Books in stitches

    Penguin have just released their Penguin By Hand collection, six well-loved novels by women, all with 'handcrafted' jackets. Above is Kathryn Stockett's The Help with a beautiful quilt for a jacket; it's by Brenda Riddle, and she talks about the making of it here.

    You can see the other covers in the series on the National Book Tokens website where you can enter a draw to win the set.

    At the excellent Readers and Writers Shop at the New York Public Library this summer I bought the Penguin Threads edition of The Secret Garden

with its deckle edge and embroidered cover by Jillian Tamaki. I was reading Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina's biography Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Unexpected Life of the Author of "The Secret Garden" at the time, and there are a number of New York connections as Mrs. Burnett had a home there and there is in Central Park a memorial fountain.

    Just by the way, I noted a couple of passages from the biography:

"Throughout her life, Frances was known for five things: her unrelenting literary production, which often drove her to illness; her love of beautiful clothes and domestic surroundings; her inability to remain settles in any one place, or even in one country; her wonderful gardens; and in the second half of her life, compassion and enormous generosity to friends and strangers alike."

"With the best that was in me I have tried to write more happiness into the world."

    Would that every writer could say the same.

Comments

[Cosy Books]

Now you've done it...I will be obsessing about The Secret Garden for the next few days...at the very least! They're beautiful, Karen.

[Caroline]

Thanks so much for writing about these Cornflower - they are stunning!

[Fran H-B]

".....these editions are almost too beautiful to shelf." I do agree!

[Martina]

I'm with Cosy! Just when you thought passion for The Secret Garden was settled!

[Nicola]

I've not read The Secret Garden for years! That beautiful edition is going on my - is it too early to say - Christmas list!

[Danielle]

Aren't those covers lovely? The same artist designed some reissues of Jane Austen novels, and even though I already own it in another edition, I bought Emma anyway. The Secret Garden is a lovely story.