Saturday, January 21, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday #3: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte





This wonderful book meme/blog hop
is hosted by Stephanie @


The purpose of this feature is to display a favorite book cover, with information, if available, about the cover illustrator, photographer,
and/or designer.

For all the participation 
rules, just click HERE.



This week, I'm showing some
cover love to:



Charlotte Bronte
Hardcover, 596 pages
Everyman's Library
(An Alfred A. Knopf imprint)
October 15, 1991
(first published 1847)



This is one of my several copies of this masterpiece.  The cover is one of my favorites, too.  The painting gracing it is simple, bold, and absolutely beautiful!  I love the composition, the way the folds of the dress are handled, with the light playing on them, gradually moving over the canvas to depict the shifting tones of the dress.   The black trim on the dress sleeves is echoed in the black hat sitting on her lap, whose brilliantly red feather picks up the tone of the decorated red box bearing the author's name.

Jane is totally absorbed in her book as she rides along in her coach, on her way to Thornfield Hall, no doubt.  She seems to be oblivious to her surroundings.   A beautiful country scene with rolling hills full of sunlight is partially visible through the coach windows.

The cover has an overall gold dot pattern that contributes to an old-world look, and is part of the signature design of this particular line of classics.  The result is definitely eye-catching, and I love it!


Here's the original painting,
a detail of which was used 
for this cover.
 


"The Traveling Companions"
(1862)



The jacket design is by
and 











8 comments:

  1. I am a big fan of the big gowns. What a piece of artwork for a wonderful classic. I am impressed how paintings can sometimes capture more than what a photograph seems to sometimes. Thank for the great post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, Steph! Yes, I love big gowns, too! At least, to look at, although at times I do wish I could wear one... This cover reminds me of the covers for Anna Godbersen's LUXE series.

    You're so right about paintings being able to capture more than a photograph at times! In this particular painting, every nuance of light on drapery is depicted. The jacket designers picked just the right image for this great novel!

    You're very welcome for the post, and thanks for commenting!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Big gowns always rock! Great choice for shelf candy! Oh and I also love the kitty you have on the side of your blog. [: Thanks for stopping by the blog!
    [:
    ShawnaLeAnn
    Dreaming In The Pages Enter My Giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Shawna! Yes, I LOVE big gowns!! I love the way the light plays on them, with their many folds overlapping each other.

    As for the kitty, yes, he's really adorable! I saw him on another blog, and just couldn't resist... I don't have any cats, either, which is really ironic, right? But I thought this little guy was SO cute, I just had to have him! I love to make him purr and meow, as well as play with the cursor! Lol.

    You're very welcome for my visit! Thanks for yours!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought of buying this beautiful edition of Jane Eyre, but I've heard that some of the Everyman's Library books have really small print and very thin paper. How is the print and paper in Jane Eyre (and Wuthering Heights if you happen to have it)? I looked all over for a sample page but I couldn't find one.

    I was going to buy the Penguin clothbound of Jane Eyre, but I'm not sure if the paper is acid free like Everyman's Library.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, Anna!

    Well, the paper in this edition is not thin, but the print is pretty small. But I don't mind, because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this particular cover!! And I'm also very happy about the paper being acid free. That's always a HUGE plus!!

    I would encourage you to purchase this edition. It's very much worth it, I think!

    As for "Wuthering Heights", I don't have the Everyman's edition, nor do I want to own it. I HATE that book!!! I hate it just as much as I love "Jane Eyre"!!!! (Read my review, and you'll see why!)

    Thanks for the comment!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  7. I recenty bought this edition of Jane Eyre for the beautiful cover, and because it is such a well made book. However, I have noticed that some, but not all, editions of Everyman's Library have a strong odor of either ink or adhesive (at least it's strong to me). And I particularly noticed it with Jane Eyre. Have you noticed this? I hope it goes away over time. I exchanged my copy, but the next was just the same. I've only seen one other post about this on Amazon, but it seems no one else has noticed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm...actually, no, I haven't noticed any peculiar odor with this particular book. And I have two of them, too! That's because I'm an obsessed bibliomaniac, and I decided to have an extra copy, in case the first one got damaged... Crazy, hun? Lol.

      What you're mentioning happened to me with a trade paperback of a psychology book I purchased on eBay about a year ago. I bought a second copy of that book (can't recall the title, and it's somewhere in my house -- I have more books than I can count!! Lol. Anyway, I ended up purchasing a second copy of this book, and would you believe the second copy, too, had the same smell? And I got it from a different seller! It was a rather unpleasant smell, too. I don't know what it was, but it was unpleasant. I put that book away somewhere, too...

      Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep this in mind! : )

      Delete

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