Featuring all six of Jane Austen’s major novels, encased in delicately woven, silk-and-cotton covers and reimagined with spectacular, original illustrations by Sarah Young, the latest limited edition from The Folio Society is guaranteed to bewitch readers, body and soul.
The Folio Society proudly presents The Complete Novels by Jane Austen—a landmark, six-volume limited edition of Austen’s major works, published to celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth. With a new foreword by historian and bestselling author Lucy Worsley and breathtaking color illustrations by acclaimed artist Sarah Young, this edition is the definitive tribute to Jane Austen’s literary legacy.
Delightful, witty, and enduringly relevant, Jane Austen is one of the most beloved novelists in the English language. Her novels Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion have enchanted readers for generations and inspired countless retellings. Austen
Every detail of this edition has been crafted with exceptional care. Each of the six novels will include a woodcut frontispiece, five linocut illustrations, and fifteen vignettes by Sarah Young, who brings a folkloric sensibility to Austen’s world; a monogram specially commissioned from prize-winning calligrapher Ruth Rowland; gilded edges; a ribbon maker; and first edition text, with introductions by Elena Ferrante, Sebastian Faulks, Lucy Worsley, Fay Weldon, Val McDermid, and Siri Hustvedt.
The novels will be covered in silk-and-cotton jacquard cloth specially woven by Stephen Walters—a luxury silk maker that weaves fabric for royal coronations and weddings, including the silk used in Princess Diana’s wedding dress. The six books will be housed in a gorgeous box designed by award-winning graphic designer Emily Benton.
The Complete Novels by Jane Austen is a true celebration of a master storyteller, and a treasure to be handed down from generation to generation.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
- Limited Box Set: 750 copies
- Six volumes: Sense and Sensibility (392 pages); Pride and Prejudice (400 pages); Mansfield Park (476 pages); Emma (496 pages); Northanger Abbey (260 pages); Persuasion (268 pages)
- Each volume includes a 2pp frontispiece, five illustrations, and fifteen vignettes spread throughout the text, illustrated in full color by Sarah Young
- Full bound in jacquard silk-and-cotton cloth woven by Stephen Walters
- Printed 4/4 throughout on Munken Pure paper
- Gilded on 3 edges
- Presented in a box designed by Emily Benton, covered in blocked cloth
- Monograms commissioned from Ruth Roland
- Limitation tip printed letterpress
- Ribbon marker
ABOUT JANE AUSTEN
Jane Austen was born in Hampshire in 1775, the seventh child and youngest daughter of George Austen, rector of Deane and Steventon, and his wife, Cassandra. She began writing poems, plays and stories for her family from a young age, and her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, was released by Thomas Egerton to sell-out acclaim in 1811. Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815) followed, and these were the last of Austen’s works to come out in her lifetime. Her novels, including the posthumously published Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion (1818), are today considered amongst the finest in the English language. She died at Winchester in 1817.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Sarah Young is a painter, printmaker, and illustrator. She is also the maker and originator, with Jon Tutton, of a traveling puppet theater. Her work is often narrative, drawing on folktales, myths, and fairytales, and has been shown in galleries throughout the UK, from the Shetland Islands to Cornwall. As an illustrator, she has most recently worked on book covers for Stephen Fry’s Mythos series, Pat Barker’s Trojan War novels, and the complete works of Shakespeare for Oxford University Press. Tutton and Young organize contemporary art and craft events, including Made London and the Brighton Art Fair, and run Atelier Beside the Sea—an art gallery, shop, and creative teaching space in Brighton.
ABOUT THE INTRODUCER
Lucy Worsley OBE is a historian, author and television presenter. After studying history at New College, Oxford, she served for 21 years as Chief Curator at the charity Historic Royal Palaces, based at Hampton Court Palace. She won a BAFTA in 2018 for the BBC documentary Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley. She is the author of Jane Austen at Home, Queen Victoria, and the Sunday Times #1 bestselling book Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman. Lucy is also the author of a historical novel for younger readers, The Austen Girls.
ABOUT THE FOLIO SOCIETY
Folio is an employee-owned, independent publisher that has thrilled and delighted a band of dedicated readers across the globe since 1947. Today, from our workspace in the heart of London’s vibrant Shad Thames, Folio continues that tradition by crafting exquisite, illustrated books. Folio publishes many of the greatest names in publishing, in editions which reflect an extraordinary commitment to the craft of book-making and design. Folio’s award-winning books include George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, Madeline Miller’s A Song of Achilles, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle. Proudly independent for over 75 years, in 2021 The Folio Society became an Employee Ownership Trust. Folio’s team of editors, designers and artisans will do whatever it takes to give each title everything it deserves, from outstanding intellectual firepower to extraordinary craftsmanship.
Available exclusively from Folio through www.foliosociety.com.
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