The Way We Read Victorian Fiction Now:

Penguin and Neo-Victorian Book Design

Abstract

Since the publication of the Red Classics in 2006, Penguin’s approach to Classics’ publishing has been particularly innovative. Series such as the Clothbound Classics, Books for Boys and Victorian Bestsellers have departed from the traditional image of the Penguin Classics. In this article, I consider further the marketing and physical appearance of these new series, analysing the rationale behind the selection of texts, the wording of publicity copy, and the packaging and cover-art of the individual volumes. My main claim is that these texts can be read as neo-Victorian products. I demonstrate that they recall key features of Victorian book design, but do so self-consciously, mixing in hybrid, modern elements. This repackaging of Victorian novels is, I argue, significantly shaped by both the increasing visibility of neo-Victorian fiction, and by changing attitudes to Victorianism and Victorian print culture evident since the late twentieth century.