The Folio Society prides itself on the quality of the books it produces.
Just as important are the covers and illustrations it commissions, which often add a new and unexpected twist to the story inside.
They’ve just brought out an edition of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy, and I think they made a mistake.
Because Peake was, as well as a great author, a superb illustrator, not only of his own books, but many others.
His drawings summon up the mysterious world of Gormenghast and its eccentric inhabitants in a way that seems to me to be unbeatable.
Of course, the Folio Society edition will be elegantly produced. And at $1,150 for the limited edition, it’s perhaps only for Peake collectors.
But I’ll stick to my copies with Peake’s drawings.
