Book Review: Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret M. Sullivan

About:
Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers by Margaret M. Sullivan compiles covers of books written by Jane Austen since their first publication.

• 224 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594747253

 

My rating for Jane Austen Cover to Cover – 5

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Thoughts:
I love coffee table books and Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers by Margaret M. Sullivan is no exception. The book complies covers from over 200 years of publishing using large color photographs and snappy text.

While I might not be the greatest Jane Austen devotee (a Janeite as I learned), I do appreciate her talent and I do love history and books about books. This book could easily be categorized under “History” in any bookstore, the artwork is varied, chronological and the text explains the pictures in the historical context in which they are presented.

The book also talks about the materials used by printers, usually to save cost. At a time when only rich people could afford books, many of them were rebound to match the person’s library. Later, as printing became more affordable, publishers printed them en masse and covers became a major selling point.

Extra points for Ms. Sullivan who has included an international section, while not nearly as comprehensive as the sections featuring the European/American versions it’s a nice tribute and acknowledgment to the rest of the world and I’m sure would have made Ms. Austen proud.

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Give­away

• Give­away ends: Novem­ber 13, 2014

• US/Canada Ship­ping Addresses Only

• No PO Boxes

• Win­ners will have 24 hours to write back with their address, oth­er­wise an alter­nate win­ner will be picked

Congratulations: name as email

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account