THE FAIRY RING Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World

The verb “read” doesn’t do justice to Nicola Barber’s recording of THE FAIRY RING. She’s a vector connecting the listener to every detail of the story behind the famous fairy photographs. Not only do listeners hear about the girls behind the hoax but also about the social forces that incited the whole affair. Barber describes England, and the hardships of WWI, with immediacy. Her facile command of accents highlights the class distinctions, which play a key role in perpetuating the deception. Every word is imbued with life so that each angle of the story is vivid and enthralling: the technological advances, the quest to scientifically prove the existence of fairies, and the girls’ steadfast secrecy. Seldom is nonfiction so fanciful, compelling, or well paced. A.M.P Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]