While on vacation quite a few years ago, I came upon this delightful book by Cicely Mary Barker, “The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies.” I love rhyming poems and fell in love with her beautiful illustrations and magical words.

Cicely Mary Barker was born June 28, 1895 in West Croydon, Surrey England. Because she suffered from epilepsy Cicely was educated at home but she mostly taught herself to draw and paint. Her father was an accomplished artist and encouraged her artistic talent. He enrolled her at Croydon Art Society when she was only 13 years old.

At the age of 16, Cicely had her first work accepted for publication as a set of postcards. From there she devoted her time to painting. Pre-Raphaelites greatly influenced her and she believed in “truth in nature.” Cicely painted from life whenever possible and even enlisted the help of the staff at Kew Gardens to help identify plants. She carefully studied and painted their every detail with great accuracy. The fairies were also painted from life and modelled from the children at her sister’s nursery school. Once the paintings were complete, she then wrote a poem for the illustration.

“The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies,” was first published in 1923 and was well received by all, especially because of the fascination with fairies at the time and her vision of innocence.

Cicely passed away February 16, 1973 in a Worthing Hospital, England at the age of 77. One hundred years after the publication of her book, it continues to delight all.

I highly recommend you check out her site at FlowerFairies.com where you learn more about her and purchase giftware items showcasing her stunning paintings. Copies of this book are available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, however the dust jacket may be different.

Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!!

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Here’s a sample of Cicely’s writing from her book: