Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book

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I just today remembered that this book existed. I read the whole thing standing in a used book store one afternoon shortly after it came out, and was more than a little disgusted by it. I wanted to love this book, but the thought of smushing faeries, even if it's just to capture their essences (which really sounds dirty now that I think about it) put a bad taste in my mouth (which furthers that dirtiness earlier in the sentence, I guess).

What started out as what I assume to be a bit of comic relief, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, and its subsequent volumes, turned into something of its own fairy tale. Through each volume, we gain a little more insight into the world of Angelica Cottington, who masters the art of pressing fairies in her books, to preserve them and show the world the truth. I give each book 4 stars, but really, the second book is what brings the three volumes together as something more than whimsy. CAVEAT: The fairies pictured in this book are caught in poses of agony, and frequently nude too. Should not be viewed by impressionable children under age 34.An amusing quote: "Ah! Je borsten zijn witter dan een blanco cheque!"which no doubt reads as "Ah! Your breasts are whiter than a blank cheque!"in the original. I enjoyed this book. It was like I was reading someone's diary, lol. I love books like that. I also like how the "writing" in the book starts of child like and then it changes to more of an adult "writing" as Lady Cottongton grows older. By child like, I mean misspelled words and things like that. It's kind of making me sad thinking about it now, and I'm glad this wasn't around when I was a kid. I would have taken the whole thing as a personal affront and refused to ever watch Monty Python again because Terry Jones would have been DEAD TO ME.

This, however, is a translation of the first book, with text by Terry Jones and artwork by Brian Froud.The Cottington Archive reluctantly announces that more information about the infamous Lady Cottington has a scrapbook compiled by the fairy smasher herself of her correspondence with luminaries such as Queen Victoria, Annie Oakley, Igor Stravinsky, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Andrew Lang, P.T. Barnum, and more. All about fairies, these hilarious letters contain everything from wisdom to suggestions to chastisement. Lady Cottington has made notes in the margins not to mention smashed fairies throughout (will she EVER STOP this nasty habit?!). And the fairies...ah the fairies...they too have done their part, sprinkling magic and mayhem throughout. Without spoiling too much, this is a photo album/diary written by two sisters. The older one began taking pictures of "fairies", which she also wrote about, but unfortunately died shortly after finishing the diary. Her younger sister finds the diary and begins reading it, adding notes of her own, and squishing fairies while she's in the process. It sounds very dull and tidy that way but the ending is quite interesting! Don't expect some cutesy book about fairies. The further you delve into the story that Angelica writes the more twisted it gets, I might even go so far as to suggest a trigger warning.