Saturday 25 August 2012

Do You Believe In Fairies?

From Flower Fairies of the Summer by C.M. Barker
                 "If you believe in fairies, clap your hands", cried Peter Pan

Peter Pan, the play, was written in 1904 and came out in book form in 1911. In the early 20th century  the ears of the British nation seemed particularly tuned to the sound of beating fairy wings. In 1916 "The Allies Fairy Book"  was published, in an attempt to raise morale in WW1. Queen Mary, wife of George V,  sent postcards to friends and family decorated with fairy art. In 1914  their daughter, Princess Mary, had a gift book published to raise funds for the war effort; included in it were two stories about fairies. These were  illustrated by Claude Arthur Shepperson.

Princess Mary's Gift Book

These illustrations were to become famous as part of the Cottingley Fairies hoax. In 1917 two young girls claimed they had taken photographs of fairies. (In reality they had cut out pictures from the Gift Book, although they did not confess until decades later.)

                                                                              
Their claim set off a heated public debate and their cause was taken up by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame. He steadfastly believed in the supernatural and used  the photographs in his book "The Coming of Fairies" (1922)

Into this milieu came Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies. I'm sure there are many who have been inspired by her paintings. My favourite has always been the Rose Fairy.                                        
from Flower Fairies of the Summer by C.M. Barker
Originally there were seven separate books, an eighth was compiled from existing drawings, after the painter's death, to form Flower Fairies of the Wiinter. All eight are gathered together in The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies

Apart from pure enchantment I value the Flower Fairy books for their botanical accuracy; C.M. had an arrangement with the botanical gardens at Kew to send her specimens. The rhymes that accompany the illustrations manage to include a fair bit of information regarding each plant.
 
"In shady shrubby places, right early in the year,
I lift my flowers' faces-O come and find them here!
My stems are thin and straying, With leaves of glossy sheen,
The bare brown earth arraying, For they are ever-green"
                                                                    from The Song of the Periwinkle

I also discovered other names for plants, allowing me to finally match up a name with the correct flower.
"Old-Man's Beard is Wild Clematis; its flowers are called Traveller's Joy"

The fairies have a robustness that differentiates them from other depictions. They were modelled on real children from C.M.'s sister's nursery school. To me it just adds to the charm.
Wood Sorrel Fairy
Cicely had no time for the fairy debate. She firmly stated, "everything I have said about them [plants and flowers] is as true as I could make it. But I have never seen a fairy; the fairies and all about them are just pretend."

To my mind the flower fairies need to be discovered on a rainy afternoon by a child of just the right age . If you have a special little person in your life tuck a copy on a bookshelf and let serendipity take care of the rest.

Images of the Flower Fairies are taken from prints which can be purchased from the Flower Fairy website.


The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies is my recommendation for HolleyGarden's book review.  Follow the link or click on the Book Review button to the right. The review always has a wide range of interesting books submitted by a diverse and random group of garden bloggers.        

18 comments:

  1. What an interesting book! I think I have a grandchild of "just the right age" that would love to look through this book, and of course, I would, too! Guess I'm "just the right age", too! :) I loved the history and information about fairies. I've often wondered how they came to be so popular. Now I know. Thanks so much for joining in!

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    1. I look forward to the reviews each month. There are always topics introducing me to new ideas and at least one book I realize I need.

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  2. Susan, Your post is absolutely lovely. I am among those who most definitely believe in fairies and believe they spend many spring days in my garden. Oh, how can anyone not want to believe in fairies. I have a very special little girl in mind for such a book. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you Bonnie, you have made my day. The flower fairies encouraged in me a life long sense of wonder. It is a gift I cherish.

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  3. Fairies, imps and elves! Why not?!? There is something very magical about gardening and nature and these books are truly beautiful x

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    1. I strongly agree, there is magic in the garden.

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  4. Hi Susan, I don't believe in fairies, but they do appeal to my vivid imagination. Finding Neverland about the creation of Peter Pan is a favourite movie. I also really like the illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker, so I am sure I would love this book.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy CM,s work, she was a gifted artist beyond the flower fairies.

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  5. I had no idea there was such a rich history surrounding the "discovery" of the fairie. I just received a copy of a book on fairie gardens and may have to incorporate some of the history you cited. Thank you for this delightful post. I am going to see if there are any fairies in my garden. Hopefully if there are, they're smart enough to avoid being seen by my cat. :)

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    1. A fairie garden sounds intriguing. Animals are pretty smart at seeing things humans still struggle to identify.

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  6. I don't believe in fairies but love the idea of them and I always like looking at pictures of them in books. The childish fairies are my favorite.

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    1. As long as we value the idea I think we are doing pretty much O.K.

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  7. Hi Susan, this is a lovely post after my own heart. As a child I immersed myself in pictures of fairies. i don't think I ever quite believed they were real but it didn't matter. They were part of nature and a world in which everything is not necessarily just as it seems to be. cheers, catmint

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  8. Hello Susan,
    A nice post about a nice book. We have CM's book at home as well as her story 'The Lord of the Rushy River'. These are two books that my niece particularly likes when she comes to visit.
    Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was another favourite of mine - with those wonderful Arthur Rackham paintings throughout.
    Bye for now
    Kirk

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    1. I'm intrigued by Arthur Rackham's work. So beautiful and yet grotesque. The Fairy Queen is a favourite of mine.

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  9. I remember the fairies phase of my daughter's childhood - such a happy time. She would write little notes to the fairies and place them in the garden. I had to creep out after she was in bed and concoct replies, in tiny fairy writing. It was a bit tricky once in heavy snowfall, when I had to take care not to leave additional footprints to and from the location of the note!

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  10. What a beautiful story. The magic that comes from a mother's heart.

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