The Fairy Doll

by Rumer Godden, Gary Blythe (Illustrator)

Fairy Doll has always been at the top of the Christmas tree, brilliant in her white beaded dress and little silver shoes (which Elizabeth is sure were sewn by fairy mice). Elizabeth is the smallest in the family. She is always getting into trouble and her brothers and sisters are forever leaving her out and ordering her around. She’s convinced she’s useless. Then Great-Grandma gives Fairy Doll to Elizabeth – and it isn`t even Christmas! From then on Elizabeth keeps hearing a little ’Ting!’ which seems to tell her what to do. Suddenly everything starts going right instead of wrong. Could Fairy Doll be magical?

Genres: Christmas, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Holiday

52 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1956

About the author

Margaret 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.

Reviews

[Cam (Lana Belova) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story I wish I read as a child. It helps to understand your inner voice and improves confidence so much. Loved the magical elements of the story and that the Fairy doll was an integral part of Christmas. Loved little Elizabeth, she is four when the story begins and does have a great imagination and a loving heart 🩷.

I wish her siblings were more supportive, why being mean to her just because Elizabeth was more slow than them in picking up on things? Her great-grandmother was a real fairy godmother for Elizabeth. She listened to her and believed that Elizabeth could do so much better and will blossom when her time comes. And guess who in the end from all four siblings came in the first place? 🙂


Vintage Christmas Card Pretty Little Angel Pink by PaperPrizes

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweetly charming.

was my favourite book as a young child (i'm still hoping for a copy to turn up at my work)

This book also captures the world of lonely child whose imagination helps her retreat into a world of make believe. I loved the world of dolls (or in this case a Christmas Fairy ornament) where a flower bud can make a doll's hat or a nasturtium leaf, a parasol.

Old fashioned, yes (and I particularly winced when Elizabeth's teacher called her stupid) but I adored and will always adore, Rumer Godden's books.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet book with lovely illustrations by Gary Blythe (though the cover image is by David Wardle). The story is five short chapters. I didn't read the blurb before starting, otherwise I probably would have saved this one for Christmastime! I will be adding it to my little pile of Christmassy books.

Elizabeth was a nice character, as was the message of what the Fairy Doll represented. I do wish I had read this book when I was younger --- there are so many details I would have adored, especially the pages where Elizabeth makes the house for the Fairy Doll. The illustration of her completed project was a particular favourite.

[Tatevik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am finding new good children authors for me these days. The end of the year is always rough for me, so I try to compensate by reading like crazy. This was a very good story, but I feel I haven't found my favorite book by Rumer Godden yet.

P.S. I always look for a perfect Christmas tree doll during the season, but still haven't found it.

[Emespre]

Read through it quickly so can’t comment in depth on it. However, two particular themes impressed upon me: the importance of creativity and that people develop at different rates. The creativity that children seem to possess in limitless droves seems to gradually diminish as we learn more about what can happen and see everything else as impossible, impractical or inferior. It was nice seeing how it commended creativity over strict knowledge of possibility and prior experience. It also hit me how the Fairy Doll could be analogous for someone hitting their stride developmentally. Elizabeth struggles with a number of developmental tasks early in the story but when she is given the Fairy Doll she suddenly has the capacity to do them. While the transition seems a bit unrealistically sudden, it is a children’s book. It does make you think about how pressure and stress can restrict ability and how people mock individuals who haven’t yet accomplished particular tasks, even though there are a myriad of reasons that might be behind it and even though never accomplishing those things still wouldn’t mean that the person is inferior. It also explores sibling rivalry and bullying. I wasn't too fond of the idea of tit-for-tat that popped up a few times, but children would probably find it amusing and fitting. Essentially, it's a cute story and I think that there are a number of things that children could think about and discuss with their parents after reading this book.

[Eleanor Toland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as complex or dark as Rumer Godden's earlier The Doll's House, The Fairy Doll is nevertheless a winsome fairy-tale set in 1950s England. There's a Christmas tree ornament which may or may not have magical powers and a small, bullied girl who needs some self-confidence. What lifts this fable above the ordinary is Godden's ability to inhabit a child's point of view and most of all, her evocative writing, full of detail about Christmas traditions familiar to children at the time but now relegated to history- the "silvered nuts" and "transparent boxes of rose petals and violets and mimosa" that hang from the tree. Magical.

[Lucy Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me years to work out why my mother gave this book to ME in particular. And I've only just worked out - aged 69 - that of course the fairy doll has no existence outside Elizabeth's mind. She is the child's inner strength that she only needs to find for everything to be all right.

Just as much a fairytale as a doll coming to life.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes Godden is more successful. This one is not obscurely [L]iterary, but is still full of lovely language and worth rereading for more nuances. Along with The Mousewife I think it's my favorite by her.

Read in a collection, sans art.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth is the youngest child, forever doomed to be not as smart or athletic as her older siblings, or ever able to do anything. Until her great-grandmother visits and she gets a fairy of her very own. Poor Elizabeth! Her teacher and family were rotten to her. But who doesn't dream of someone kind coming to help navigate growing up and tough situations? I loved seeing her blossom.

[Shani · Rating 3 out of 5]

A youngest in the family finding her feet in the world with the help of a fairy doll.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really charming book. Abby really enjoyed this one.

[Vicki Antipodean Bookclub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you just have to be your own Fairy Godmother


Seems to be the central message of The Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden, first published in 1956. This is the first of her children’s books that I’ve read and it’s a Christmas book as the Fairy in question is the one that sits on the top of the tree in Elizabeth’s house each year


Elizabeth is the youngest of her four siblings, perpetually teased and left behind, so that she gradually loses confidence in her ability to do anything…until that is Great Grandma gifts Elizabeth the fairy doll to look after her all year


Godden really seems to understand how is feels to be left out and frustrated because you’re “too little.” There’s a lack of sentimentality in her work that stops this from tipping into tweeness

[Michelle Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I enjoyed this book as read aloud before bedtime. With only five short chapters, we got through it quickly. The youngest child, poor Elizabeth, wallows in a whole lot of low self-esteem, thanks to her unkind older siblings. The fairy doll, given to her by her great-grandmother, helps her access her inner strength and builds her self-confidence. Our favorite parts were the delightful descriptions of the home Elizabeth creates for her little doll. This book held many similarities to Godden's more well-known The Story of Holly and Ivy.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning - this review is full of spoilers!
This is a story about Elizabeth, the youngest of four siblings, and the fairy doll that normally graces the top of the family Christmas tree. Elizabeth, being the youngest, is always struggling to keep up with her older sisters and brother, none of whom is the least bit understanding of her difficulties, most of which are perfectly explained by her age and the length of her legs. Her teacher is no help either, strongly reminding me of a particularly poor and cruel teacher my siblings and I encountered in primary school. We get an annual glimpse of Elizabeth's progress or lack thereof. (Note to parents - if you are going to buy your child a bicycle for Christmas, please make sure that their feet can reach the peddles properly!) Then one year, the children's great-grandmother comes to stay over Christmas from Canada - great excitement all round. As the youngest, Elizabeth is deputed to present great-grandma with a heavy crystal glass basket full of Christmas roses. Elizabeth, aged seven at this point, is mesmerised by the drop at the end of great-grandma's nose, which reminds her of the crystal drop on the fairy doll's forehead, and is therefore slow in going forward. Big sister Josie gives her a push - disaster ensues! (I'll bet great-grandma is secretly very glad not to have to lug a heavy crystal glass basket back to Canada with her!) Elizabeth takes refuge in tears in her special hiding place while everyone else has Christmas tea and opens presents. Great-grandma asks to see Elizabeth, so her mother fetches her and leaves her alone with great-grandma. At this point Fairy Doll falls/flies down from the top of the Christmas tree, and great-grandma says that she was just going to say that Elizabeth needed a good fairy and she had better have this one.
Fairy Doll brings out the best in Elizabeth and of course age and longer legs have kicked in and Elizabeth learns that she CAN do things well, including learning to ride that blasted bike. But she still thinks that Fairy Doll is the reason that she can - until one day, at the end of October, Fairy Doll disappears. Elizabeth is heartbroken. Then great-grandma comes to big sister Christabel's birthday tea, and takes it for granted that Elizabeth can do things now. With this reinforcement, Elizabeth realises that she can do things herself, without any help from Fairy Doll. Who magically reappears when needed to go on top of the Christmas tree!
This is another Christmas favourite of mine. I have no idea how many times I have read it, but here's one more!

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar with Godden's The Story of Holly and Ivy, but it wasn't until after I started reading this and getting Holly & Ivy vibes that I realized the author was the same. If you love her more famous story, you will also enjoy this one. (The siblings are a bit too mean, though.)

I read this to my 8 year old daughter after she had had a very rough morning picking fights with her older brother and responding poorly to all instructions I gave her. It seemed a fitting time.

I need to find a copy of The Fairy Doll for my own library

[Dain Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because I could totally relate to Elizabeth. There are hints that Elizabeth has dyspraxia, which I have. When I was younger, I was stressed a lot because I had trouble with my motor skills, which made me stand out at school. And I am still slower at some things. But I learned that embracing your flaws and discovering your hidden talents can help you.

[Vivacia K. Ahwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure why this says it's from 2006. The Fairy Doll is a VERY old book. We're talking' 1940s. I had an original that was a library discard when I was little, and read it god knows how many times. Will investigate!

**UPDATE** Yeah, okay. 1956. Now I miss my original copy.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly old-fashioned but very sweet and charming. I loved the glimpses into a child's imagination - sawdust as fairy sand and a shell for a bed. I also like how it's left to the reader to decide whether the Fairy Doll really was magical.

[Joan Osterberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

i had to add this book because it was my fav when i was a little girl

[Lindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this old favorite a couple evenings ago. There is just the smidge of magic in this story about Elizabeth, the youngest of four children, and how she learns to have faith in herself.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book.

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story about a sad little girl who is helped by the fairy doll from the top of the Christmas tree.

[Michelle Wegner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect and beautiful fairy story.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute story on what it's like to be the baby of the family .

[Tisha (IG: Bluestocking629) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 Stars.

What a sweet story!

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting little book. Why did I not know about this book when I was a child?

[Lora Desrosier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a magical story for me when I was a child! It was a treasured favorite of mine which I hung onto for years.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet little story about the magic in (certain) toys.
Looking forward to reading more by this author!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Christmas book of the year, this is the story of a Christmas Fairy that a family places at the top of its tree every year. One year, Great Grandmother gives the fairy doll to Elizabeth, the youngest of the three children. Elizabeth is clumsy and slow, always teased by her older siblings, and even denigrated by her parents and teacher at times. The fairy doll becomes Elizabeth's friend and allows her to develop her creative talents, while giving her the confidence she needs to progress at school and in life.
Is there an element of magic? Or is it really that Elizabeth just needs to think there is to finally find her way?

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fairy doll on the top of the Christmas tree becomes real to little Elizabeth. After years of not measuring up to her older siblings, Elizabeth is given the fairy doll to keep during one year. Her creativity in making a house in the forest for the doll is inspiring and reminder of the joys to be found out of doors.

Loved the little 'ting' that would ring in Elizabeth's head and give her inspiration for new challenges. Her great grandmother is a patient and thoughtful family member --reminding Elizabeth so much of her doll. Hmmmm.

The pastel, whimsical illustrations in my edition were the artwork of Adrienne Adams. Lovely! 🧚‍♀️🎄