Lady Cottingtons Fairy Album by Brian Froud

Lady Cottingtons Fairy Album Reviews

• 
  Peggy

  Way back in 1994 Brian Froud and Terry Jones got together and created Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book, which was an immediate hit (and a huge bestseller). Their faux-Victorian book of various smashed, crushed, and smooshed fairies was a delight ­ wonderful pictures by Froud and hysterical text by Jones. A Pressed Fairy Journal followed in 1996, and then both went out of print and became scarcer than hen’s teeth. A paperback version of the original book was released in 2001 and it garnered a whole new set of fans. And now, at last, Lady Cottington is back and it’s well worth the wait.
  
  The original book was a lark, with Froud’s hilarious pictures highlighting Jones’s tale of a VERY proper Victorian lady beset by naughty fairies. This book has the same antic artwork, and is undeniably funny in places, but it’s something more, too. The book purports to be a newly discovered photo album by Angelica Cottington’s older sister Euphemia (who is referred to just once, as Effie, in the original book) with later commentary by Angelica. Euphemia’s story and photos unfold on the left side of the book; Angelica’s commentary and fairy victims appear on the right. The two stories come together in a letter at the end which we get to see and which Angelica presumably did not and the effect is surprising and poignant and leads you to think about this book long after it has ended. The funny stuff I expected; the other stuff I didn’t, and the book is much stronger than you might expect because of it.
  
  Froud has pulled off the near impossible: a sequel that not only equals the original, but surpasses it. The packaging is gorgeous, from the textured cover to the beautiful endpapers. The artwork, both the photos and the drawings, is first-rate but the true heart of this book is the story, which manages to amuse and surprise in equal measure
• 
  Lisa

  I just wasn't a fan of the big bottomed and oddly posed illustrated faeries that jumped off the page right atcha face. Some of the photo renderings of faeries were well done, but most were too real-ish human-looking. I thought I was looking at photos of someone's sister or cousin. The text didn't draw me in like I thought it would.
  
  Maybe I'm getting too old.
• 
  Velvetea

  Fantastic~ imaginative beyond all reason. Each page is unique~ Brian Froud's illustrations are unmatched, and the book is an interactive experience besides! It's too adorable for words. .
• 
  Wayne Farmer

  As with the previous books, this is a beautifully presented faux-victorian book with some wonderful pressed fairies stuck between its pages! Mildly humorous story but the artwork is funnier!
• 
  Stevie

  I received this book as a birthday gift 2 years ago. I'm an art lover and I love Brian Frouds work and enjoyed the storyline of the book and the ending intrigued me. It's one of my most treasured books
• 
  Jason Presser

  Great story and the artwork is incredible. Beautiful and funny and irreverent are hard to find together, but thats here!! Again another of my guilty pleasures. This is a book you keep and re-read many, many times...
• 
  Andrea

  I was very releived to know that no faries were harmed in the making of this album!! Once I quit looking at the illustrations and read the story, I found is very cute and a touch sad.
• 
  Jessica

  Interesting, not amazing but a fun, quick read. Silly at times with a few laughs but I think it would have been better if I had read the other books as well.
• 
  Tatiana Dengo

  THIS BOOK IS SO SCANDALOUS OMG!!! Hahaha this book came highly recommended because of the inventive illustrations of “pressed fairies”. These are colorful watercolors by Brian Froud that pretend as if fairies had been squished between the pages of the book, leaving an impression on both sides of the paper.
  
  But there’s an actual story in here and at first glance you may find it kinda boring in a stiff-lipped Victorian way, but by the end it is super shocking and worth sticking to!
  
  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!
  
  By the way, in case you're planning to read this in public or would like to gift this to a child and are sensitive about this kind of stuff, the fairies in the watercolors are mostly nude and in include the occasional fully-exposed rear-end or breast.
  
  Loved it and highly recommend it!
  
• 
  Nicole Magolan

  These books are so darn beautiful and a tad sadistic and I'm obsessed with them.
  
  I can't believe I found this at a secondhand book fair! And at a different book fair than the last one I went to, where I found the first book from this series. It's like fate, or something.
• 
  Francine

  What a twist! I didn't expect to get drawn into it so. Not a super big fan of the pressed fairies themselves, but I do love the story.
• 
  SG

  I read this years ago, when I was a little girl. It was an absolute delight.
• 
  Elena Anderson

  I cant believe this book is already 20years old.
• 
  David Edmonds

  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.
  
  The first book, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, I'm quite sure was meant nothing more than a bit of humor. We follow the adventures of Lady Cottington as a small girl as she begins to notice the fairies around her and as she discovers the pressing technique to preserve them in her books. In Lady Cottington's Fairy Album we learn a little more of Lady Cottington's heritage, and this is where I think the series, while still deep in it's whimsical foundations, takes a turn for the more "serious." With Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Letters, we are presented with letters from the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rasputin, Houdini, Helen Keller and more, as Lady Cottington continues her journey of discovery.
  
  The artwork throughout remains consistently humorous, with each fairy pressing more ridiculous than the last. A truly unique reading experience.
• 
  Helena

  My eight year old daughter received this book as a gift recently and I was flipping through the gorgeous drawings and noticed that some of the fairies within were nude. After seeing that I thought I'd better read this before my daughter does.
  
  
  Spoiler:
  
  I don't think this book is appropriate for an eight year old. It's clever and pretty and oh so appealing to a little girl, but it deals with a very adult situation. Cleverly, very cheekily, but an adult situation nonetheless. Having said that, I don't know if an eight year old would really catch on to what happens (nutshell: young girl is naughty, gets knocked up, goes away with her mom for a while and comes back with a miraculous new baby 'sister' which is all revealed in the end). I imagine the eight year old may have some uncomfortable questions after reading this and if you're prepared to answer them? Well, then this book'll do fine.
  
  
  
  I found the ending quite sad. Plus there's all that violence towards fairies- but on the plus side- really beautiful artwork, cool photos, and it's quite well written. A unique little book overall.
• 
  Jane

  Good companion to Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. The story started out slow, but picked up and had a great ending. It took me awhile to realize that one side were of Euphemia's entries and not Angelica's (Euphemia is Angelica's sister--the Lady Cottington). The artwork is similar to the Pressed Fairy Book with the addition of Euphemia's photographs--and nothing in comparison to some of Brian Froud's other works.
• 
  Misty Phelan

  Cute story about faeries. I would say that it isn't really child appropriate depending. There is a fair bit of nudity in the artwork. The story is very well written and the whole package is nicely displayed.
• 
  Dami (Damiellar)

  
  
  The pressed fairy book always appealed to me (I even remember the bookstore I was in the first time I saw it) so this was a natural follow on. The underlying storyline isn't childish in the least but at the time I couldn't tell.
• 
  Iroquois

  got it through ILL. wasn't worth the trouble :(
• 
  Jaeyde

  Funny, pretty watercolors of smashed fairies with a ridiculous story to go along with them.
• 
  Rebecca

  *claps hands*
• 
  Emma Dalmazzo

  this was a fantastic book. i loved the creativity it involved.
• 
  Jackie

  I love the idea of this book, even if the "reading" of it was not exactly enveloping.
• 
  Faefae

  Brian Froud is one of the best artist out there.....I could never get tired of looking at his creations♥
• 
  Elizabeth

  Beautiful artwork and funny story. Lovely read
• 
  midnightfaerie

  
  Click here for Midnightfaerie’s Review
• 
  Sarah Schantz

  Exquisite fun.
• 
  Brianna

  I greatly enjoyed the parallel stories between Euphemia and Angelica. Really well done and a lot of fun.
• 
  Denise

  Clever