Re-jacketed

 

    I mentioned in passing in this post that I wasn't keen on the current covers for my favourite Nancy Mitford novels. Happily for those sharing my opinion and looking to buy them now, the books have been re-jacketed to mark the 70th. anniversary of publication of The Pursuit of Love, so that novel along with Love in a Cold Climate and Don't Tell Alfred (among others) will be available from tomorrow in much smarter livery*.

    This page gives a flavour of NM's jackets through the ages.

    *Edited to add: designed by Luli Sanchez.

Comments

[Sue]

Much, much better.

[Virginia Jones]

Maybe it is a British thing but frankly I love the old covers and the new ones are really, really unattractive. The covers bear absolutely no relationship to the contents!

[Virginia Jones]

I should have mentioned that I'm American. The way I wrote it is a bit ambivalent.

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

What gorgeous graphics, but like Virginia I adore the older pictorial covers. So perfect for the style and era of the stories. I also like my Folio Society editions of Pursuit and Cold Climate -- they have full color wraparound images which is a bit unusual.

[Cornflower]

Just to clarify, I love the old covers (from the gallery), it's the more recent crop I wasn't so keen on - some were cartoonish, some bland.

[Virginia Jones]

Thanks for your (and mine) clarification. I have some of the old Nancy Mitford books (and some of the titles in paper back as well) which have wonderful covers.

Yes, the new covers are very colorful but they don't speak to the contents and they look too modern (and flowery) for Nancy Mitford who I've always thought was a fairly down to earth and unflowery person.

This probably is an American viewpoint. I've loved (and still cherish) all of her books.

Just FYI, I love your website and have particularly enjoyed looking at the knitting, cooking, and gardening projects. I live in the country on an island and we don't have gardens like yours, but our knitting group really loves looking at your projects. We should cook some of your tasty offerings!

[Cornflower]

Thank you for your kind words, Virginia; they are much appreciated!

[Spade & Dagger]

I'd be interested to know if the different covers significantly alter sales of these books. Like you, I find some covers infinitely more appealing than others. However individual taste is a fickle thing and I wonder if the cartoon style covers actually attract totally new readers or whether most copies are destined to be bought whatever the cover for example by those on literature courses or already committed to the 'genre'.