Lady Filmy Fern Or The Voyage Of The Window Box – Signed By Edward Bawden And With Autograph Letter Signed By Edward Bawden

Author: Hennell, Thomas & Bawden, Edward
Price: £350
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, London, UK
Edition: First edition
Publication Date: 1980
Format: Original pictorial boards. Dustwrapper
Condition: Very good in very good dustwrapper
Pages: Unpaginated

Description:

Original pictorial boards. Dustwrapper. Illustrated throughout in colour by Edward Bawden. Signed by Edward Bawden to the title page along with two loosely inserted Bawden greetings cards and an autograph letter signed by Edward Bawden in which he states: ‘I am sorry to have nicked the book edge when trying to remove the wrapping. E B’. Binding slightly dusty but nice and tight with a small nick to the upper front board which is mentioned in Bawden’s letter. Slight foxing and marking to the prelims. Pages nice and clean. In very good condition overall in a very good, slightly creased, dusty and rubbed dustwrapper which has a small amount of foxing to the reverse. Signed copies of this title are very scarce.

Lady Filmy Fern: A Short Plot Summary

Setting & Premise

Set in a whimsical Edwardian village by the English coast, the tale begins when a peculiar new resident arrives: Lady Filmy Fern, a refined but eccentric botanist. She is instantly nicknamed after her trademark accessory—a lavishly ornate window box overflowing with ferns—from which the story takes flight.

Central Characters

• Lady Filmy Fern: A genteel widow with a special affinity for plants and a secret past rooted in exploration.
• Tommy Waverley: A curious local schoolboy fascinated by Lady Fern’s horticultural experiments.
• Mrs Waverley: Tommy’s mother, who gently disapproves of her son’s fascination and of Lady Fern’s disruptive presence.
• Dr Percival Moss: The village physician and amateur naturalist, often drawn into Fern’s botanical quests.

Inciting Incident

Lady Fern’s arrival intrigues Tommy when he discovers that one fern in her window box is unlike any local species—it appears to respond to moonlight, gently unfurling and emitting a silver mist in the moonlit hours. Rumour spreads that she is attempting to grow specimens from a distant, exotic realm.

The Voyage Begins

Determined to learn more, Tommy sneaks into Lady Fern’s garden at night and discovers that the window-box fern is evolving rapidly: it unfurls tiny fronds shaped like stepping stones. Following these, Tommy—and later Dr Moss—are transported, along with Lady Fern’s beloved window box, to an otherworldly landscape where the natural world blurs botanical science and faerie enchantment.

This hidden realm, known as the Thicket of Silver Leaf, is a place where plants are sentient and landscapes respond to emotion. Lady Fern explains that she has travelled here before, having discovered the seed during an expedition in a remote jungle. Her current aim is to study, not exploit, and to return benign species to the human world.

Rising Tension

Their journey is not without peril. The trio encounters plants that mirror human feelings—roses that blush with anger, vines that whisper secrets, and ferns that shelter tiny glowing creatures. While Fern eagerly documents and collects samples, Tommy and Dr Moss struggle with the moral dilemma of removing specimens from their natural magical habitat.

A tension builds as Tommy, caught between loyalty to Fern and sympathy for the Thicket, realises that each sample taken diminishes the realm’s vitality. Lady Fern’s scientific detachment softens as she witnesses the delicate balance between exploration and ecological responsibility.

Climax

Witnessing the Thicket begin to fade—leaves losing lustre, light dimming—Tommy confronts Lady Fern. She recognises her error: in her desire for discovery, she overlooked the living essence of the realm. Together, they decide the only way to preserve both worlds is to return every botanical specimen they have taken.

Guided by an ancient silver fern that controls transit, the group retraces their steps and restores the window box full of samples. As the box passes back into Lady Fern’s cottage, the Thicket begins to revive, its magic winding back around them.

Resolution

Back in the village, life appears unchanged—though Lady Fern’s window box now sports familiar ferns only. The extraordinary voyage has instilled in her a renewed humility and a richer sense of responsibility toward nature.

Tommy, whose curiosity has been tempered by wisdom, commits himself to locally restoring the window garden under Lady Fern’s mentorship. Dr Moss draws on his experience to educate the villagers about plant conservation and respect for the natural world. Their collective efforts transform the village garden into a living tribute to their journey.

Themes & Style

• Science Meets Enchantment: A narrative that balances botanical curiosity with moral respect for ecosystems.
• Personal Growth: Characters evolve emotionally—Fern’s ambition becomes tempered, Tommy’s fascination becomes responsibility, and Moss’s scientific neutrality shifts toward stewardship.
• Eco-Ethics: The story subtly promotes ecological responsibility and an early environmental consciousness.
• Gentle Fantasy: Written in a modest, lyrical style, the tale maintains a quiet warmth suited to both children and thoughtful adult readers.

Conclusion

Lady Filmy Fern; or, The Voyage of the Window Box is an elegant, thoughtful fantasy that marries Edwardian pastoral charm with a soft moral fable. It explores the allure and danger of exploration, the power of empathy across worlds, and the enduring value of stewardship. Through nuanced character arcs, atmospheric prose, and a touch of enchantment, the novel delivers both wonder and a gentle call to care for living things—whether mundane or magical.

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