Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Funny original idea wonderfully illustrated and put together |
| Disadvantages: |
Bit of a one trick pony |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
Ever wonder why the photos of fairies never work? You don’t photograph them you press them, simply wait nonchalantly at the bottom of your garden with an open book and when the curious little fella lands on your book to see what’s going on SNAP!! Close the book and you have yourself one pressed fairy. Of course you only get a psychic impression but they are very good.
Lady Cottington, the girl featured in the famous fairy photo which caused such a stir when it was first published in 1907, made fairy pressing her life time hobby. Of course no fairies are harmed in the process, in fact it was made an official sport at the Millennial Fairy Olympics in 1921, qualifying for the gooseberry medal.
Angelica Cottington’s hand-written diary has entries from childhood to adulthood, “Aug 10th 1896 I new ther was faerys behind the pottingshed so i went and sat very still with my book open in my lap and the faereys was curius and inkwizitf and they all came round to look at me and one landed on my book and i went SNAP! I banged the book shut and i cort the faery it is reely bewtiful one. I like it best.”
Angelica grows up and is plagued by fairies who taunt her and cause all sorts of trouble for her especially during church visits and intimate moments.
The book has a wonderful eye for detail, the cover appears to be made from leather like a genuine diary, all the text is all hand-written from childish badly spelt scrawl to a fine ladies hand in the later pages. The “psychic imprints” of the fairies are supplied by Brian Froud, the man behind the puppet design for the film Labyrinth. The pictures are extremely imaginative showing very surprised looking fairies and imps, some even leak “juice” onto the opposite pages. Later pages include a section sealed by Lady Cottington for the “protection of the innocent” which feature some suitably lewd goblins and a whole flock of fairies mooning!! There is also a pressed fairy vinyl sticker (the peelable sort that can be mounted on glass).
The art work is superb throughout and the book never deviates from its premise, Terry Jones’ text is clever and witty but it’s difficult to know who this book is aimed at. Adults might find it amusing but not for long, the explicit bits and the fact that the book crushes fairies might exclude young kids. As a fan of Monty Python I’m sure the book will have value as a collectable and I think as an object in itself it is quite beautiful. All that said it’s a lot of fun, I’m a hopeless kid and I love it.
