Thursday, January 12, 2017

Sneak preview: March 2017 Furrowed Middlebrow covers & intros

I'm excited to be able to share with you now the official covers for the eleven new Furrowed Middlebrow titles being released by Dean Street Press in early March (if you missed the announcement just before Christmas, see here). I might be biased, but I think they've turned out brilliantly and I can't wait to see the finished products.

And before you scroll down and spoil the surprise, I'm delighted to be able to note that one of the covers is a particular standout thanks to the generous permission of one of the U.K.'s foremost and most beloved illustrators, none other than Shirley Hughes herself, who has allowed us to use her absolutely marvelous original jacket art from Elizabeth Fair's The Native Heath. Several of the original Fair jackets were enticing, but none so much so as this one, and I'm really thrilled that we were able to re-use it. We also got a warm feeling from the fact that Hughes and her daughter gave us positive feedback on our cover designs in general. 

In addition to fetishizing the covers, though, I wanted to mention the newly-commissioned introductions these books will include.

Some of you are already familiar with Elizabeth Crawford thanks to the wonderful intros she provided for our Winifred Peck and Rachel Ferguson titles last time around. I'm delighted to say she will also be providing an introduction to the six Elizabeth Fair reprints we'll be releasing in March. What's more, I understand Elizabeth has now made contact with a relative of this elusive author, so I'm very eager to see what information she is unearthing even as I write this!

For the Monica Tindall novel, we have an introduction by no lesser literary figure than Gillian Tindall, the author's niece and a spectacularly acclaimed author herself, while for Ursula Orange we have an intro from businesswoman and television producer and director Stacy Marking. I've had a glimpse of these two intros already, and quite apart from my excitement at the reprinting of the novels themselves, I'm very happy to have some fascinating new information about the authors' lives and careers.

And finally, for our edition of E. Nesbit's The Lark, we have a new introduction by author and historian Charlotte Moore, herself a Nesbit fan. Moore, many of you will already know, is the author of the acclaimed memoir George and Sam, about her family life with two autistic sons, as well as Hancox: A House and a Family, about her Tudor family home in Sussex.

As I mentioned before, the books will be released in early March. They should start becoming available for pre-order on Amazon and other sites in the next few weeks.

But now, without further ado, the covers!






















29 comments:

  1. Congratulations - they look so lovely - ordered a Winnifred Peck yesterday.

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  2. These look lovely.

    How do we wait until Spring to read them?!

    Brie

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    1. I know, it's hard for me to wait to have you read them!

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  3. Wonderful! Really looking forward to these.

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  4. As I was scrolling down, I spontaneously said aloud "OH, LOVELY!"
    Oh, and Scott, they really are.
    Many congratulations, and I am looking forward to spending some money! HA!
    Tom

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  5. The covers are just lovely, Scott, congratualtions. I'm so looking forward to reading some of these. Elizabeth Fair will be a new author to me & I'm especially tempted by those. Can't wait!

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    1. Oh, Lyn, Scott got me on to Elizabeth Fair - oh, a sad new addiction! But so satisfying.
      Tom

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    2. I'm quite ready for a new addiction!

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    3. Always happy to encourage bookish addictions!

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  6. Oh dear, I want them ALL! Bother new clothes, restaurant meals, days out - there is after all nothing more happy-making than holding and reading a charming and beautifully produced book.

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    1. And there's no need to wear new clothes to stay at home reading a book, Tanya!

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  7. They all look gorgeous! How long do we have to wait? Ugh!

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  8. Gorgeous covers how will I choose? It's going to make my wish list awfully long

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  9. May I ask a question, how does one go about re-publishing out of print books? Would love to know the ins and outs of the path taken.

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    1. I'm afraid it's a bit too involved to go into here, but it basically all starts with tracing the heirs or estate and getting permission from them.

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  10. Beautiful! I want every single one and I haven't got all the previous ones yet...

    I got The Fledgling and A Harp in Lowndes Square for Christmas so my wish list will continue to grow.

    Well done, Scott!

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  11. I bought an original Elizabeth Fair on eBay following your last article and the cover design is an absolute delight, but those...those are just as lovely. I will be buying them all. Thank you for these, you're a legend!

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    1. Thanks, Violet! Yes, the original Fair covers were really wonderful. Very happy we were able to use one of them.

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  12. Lovely cover ills - especially the ones that look like Ravilious and Bawden.
    Just back from spending a few days at The Flat - still waiting for curtains but it's all coming together nicely. Next time you're over you must come and see it!

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    1. Thanks, Ruth! Sounds like The Flat is getting just about ready for our first flat-sitting jaunt... :-)

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  13. Oh Scott, these are lovely.

    Now tell me.... I noticed in the last set of books the light was on in a different window pane for each book. Same again now, only there are sometimes two lights on.

    A pattern? Or just some random lighting?

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    1. The lights actually reflect the number of each book in the Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. These are numbers 10-20. A subtle touch that Rupert came up with. You're the first person to comment on it, Susan!

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  14. These are so lovely and very tempting, can't wait to order some! I'm particularly keen on the Nesbit, as I have heard good things about it and have it in a dispiriting "box set" of her ebooks - would far rather have a lovely real book. Good luck with publication day!

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    1. Thanks, Liz! I've just read the new intro to the Nesbit book--a real treat.

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  15. I have a number of these on pre-order. thanks.

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