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The Fairy Doll and Other Tales from the Doll's House
Omnibus edition of 7 doll stories by Rumer Godden
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Rumer Godden
174 books583 followersMargaret Rumer Godden was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably Black Narcissus in 1947 and The River in 1951.
A few of her works were co-written with her elder sister, novelist Jon Godden, including Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India now part of Bangladesh.
A few of her works were co-written with her elder sister, novelist Jon Godden, including Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India now part of Bangladesh.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 14, 2019
A collected edition of all seven of Rumer Godden's stories about dolls, only one of which I had a distant memory of reading as a child. I feel a little ambivalent about adding this edition to my total of books read this year, given that I have also been adding each story individually as I read it, but then it occurs to me that the collection is greater than the sum of its parts so maybe it's fitting.
I wish the stories, which vary greatly in length and tone, had been arranged in this book in the order in which they were published, but oddly, they seem to go from longest to shortest. The longer ones are better, my favorites being Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum, which, unlike the others, are more about the children doing the playing than about the dolls. One thing all the stories have in common is the idea that a doll's only form of agency is wishing -- wishing for children to play with them in a certain way, or to make something for them -- and some children are more receptive to these wishes than others. It makes me think that the dolls who inhabited the dollhouse of my youth had some very odd wishes. Either that, or my sisters and I misinterpreted them wildly.
I wish the stories, which vary greatly in length and tone, had been arranged in this book in the order in which they were published, but oddly, they seem to go from longest to shortest. The longer ones are better, my favorites being Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum, which, unlike the others, are more about the children doing the playing than about the dolls. One thing all the stories have in common is the idea that a doll's only form of agency is wishing -- wishing for children to play with them in a certain way, or to make something for them -- and some children are more receptive to these wishes than others. It makes me think that the dolls who inhabited the dollhouse of my youth had some very odd wishes. Either that, or my sisters and I misinterpreted them wildly.
May 22, 2023
This is a beautiful collection of stories about dolls. It includes:
-The Doll's house, about a family of dolls who wish to have their own house.
-Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, a pair of Japanese dolls who help a girl newly arrived to England from India to adjust to her new family and life.
-Little Plum, the sequel to the previous, where a new family moves next door, and the new girl also has a Japanese doll, but never plays with her.
-The Fairy Doll, who helps a little girl to gain self-confidence when nobody in her family trusts in her... except Great-Grandmother, who maybe is a fairy herself.
-The story of Holly and Ivy. Ivy is an orphan who is determined to find a Grandma, a home and a doll for Christmas. Like the little match girl, she looks at the doll in the toy shop, at the trees and children in the homes, and falls asleep in an alley... but then a good policeman takes her home to warm up and have a good breakfast.
-Candy Floss, a doll who lives in a fair shy attraction and brings luck to her owner.
-Impunity Jane, an adventurous doll who becomes sailor for a group of boys' boat.
-The Doll's house, about a family of dolls who wish to have their own house.
-Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, a pair of Japanese dolls who help a girl newly arrived to England from India to adjust to her new family and life.
-Little Plum, the sequel to the previous, where a new family moves next door, and the new girl also has a Japanese doll, but never plays with her.
-The Fairy Doll, who helps a little girl to gain self-confidence when nobody in her family trusts in her... except Great-Grandmother, who maybe is a fairy herself.
-The story of Holly and Ivy. Ivy is an orphan who is determined to find a Grandma, a home and a doll for Christmas. Like the little match girl, she looks at the doll in the toy shop, at the trees and children in the homes, and falls asleep in an alley... but then a good policeman takes her home to warm up and have a good breakfast.
-Candy Floss, a doll who lives in a fair shy attraction and brings luck to her owner.
-Impunity Jane, an adventurous doll who becomes sailor for a group of boys' boat.
January 5, 2023
I can't decide if this is a 3 or 4 for me because there are seven actual stories to rate. It balances out to 3.5 as I liked "Impunity Jane", "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower", and "The Story of Holly and Ivy" a little better than the others. The whole collection was a nice sort of diversion for the author gives us the viewpoint of the dolls in each story.
November 24, 2018
This is a collection of Godden’s doll stories. They read like an apologetic for how doll play helps process all kinds of pain and struggle. Slightly old fashioned in detail, but timeless in the issues dealt with. It is hard to know if children today would relate to these stories.
February 14, 2016
I wanted to buy this for a friend’s daughter and so I read it to check it was suitable. I had watched the BBC TV series of Tottie when I was a child and remembered it fondly. Godden is a great story teller and there is suspense in her stories, which is then resolved and endings are happy. This seven books in one edition is great, I’m not sure why The Fairy Doll story gets the top billing because The Dolls’ House story (called Tottie for the BBC TV series) and the Miss Happiness and Miss Plum story are equally strong stories and are longer in length. Miss Happiness and Miss Plum offers fascinating glimpses into Japanese culture. These stories won’t bore you as an adult if you choose them for bedtime reading with a child.
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December 1, 2020Read this sometime in 2021 but apparently forgot to review it. I don't even remember how much I liked it, probably three stars but maybe four.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews