Monday 27 August 2012

The Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter


It's no wonder that I've been after a copy of The Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter for so long. Firstly, Beatrix Potter. Need I say more? Secondly, it's a tale about guinea pigs. Third, there is magic afoot in this book! 

Every copy I had come across on eBay had been £40 or more, so you can imagine how excited I was to bag this 1952 copy for £2.99, and such a beautiful copy it is too! 





A novel at 225 pages long, it was first published in 1929, making it one of Potter's later books. And this was because it was never intended to be published at all:

Through many changing seasons these tales have walked and talked with me. They were not meant for printing; I have left them in the homely idiom of our old north country speech. I send them on the insistence of friends beyond the sea.
                                                                                                               

                                                                                                               BEATRIX POTTER.



In the Land of Green Ginger there is a town called Marmalade, which is inhabited exclusively by guinea-pigs. They are of all colours, and of two sorts. The common, or garden, guinea-pigs are the most numerous. They have short hair, and they run errands and twitter. The guinea-pigs of the other variety are called Abyssinian Cavies. They have long hair and side whiskers, and they walk upon their toes. 


When an attempt by Tuppenny the common guinea pig to grow his hair using a mis-sold elixir goes horribly wrong, he runs away into the big wide world to join the circus, making new friends along the way.



The book is beautifully illustrated by the author, as you would expect, with a combination of watercolour and black and white ink drawings. The story is set in Potter's favourite landscape - the Lake District - like her other stories. It retains its original dialect, to the delight of her intended American audience, who loved her tales of the English countryside. 





The book is divided into chapters to form a whole novel, yet each chapter could almost stand alone as a single story in its own right. Fairies are littered throughout the book, and the animal kingdom operates as a society, just like in Potter's more famous tales. 








Despite being a very different format to her other tales, I'm so pleased I finally managed to own a copy of The Fairy Caravan because this is Potter as she was when she wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit, writing for her friends and her own entertainment, and not necessarily for publication. 

Having been a life-long owner of guinea pigs myself I think she captures their sociable, brave - yet sometimes naive - personalities perfectly, and her love and respect for animals, as always, shines through. 



All this talk of guinea pig adventures inspired Alfie to go on one of his own. He was still back by teatime though, as guinea pigs always are. 


Do you have a favourite Beatrix Potter story? 

Enjoy your Monday!




21 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning! How lucky to get such a treasure & a bargain at the same time! :)
    I have to say, typically, my favourite BP tale is Peter Rabbit - but then I've always been a bunny girl. Who ironically has always owned mischievous bunnies...hmmm, haha! Jxx

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    1. Peter Rabbit will always be the iconic classic, but I've been changing my mind about my favourite among the rest all day! I hear bunnies are always up to mischief... x

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  2. How darn cute are those illustrations? And what a brilliant find at that bargain price! I think Peter Rabbit is my favourite because he featured most prominently in my childhood but I also adore Tom Kitten because he's scruffy and I love his little blue suit! x

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    1. I think every child who has ever been scrubbed and stuffed into too-small formal clothes before grown ups come to visit can relate to Tom Kitten! x

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  3. Lucky Lucky you!!! I just love Beatrix Potter and the pictures are so wonderful.
    Have you seen the film about Beatrix Potter? I thought it was really sweet the way they did it but it was too short!
    However I have to say my first love is Winnie the Pooh(may he live for ever)and all his friends. The original pics in Milne's books are so much better than Disney's interpretation.

    keep well

    Amanda :-)

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    1. Oh yes I really liked the film, it got very mixed reviews but I still find myself returning to it a lot.

      I'm with you on Winnie the Pooh - I was a Winnie the Pooh child; even my favourite teddy was a Pooh Bear. EH Shepard's illustrations were lovely.

      x

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  4. What a lovely book with my favourite things - guinea pigs. Thanks for sharing x

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    1. Hooray for guinea pigs! I can recommend Michael Bond's stories about Olga da Polga the guinea pig too - she's a character and a half! :) x

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  5. Dear Anna
    Lucky you for finding such a bargain. I have heard about this book, but as it was published in America, have never seen it. Thank you for sharing. My favourite stories were Mrs Tiggywinkle, Mrs Tittlemouse and The Pie and the Patty Pan, although The Two Bad Mice, Jeremy Fisher and Squirrel Nutkin caome very close to the top as well. My Granny loved these stories and used to read them to me when I was little, before I could read them myself. They bring back such lovely, cosy, happy memories.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. There seem to be a few new copies available on Amazon (both sides of the pond) if you want to read it now! It's true that Potter's stories epitomise childhood for so many people, and I love Mrs Tiggywinkle too, though Squirrel Nutkin unnerved me when I was very small!
      x

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  6. Oh what a lovely book Anna! I've never heard of this tale.
    Victoria xx

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    1. There's not even very much about it online really, which is a shame! x

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  7. I totally need to find a copy of this book now! How adorable and I'd never even heard of it before.

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  8. *squeal!* What a gorgeous buy Anna! Where ever did you find this beauty?! The watercolours are breathtaking although I find myself loving the black ink drawings the most. They seem so much more personal, as though Beatrix whipped out her ink pen and sketched in a matter of minutes for one of her friends. Love love love!! I'm not sure I can answer your question, I love each and every book too much to choose!!xx

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    1. I found it hiding on eBay, it was listed under its title but had the photo of a different book, so I contacted the seller four days into the auction to check the details and when she apologised and corrected the photo it seems that it meant no one else had spotted it... or that I was the only one hankering after it! Very much worth keeping an eye out for other old copies on there :) x

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  9. Adore BP and left my copy of Fairy Caravan on a train. Gutted, just gutted. What a beautiful buy Anna - I too have been scouring eBay and have found that most copies are crazy prices!! I don't think I could pick my favourite Beatrix tale!! :-)

    Jem xXx

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    1. Nooooo! Hopefully it found a good home at least, and another copy will one day wend its way to you for you to treasure again. x

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  10. Ah Beatrix Potter - I was brought up on a diet of it and still have some of my originals from childhood ( bit tatty as they are about 30 years old now ). I think my fave is The Tale of Samuel Whiskers even though it's not a very pleasant tale. I think I was charmed and horrified in equal measure, which is probably why I've always liked scary stories/films. I was also fascinated by Mrs Tittlemouse and the big 'messy' bumblebee that harrasses her. Do I need therapy do you think?

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    1. Beatrix Potter's stories are quite sinister, aren't they? I always like that she didn't fluffify nature. Babbity Bumble made me like bees, so I'm sure she did some good for me too!
      x

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  11. Oooh I love your blog! I found it while searching for Beatrix Potter things. I have a book blog and I've been hosting a Beatrix Potter trivia contest as part of a book giveaway (CozyLittleBookJournal com). I thought I knew a lot about Beatrix Potter but I had never heard of her guinea pig story!

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