Customer Reviews

The Secret Lives of Elves and Faeries: From the Private Journals of the Rev. Robert Kirk

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a catastrophe in my opinion. It seems the author, John Matthews, who is an excellent scholar in Celtic matters, has decided to paraphrase a bit of what Robert Kirk wrote in his original secret commonwealth of elves, leprochauns, and fairies, while adding a bunch of stuff which he avers he received ""from the Sidhe themselves" in some sort of channeling? Trance? He doesn't really say.

Frankly, being a fan of the original work by Robert Kirk, which he maligns in his pseudo-paraphrased-fictionalized work, John Matthews has besmirched a work of incalculable value. After suggesting in a fictional part of the book that Robert Kirk's manuscript has been largely corrupted by later scholars, he goes on to write of Robert Kirk's experiences which bear very little resemblance to the original account. I wish I had never bought it.

I was profoundly shocked to learn the true nature of this book. In 2006, in response to an Amazon review of another of his books, "The Sidhe," John Matthews stated that "The Secret Lives of Elves and Faeries" is a fictionalized account of Robert Kirk's "Secret Commonwealth," fleshed out with material from "The Sidhe." Yet fiction is not how "The Secret Lives" is portrayed, either on its back cover ("Here for the first time is Kirk's journal, in which he recorded his visits to the faery realms"), on the title page, in the Introduction, or in the Afterward. In each instance, Matthews writes as though he is indeed the discoverer of "very possibly the manuscript written by Robert Kirk himself" -- page 10. On page 11 he states categorically that "I have added subheadings to the text throughout to make it more readable. ...Other than this, the manuscript is word for word as Robert Kirk left it in 1692."

Were that the case, this book would be a folkloric treasure and not available from Amazon for under $20. That thought niggled at me the whole time I was reading it. But when I saw Matthews' response to the 2006 review -- well, my jaw dropped.

What on earth were Matthews and his publisher, HarperCollins, thinking? Presenting a work of fiction as someone else's authentic manuscript is fraudulent. Matthews is a respected Celtic scholar and his earlier works had been important to me. Now I can't trust anything he's written. What a shame.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was fun to read, entertaining, and even enlightening. My only complaint is that John Matthews leads readers to believe that this book is Robert Kirk's actual journal. The title page reads, "Being the Newly Discovered Story of the Rev. ROBERT KIRK ...as told for his son, Colin, before he vanished from the sight of men ..." and the entire introduction is a story of how John Matthews discovered the 17th century manuscript. Based on Matthews high reputation, many readers have been duped into believing that this is the printed version of a real manuscript, when in fact Matthews admitted in an April 4, 2006 Amazon review of his book The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld that "'The Secret Lives of Elves and Faeries' is actually a fictionalised account of the Reverend Robert Kirk's adventures in Faery, based upon his own writings but actually penned by me." This should definitely be stated in the book itself, yet nowhere (except in his Amazon review) does Matthews admit that his book is fictionalized.

This is a rather charming book...
dear lovers of faerie lore,
... and we like Matthews' interpretation of Kirk's original journal. The cover and the illustrations were a plus, and while some might object to the fact that Matthews re-imagined Kirk's work, that did not bother these elves. Some have also complained that he used some of the material from his channeled book The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld, but that did not bother us, either. It is surely not a great or important addition to faery lore, yet it is, in many ways, a sweet one.
kyela,
the silver elves

First off, I read it not knowing it was fiction, meaning I thought it was all by Robert Kirk himself. So that means I willingly entered into this story's encounters with the elven world, and found it engaging, charming, and so convincingly told that at the end, when something of great import happened that I won't mention, I was stunned! So I think if you like the topic and suspend disbelief you'll enjoy this tale. There are whimsical little illustrations sprinkled throughout, and the pages are made to look old, so for me at least that adds to the appeal. I can also see giving this to a child who enjoys this sort of fantasy. 4 stars because I wish it were longer.

This little book was as advertised and arrived quickly.
'Would buy from this vendor again.
The book itself is charming, though having just returned
from Aberfoyle, some things of note are surprisingly
off. Such as the date of Kirk's death, etc.
Lovely story though.

excellent little book. i visit and live close to alot of old stone circles and spend alot of time in what some would calm contemplation.
a little after reading the book in 2005 i happened to be on the north face of scheahallion around the summer solstice. where to my puzzlement there appeared to be rock formations that looked like giant plough marks.
immedietly the the thought crossed my mind, where in the journal the sithe or "kee" as the informant was known mention that signs of their agriculture can still be seen on the high hills.
had the privilege of visiting the faery mound at aberfoyle and had a peek at the good revrends apparent grave, the house that he stayed in is just beautiful.
yet there are plenty of mounds around scotland and the earth for that matter. i would suggest reading it in conjuction with, the lemurian scrolls, srimad bagavatam and dream yoga of chogyal namkhai norbu

There's lots of sketches throughout the book.
The print font is pretty neat in that they used one that looks like handwriting.

Comprehension level is about medium because alot of it is expressed in the tongue of 1600's time period. Sometimes it reads a bit awkward because of the expressions being written in a reversed type manner of thought.

This is written in first person of Kirk's ventures in faerieland and eventual move to there. It's presented as a true account and still today is discussed in the region of it's origin as a factual report of his experiences and/or disappearance.

It's filled with faerie fluff and magic of the faerieland. His descriptions are really visual and sure not to disappoint a believer.

This book would be a fine edition to any fae fancier's collection.
;)