Don’t Judge a Cover by Its Woolf: Book Cover Images and the Marketing of Virginia Woolf’s Work

Authors

Jennie-Rebecca Falcetta, Sacred Heart University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

We all judge books by their covers. Browsing in unfamiliar stacks, we are attracted to a book by a name, title, aesthetic, or familiar image on its cover. When we encounter books we already know or have read, however, how do we react to various covers? When we approach the work of, say, Virginia Woolf, how does a new cover influence our experience of a familiar text? How might the text determine our interpretations of the covers? Will readers new to Woolf select one available edition over another on the strength of images, typography, or other presentational elements on the book’s front? Simply put, does the cover really matter?

Comments

ISBN: 9780230114791

DOI

10.1057/9780230114791_16

Recommended Citation

Falcetta, J-R. (2010). Don’t judge a cover by its Woolf: Book cover images and the marketing of Virginia Woolf’s work. In J. Dubino (Ed.), Virginia Woolf and the literary marketplace (pp. 237-252). Palgrave Macmillan. Doi: 10.1057/9780230114791_16