Judging A Book By Its Cover: Jane Austen Collection

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! This is my weekly post where I choose to appreciate a book for its cover art or overall design – to me, a well-designed book is like a piece of art. We all judge book covers to some extent. Personally, it’s usually a title/cover combination that pulls me in when I’m browsing in a bookstore. I can’t say that I’ve ever decided against a book with terrible cover art if I liked the sound of the plot, but I have purchased special editions of books, or multiple editions of books based on their cover art. If book covers didn’t matter, publishers (looking at you, Penguin!) wouldn’t put out so many beautiful editions!

To kick off a new year of Judging posts, I wanted to start with one of my favorite sets of books, which is my Jane Austen clothbound editions from Penguin. I forget where I first saw these editions (probably online), but I knew I needed the complete Austen set, not just a copy of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, if I could afford it, I would buy every single Penguin clothbound classic in existence because they’re all gorgeous. In case you’re interested, here are the ISBNs:

Pride and Prejudice – 9780141040349
Sense and Sensibility – 9780141040370
Emma – 9780141192475
Persuasion – 9780141197692
Mansfield Park – 9780141197708
Northanger Abbey – 9780141197715