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Tuesday, December 6

Penguin Clothbound Classics: Jane Austen Collection

The six novels of Jane Austen from the Clothbound Penguin Classics with Coralie Bickford-Smith's covers are now available at this site. It would be great if Penguin Classics also published Lady Susan, the juvenilia, and Jane's incomplete books, such as Sanditon and The Watsons!



The patterns used by Coralie intrigued me. Some of them represent an analogy, but I cannot quite understand the meaning of the chairs on the Emma cover!



Does someone have an idea? What do you think that might be the meaning of the illustrations on each cover?
Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

5 comments:

Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm said...

Well the Mansfield Park cover would depict "a chain for William's cross".

The feathers on Persuasion might be quill with which Captain Wentworth wrote his famous letter to Anne.

The keys on Northanger Abbey probably to depict the key to the chest in Catherine's room at the Abbey which she turns first one way and then the other. Or it could just be to give the idea of locked rooms and secrets.

Not exactly sure about the others but the chairs on Emma reminds me of the 2009 adaptation where Emma decides to reupholster "Mr. Knightley's chair" while he's away visiting John & Isabella.

Jana said...

I agree with Miss Laurie about the chains on the cover of Mansfield Park. I was instantly reminded of how Fanny couldn't afford a chain and only used a ribbon for her necklace.

I'd be interested to know about the chairs on Emma.

Anonymous said...

HJ

I agree that the chains on the cover of Mansfield Park depict "a chain for William's cross", but they may also be a reference to the slave plantations from which the Bertrams derive their income.

Could the flowers on Sense and Sensibility be for saying “he loves me, he loves me not”? The chairs on Emma made me think at once of Mr Woodhouse, who seems never to leave his.

Jenny Allworthy said...

I think the chairs are in reference to what Emma says when Mr. Knightley goes to London. Something about that she has to recover the chair that Mr. Knightley always sits in. She didn't realize how shabby it was getting as he is always sitting in it. I'm trying to find the exact quote!

Martha said...

Oh, and the 'Proud as a peacock' for P & P is super... let's not forget S&S and the boquet of flowers that Col. Brandon gave!