 16, and family while Frances’ father is involved with the British Army and WW1. Frances and Elsie become good friends and spend a lot of time at the glen at the bottom of the garden where they see fairies. One day Frances is in trouble with her mother for lying about being there so Elsie borrows her father’s camera and takes a photo of the fairies to get Frances out of trouble with her mother. But the big question is whether the photos are real or not. News of this photo and four others taken later leak out and the famous novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gets involved as he believes the photos are genuine.

Meanwhile, in current time, Olivia Kavanagh inherits her late grandfather’s independent bookshop in Ireland. When going through documents she discovers an old manuscript written by Frances about the fairies and starts to realise that the people written are related to her family in some way.

The premise of this story is great but I found the book hard going at times as it seemed quite repetitive in both strands of the story. A nice idea but I think the story could have been sharper.

With thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not normally a fan of long blurbs, but this one manages to neatly sum up a fairly complex story without giving away any major spoilers, so for once, I’m not going to prune it…
1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.
One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?
And there you have it. Two timelines interweaving throughout the story with the major protagonists being young, dreamy Frances, displaced and pining for her father during the long war years. And dreamy, older Olivia, also somehow displaced from her own life after devastating news leaves her questioning everything and everyone in her life so far – and find it wanting.
The real challenge of writing such a book is to adequately balance both story strands so the reader isn’t rushing through one to get back to the other. And in this case, Gaynor has succeeded beautifully. At no stage did I find myself skim-reading through any section to get to another – despite skimming being one of my vices as a reader. So it is a tribute to the quality of Gaynor’s characterisation that both the lonely little girl and isolated twenty-something equally held me.
The other temptation in a story of this nature – particularly this specific story, given the scads that has already been written and said about it – is to either sensationalise or sentimentalise what occurred. Again, I admire Gaynor’s restraint – she could have revelled in the fuss and fame those photographs generated and allowed that to power the narrative. However, she also resisted that temptation, too. So what we have is a beautifully told tale of two hurt, sensitive people seeking refuge in something else outside their daily round. One of the joys of this book is that Gaynor’s writing has a lyrical quality that makes her descriptions of that small brook where Frances played alongside her fairies sing off the page. While her descriptions of the old, second-hand bookshop is equally vivid, so that I not only visualised the shop, I could smell the books, too.
When two narrative timelines run alongside each other, the other imperative is that the ending has to connect them to the readers’ satisfaction – and once again, Gaynor triumphantly succeeds in doing this. It isn’t a fantasy or paranormal tale, or a historical adventure – neither is it a contemporary romance, but it manages to interleave all these aspects into a wonderful, unusual story and is recommended for anyone who enjoys any of the above.
9/10

The Cottingley Secret.

Who has not wanted a world of magic to be real? In a nation at war, with families and lives ripped asunder, the stability of a world where happiness, fantasy, and miraculous things are real, is an enchanting concept.

In the Cottingley Secret Hazel Gaynor has created just such a world.

Although at the time, the photographs of fairies, taken in the garden by two little girls, became an overnight sensation, and positive proof of the existence of fairies, the story of the Cottingly Secret accepts that some of that certainty might be wrong.

There is also tension, turmoil, and strife in the heroines life as she tries to deal with conflicting emotions, fear of the impact of her impending marriage; the impact on the future of her own body; the sadness of losing her grandfather; and the intriguing enchantment of the life of Frances, one of the little girls at the heart of the Cottingley secret.

The Cottingley Secret is enchanting, enriching, and allows the reader to explore, in a gentle way, many of the tribulations we face in life, while set against a backdrop that allows magic to ... maybe... exist.

A beautifully written story which made me laugh and cry. I was totally captivated from the beginning of this book. This story is beautifully put together with the past and the present entwined perfectly. I had heard and read a bit about the fairy photographs. This story tells the story of Elsie and Frances and Frances's belief that she has seen fairies. Olivia is piecing together the story and looking after her grandmother in Ireland. This story will definitely stay with me and it is definitely a book I would read again.

I was aware of the Cottingley fairies but hadn't really thought much about the people involved in it. The fictional telling of how it came about woven into the modern day was beautiful told.

A lovely book to read curled up with a cup of tea!

Sorry I have requested this book by accident -i simply clicked the link to read the summary and it automatically requested it. I will not read nor review it as it is not at all my area of interest.. Apologies.

Being a Yorkshire lass, who is also half Irish, and having believed in fairies pretty much all my life, even before getting a tiny postage stamp sized letter from Fiona the tooth fairy when I was nine years old, I felt this book was made for me.

I imagine many readers will at least be aware of the old photographs of the Cottingley fairies. I remember seeing those photos from quite a young age, and have certainly seen a television programme or two about them. I loved how this story brought those photos to life.

This is not a quick thrill, fast paced kind of a book, but an atmospheric and magical character led story filled with deep emotions and the need to believe in something to give people hope. I will keep a part of this book with me in my heart.

P.S. I still believe in fairies!

This is a lovely book about a very interesting event that has captured imaginations for a century. The story of the two girls who photographed fairies at the bottom of their garden is well told but I wasn't so captivated by the modern story running alongside. Although it was a vehicle to reveal more aspects of the story as decades went on, it didn't really work for me and my interest was only with the fairy story. However, a delightful, gentle read with plenty of magic.

I knew about the story of the Cottingley Fairies.This book incorporated the old with the new and was written with respect to the initial story. It was well written and a good fiction story.

Best-selling author, Hazel Gaynor, sweeps us off our feet and transports us back to 1916, a time when the world was desperately in need of magic.

Frances Griffiths sees fairies at the bottom of the garden. Her cousin, Elsie Wright, saves her from getting into trouble for fibbing when she organises a photo shoot of the fairies. The girls produce convincing pictures and their parents are taken in.

The news spreads through the village and beyond. The girls’ deep friendship and loyalty to one another prevent any serious doubts about their story. They hope it will soon become old news and fade away. It doesn’t!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a well-known novelist, comes across the tale and is convinced that the photographs are real. The girls become reluctant celebrities overnight and their discovery brings magic to a war-torn world. Unbeknown to them, a friend makes sure their secret remains intact for years to come…

One hundred years later, Olivia Kavanagh discovers an ancient manuscript in the bookshop she’s inherited from her beloved grandfather. She becomes intrigued by the fairy tale. When she finds an old photograph, which feels familiar, she discovers that her own life is actually connected to the story.

Two worlds blend into one and Olivia begins to understand why people would choose to believe in fairies, especially in a war-ravaged world. Important decisions need to be made in her own life and as the past and present dovetail, Olivia finds herself re-thinking her choices…

Gaynor’s characterisation is entirely convincing. Frances and Elsie spring to life and Olivia’s dilemma is one many young people will relate to. Her splendid prose leads us through two very different but equally enthralling worlds.

A romantic, truly magical read for the New Year ahead of us!

Gigi

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Anyone who is interested in the Cottingley fairies this is the book for you. I certainly enjoyed the novel but some of the magic seemed to be missing. My mother always swore she saw a fairy in a rose in her garden and I believe her. So if you want to be taken to another realm where fairies exist and possibly gnomes this is the story for you.

The Cottingley Secret is such a marvellous amalgam of true historical events and a delightful modern day book of magical realism that I am not sure that any review I write will really do it justice, but one can but try!

I think most people in my age bracket will remember the revelation that the Cottingley Fairies photos had been faked by two cousins from the Yorkshire town some several decades previously. As a child I actually remember Seeing the story on Arthur C Clarke’s programme about the supernatural. Those pictures had divided the nation, sceptics and believers alike had staked their reputations on their theories.
This book takes that story and the mysticism it always evoked and focuses the reader on the perspective of the younger of the girls, Frances and links it to the destiny of a modern woman Olivia whose familial connection to the Cottingley affair is revealed gradually as she tries to engage her Grandmother who is sinking further and further into Dementia.

Olivia herself, a believer in the fairy Folk as a child, begins a journey of discovery and attempts to open herself up to magic again after a terrible loss, an acceptance of a bitter truth and a chance inheritance with the potential to change her life entirely as a result.

The two timelines are interwoven so skilfully through the device of a undiscovered personal account ‘Notes on a Fairy Tale, by Frances Griffith. This story of a lost and lonely young girl forced to move to England from South Africa to live with family she had never met, to a wild and unfamiliar landscape had strong echoes for me of “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodson Burnett. It draws you into the tale,in much the same way, the evident discovery of joy in the untamed nature of The North, the sheer magic of the place giving comfort to a lonely child, the kinship of Elsie and Frances, echoes that of Mary and Dickon.

Such a feeling of intense enjoyment was evoked by the account of the unchecked escalation of the notoriety of the photos , a young girl’s fear for a father at war and the revelation that for Frances at least, the belief in and encounter of fairies was real.

The photos may have been fabricated, but here the magic that prompted their creation is realised in the undergrowth of that infamous beck.

Olivia’s strand of the book is just as beautiful. Grief, loss, rebirth and renewal all feature as her unexpected
inheritance of her Grandfather’s used book store allows for a searching of her soul, and an acceptance of a lethargy in spirit that has led her to accept a man wholly unsuited to her whimsical spirit . The story of the Yorkshire Fairies offers an opportunity via her ailing Grandmother’s connection to the Cottingley Incident to learn about and remember the joyous and vivacious soul her Grandmother had been, as Dementia now ravages her mind and physical health.

The moments between Martha and Olivia left me near tears, it is the honesty of the descriptions of the effects of the disease and the sheer thievery of it’s symptoms that ground the narrative in reality, providing a foil so that the lighter more joyful and magical elements can be shown in such vivid relief. The addition of friendly family friends and a grieving widower and his delicate daughter are liberal seasonings of sugar and spice to what is an utterly delicious and delightful whole.

I loved this book, I know it will invigorate interest in the Cottingley Photos and start the debate over the fifth photo and it’s authenticity, but for my part I can wholeheartedly say I BELIEVE IN FAIRIES

A good read. An interesting and unusual story,with good characters. Romance,mystery and a bit of make believe.

This charming book is based on the story of the Cottingley fairies.

In 1917, two girls took some photos which appeared to show themselves with fairies. These pictures caused a sensation at a time when people were looking for hope in a country devastated by the First World War, when so many families had lost young men. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became interested, and wrote a book about the fairies.

This fictionalised account of Frances Gifford’s story shows how she and Elsie Wright were swept up into something out of their control, and how it affected the rest of their lives. I loved this story, and the way it was written by a young girl, with fresh eyes and views.
I loved all the magical elements, the little girl taken by the fairies, flowers appearing on doorsteps, dreams of red-headed girls, and the fairies Frances believes she saw by the beck.

Interweaved with Frances’ story is that of Olivia, who inherits her grandfather’s second-hand bookshop in Ireland, and discovers her family connection to Cottingley, causing her to re-assess her life. This felt very predictable, and I was more interested in the omissions (her mother’s story) than in Olivia’s decisions.

Overall, I was charmed by Francis’s story, but underwhelmed by Olivia’s, hence the four stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is very interesting as it relates the full story of the photos that were published. I enjoyed the tale and found it easy to read.

A lovely mystical story about two girls believing they have seen fairies and trying to convince others that thephotographs they took of them are real.

Two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convince the world that they have done the impossible and photographed fairies at the bottom of their garden. Their parents are astonished when one of the great novelist of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is convinced of the photograph's authenticity, the girls become a national sensation. The girls hide their secret for decades. One hundred years later, when Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfathers bookshop, she becomes fascinated by the story of two little girls who mystified the world.

This is a truly magical story. This book had me hooked from the beginning. It is beautifully written. It's basically a story within a story. The descriptions of the era were almost perfection itself. Set around England and Ireland. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins, UK, HarperFiction and the author Hazel Gaynor for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In 1917  Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley seemef to have convincing photographic evidence of the existence of fairies. Their pictures charmed the world and only years later did one of them admit faking the pictures whilst the other insisted only some were take. 100 years on Olivia Kavanagh finds manuscript telling the story from France's point of view....the girl who always insisted the fairies were real. As she becomes more fascinated by the story Olivia begins to see how the past and present can intertwine.

In a week where frankly I needed a bit of magic the rare times I got to pick this up were a blessing. It's a whimsical and innocent tale of loss and longing, magic and hope. It's really enjoyable but sometimes just a touch too sweet - this book should come with referral to a dentist! But if even an old cynic like me can finish this with a smile you can be assured this is little piece of handheld magic for all.