Choose the cover

    We often talk about book cover design, and the impact of a striking or beautiful jacket is not to be underestimated. Elizabeth Gilbert has a new novel coming out in October and as far as her US edition is concerned, she and her publishers are at an impasse as to the cover so they have put the three options on show and asked readers to vote for the one they prefer. You can see the designs and register your preference here (I think voting closes today); meanwhile, here's the UK cover, and this is what the book is about:

    "5th January 1800. At the beginning of a new century, Alma Whittaker is born into a perfect Philadelphia winter. Her father, Henry Whittaker, is a bold and charismatic botanical explorer whose vast fortune belies his lowly beginnings as a vagrant in Kew Gardens. Alma’s mother, a strict woman from an esteemed Dutch family, is conversant in five living languages (and two dead ones) and her knowledge of botany is equal to any man’s. An independent girl with a thirst for knowledge, it is not long before Alma comes into her own within the world of plants and science.

    As Alma’s careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction – into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose is a Utopian artist. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing – a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all of life.

    The Signature of All Things is a big novel, about a big century. It soars across the globe from London, to Peru, to Philadelphia, to Tahiti, to Amsterdam. Peopled with extraordinary characters – missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses and the quite mad – most of all it has an unforgettable heroine in Alma Whittaker, a woman of the Enlightened Age who stands defiantly on the cusp of the modern."

Comments

[Dark Puss]

Two of the covers I hate and the other one is rather twee so I'm not voting for any of them. I hope the book is considerably superior to the packaging.

[Mary (across the Pond)]

I don't particularly like any of them either...though not quite hating them as much as Dark Puss. However, I do agree with his 'twee' statement on the last one.

[Cornflower]

What interests me is that there is an obvious difference in style between US and UK jackets generally - as this example shows.

[Dark Puss]

We are very different peoples in very different countries.

[Mary (over the Pond)]

True, but then I grew up in the UK with a British mother and a U.S. father. Neither fish nor fowl (apologies to John Heywood).

[Fan of the Cat]

Off topic and personal message for the Cat - sorry for this, Mrs. Cornflower.

Hello, Dark Puss, I was trying to write a comment on your weblog but the comment page was clear and I only got the following message:

Sorry, the browser you are using is not currently supported. Disqus actively supports the following browsers:
Firefox
Chrome
Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10 (troubleshoot)
Safari

Did you change something on your weblog or is it my own laptop? What can I do?
Thank you for your answer. I am missing my favourite Cat now, happy Easter week end to you anyway!
Your fan forever

[Dark Puss]

Disqus changed (not my doing!) very recently. I'll see if I have any problems myself, or any answers.

Very best wishes, Morgana's Cat

[Dark Puss]

It works with Firefox V11, latest Chrome and IE8. However IE8 seemed to want to go into "compatability" mode with Tumblr on first page access and at that point the new Disqus won't work and you'll get to see the little warning message box.

Hope that helps you dear "fan".