#BookReview (5 Stars) – The Cottingley Secret, by Hazel Gaynor @HazelGaynor @HarperCollins

Blurb:

The author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back to a time when two young girls convinced the world that fairies really did exist…

1917: When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, announce they have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when the great novelist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, endorses the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a sensation; their discovery offering something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war.

One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript and a photograph in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story of the two young girls who mystified the world. As Olivia is drawn into events a century ago, she becomes aware of the past and the present intertwining, blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, will Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

My Review:

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!

5 Stars

Where to find this book:

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Amazon US

 

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