The Blurb
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?
Exclusive Excerpt from The Cottingley Secret:
Fairies will not be rushed. I know this now; know I must
be patient.
Stiff and still in my favourite seat, formed from the
natural bend in the bough of a willow tree, I am wildly
alert, detecting every shifting shape and shadow; every
snap and crack of twig. I dangle my bare feet in the beck,
enjoying the cool rush of the water as it finds a natural
course between my toes. I imagine that if I sat here for
a hundred years, the water would smooth and round
them, like the pebbles I collect from the riverbed and keep
in my pockets.
In the distance I can see Mr Gardner, the man they sent
from London, with his round spectacles and bow tie and
endless questions. He peers around the trunk of an oak
tree, watches for a moment, and scribbles his observations
the weather, our precise location, the peculiar sense of
something different in the air.
Elsie stands on the riverbank beside me, her camera
ready. ‘Can’t you ’tice them?’ she urges. ‘Say some secret
words?’
I shrug. ‘They’re here, Elsie. I can feel them.’ But like
the soft breath of wind that brushes against my skin, the
things we feel cannot always be seen.
I know that the best time to see them is in that perfect
hour before sunset when the sun sinks low on the horizon
like a ripe peach and sends shafts of gold bursting through
the trees. The ‘in between’, I call it. No longer day, not
yet night; some other place and time when magic hangs
in the air and the light plays tricks on the eye. You might
easily miss the flash of violet and emerald, but I – according
to my teacher, Mrs Hogan – am ‘a curiously observant
child’. I see their misty forms among the flowers and leaves.
I know my patience will be rewarded if I watch and listen,
if I believe.
Tired of waiting, Elsie takes her camera and returns to
the house, where Aunt Polly is waiting to hear if we
managed any new photographs. The others soon follow:
Mr Gardner, the newspaper reporters, the ‘fairy hunters’
who come to snoop and trample all over the wildflowers
and spoil things. My little friends won’t appear just to
please these onlookers. They move according to the patterns
and rhythms of nature, not the whims of so-called experts
from London. Fairies, I understand. These men, I do not.
dragonflies, listen to the steady giggle of the water, sense
the prickle of anticipation all around me. The sun dazzles
on the water and I squint to shield my eyes as the heat
at the back of my neck makes me drowsy and tugs at my
eyelids, heavy with the desire to sleep.
I press my palms against the bark, smoothed from
decades of weather and countless children who have sat
here. How many of them have seen, I wonder? How many
of them have known? I wait and I wait, whispering the
words from my picture book: ‘“There shall be no veil
between them, / Though her head be old and wise. / You
shall know that she has seen them, / By the glory in her
eyes.”’
And then . . .
The lightest ringing at my ears. The slightest movement
of fern and leaf.
My heart flutters. My eyes widen with excitement.
A flash of vibrant emerald. Another of softest
lavender-blue.
I lean forward. Draw in my breath. Don’t make a sound.
They are here.
The Cottingley Secret is published on 7th September in TPB and ebook format. You can order your copy via amazon link below:
To be in with a chance of winning an early edition of The Cottingley Secret, with a delightful and magical Irish Fairy Door (you just need to believe), just enter via rafflecopter link below:
Elsie - I can't wait to meet her.
ReplyDeleteElsie Wright 😊 LOVE the sound of this book and I have fallen in love with that gorgeous cover 😍😍
ReplyDeleteI've been enchanted by the true story that inspired The Cottlingley Secret for years. Looking forward to reading what Elsie captures on her little camera and the magic it plays on those around them.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun to read. Elsie is mentioned in the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the exclusive excerpt from Hazel Gaynor's latest novel, The Cottingley Secret I just can't wait to read the book. Thanks for the chance to win an amazing giveaway.
ReplyDeleteFrances Griffiths and Elsie Wright have the right idea - you have to believe! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this book sounds so interesting. I believe !
ReplyDeleteMr Gardner - would love to win this, thank you for the chance
ReplyDeleteLove to know more about aunt Polly! Can't wait to read this book
ReplyDeleteWould love to win a copy - it's about fairies!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMrs Hogan. Wonderful prize.🍀
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more on Hazel's story on that period as am well aware of the hoax and how some big names of the time were convinced it was true....this sounds like it is going to be truly magical
ReplyDelete