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For the events from 1917, see Cottingley Fairies.

The Cottingley Secret is a 2017 fantasy novel written by British novelist Hazel Gaynor, in which she retells the story behind the Cottingley fairies from 1917. One hundred years after these events took place, Hazel Gaynor publishes the novel intermingling the real events that occurred in 1917 with part of her fictional story set in 2017.

Setting
The Cottingley Secret takes place in England during World War I, in 1917. One of the main characters, Frances Griffiths, moves out of South Africa, Cape Town, with her mother because her father has to fight in the war. The book starts with Frances and her mother on the train taking them to their new lives in Cottingley, England, where her cousin, Elsie Wright, lives.

Plot
The Cottingley Secret is a retelling of the story behind the Cottingley fairies that took place in Cottingley, a village in West Yorkshire, England. The plots follows the lives of the two cousins—Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright—that photographed real fairies in the garden near a stream. The story follows the facts behind the real events—how the news attracted the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, how nationally renowned the girls became, and the hope behind people who believed in the fantasy during war times.

Gaynor’s reimagining continues in present time, 2017, with Olivia Kavanagh, who after discovering her grandfather’s manuscript and the picture of the fairies, realizes that her story becomes intertwined with the cousins’ lives, causing past and present to blur together.

Genre
The Cottingley Secret has been categorized in the genres of historical fiction, fantasy, and magical realism.

Photographs
Despite the original photographs published in 1917 and 1920 having being debunked as a hoax in 1983, The Cottingley Secret also includes the images on the last pages of the novel.

Critical reception
Since its publication in August 2017, the novel has gathered positive reviews. The Irish Times calls the novel “an enchanting, charming story” while Kirkus Reviews admires the retelling more than the fictional story set in the present because Gaynor "creates a lovely meditation on the power of belief and hope." According to Kirkus Reviews, "The insight into the true story of the Cottingley fairies is interesting, and it's easy to understand why two girls might play along with an innocent trick that became a worldwide sensation." However, regarding the present events unfolding throughout the story, they write, "Olivia's struggles are never quite as compelling, and readers may find themselves eager to slip back into the world of the fairies."