The Case of the Cottingley Fairies

Joe Cooper examines the Cottingley fairy photographs, the two Bradford cousins who produced them, and the claims that briefly persuaded prominent believers. The story begins with Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, whose 1917 images attracted the attention of Edward Gardner and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, helping turn a local incident into a celebrated public controversy.

Drawing on six years of contact with the women, Cooper traces the evidence, explanations and changing testimonies surrounding the pictures. He considers the later admissions that several photographs were fabricated, while also recording the persistent dispute over the fifth image. The book places the case within the period’s interest in fairies, spiritualism and photographic proof, presenting the episode as a contested account rather than settled supernatural fact.