Monday, February 16, 2015

Jane Austen Cover to Cover

Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers. Margaret C. Sullivan. Quirk Publishing. 224 pages. [Source: Library]

Love Jane Austen? You should read Jane Austen Cover to Cover. The book is about Jane Austen, her books, her book covers--a history of their many publications over the past two hundred years. For the most part, the book follows a certain chronology providing readers with context. (For example, covers with teens or tweens in mind differ from covers with adult collectors in mind differ from covers with scholars in mind.) Each edition has a spread. And it's just a joy to see all the covers. There are great covers. There are horrible covers. I liked it best when Sullivan talked about the horrible covers!!! I laughed out loud so many times reading this book!!! [See also: "5 Ridiculous Jane Austen Book Covers, Explained in Hilarious "Deleted Scenes."

I definitely recommend this one. I read it all in one sitting. It was just so satisfying--a real delight. If you want a preview of sorts, read this Guardian piece. And for more book cover fun--specifically P&P--this NY Times slide show is fun too.

You should read Jane Austen Cover to Cover
  • If you are a fan of Jane Austen
  • If you have an interest or fascination with book covers
  • If you have an interest in publishing, book design, illustration, or book collecting
  • If you like to laugh
© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like the kind of book you could keep out on the coffee table and browse sections or chapters. And I really like the cover!

Joy Weese Moll (@joyweesemoll) said...

This sounds like a fun quick book for a lazy weekend!