The UK paper The Guardian talks about the Bronte classic, Wuthering Heights getting a new cover partially inspired by Twilight and the book being one that Bella is reading.
“Novels getting a makeover because of a movie or television adaptation is nothing new … the new edition of Wuthering Heights, from Harper, borrows the contemporary Gothic design style of Meyer’s successful series. The American edition, coming in October, re-presents the Brontë novel with a cover comprising a black background and blood-red rose, while the UK edition opts for a tender white bloom, and the very vampiric cover blurb: Love Never Dies.
Should we be appalled, or approving of this latest move?”
See the full Guardian Interview here.
As a side note, initially back in 2005 Twilight didn’t sell well in the UK. It didn’t start to catch on until Eclipse when the UK covers matched the American styles and the books were rebranded. The original UK cover is pictured to the left.
So what do you think, how much does a cover help a novel be it a new one or a classic?
I am one of those people that judges a book by it’s cover. The cover is the first impression, and then after I approve I search the back to see what it’s about.
According to the UK cover, I can see why it did not sell well. I would not have bought it.
The first UK cover was a pretty poor effort but I now mainly buy ebooks for my Sony Reader so covers do not sway my choice at all.
I could care less about the cover. It’s usually the title or the author’s name that makes me research the book.
It’s a cool cover (the old UK one) but totally inappropriate. I think the current covers work because they’re so striking. Blood red on black – it’s hard to walk by. I wouldn’t buy a book JUST because of its cover just like I wouldn’t by a wine for its label (oh, okay, I have done that before) but I’m a visual person and it would entice me to learn more.
If I don’t know anything about the book or author, I do tend to focus on the cover. The girl on the cover looks like a starving child. I wouldn’t have taken a second glance.
I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, because the cover is what makes me want to pick up a book in the first place. If the cover isn’t beautiful, there’s a lesser chance of me choosing it.
The glossy, black cover of Twilight is what prompt me to pick it up in the library, where there are hundreds of other book.
To me, the cover is very important, unless I’ve done research beforehand or is interested in its plot.
While I don’t totally judge a book by it’s cover it does help to draw me in, especially if I don’t know the author or the book/series, like Julie said.
The UK version of Twilight would make me not even take a second look because it looks like a child’s book. Yes I know technically it is a teen book or whatever but the US versions look so much better and help to draw in people who know nothing about the series.
Looks may not be everything but it is a big part.
The cover has to fit the book and that cover does not. If ours looked like that it probably would have taken longer for me to notice it and wonder what it was about.
Even though we shouldn’t judge books by their covers sometimes it just happens. If I was quickly scanning the aisles in Barnes and Noble and saw the original UK cover I probably would not stop to pick it up. The dramatic colors of the U.S. cover (and now other places have that cover too) catch your eye, and kind of lure you in like “what words are inside this book that it needs such ‘strong’ colors on the outside to force you to give it a chance?” That sounds kind of lame, but you guys get me XD.
i worked at Barnes and Noble for 3 years and i can tell you, the cover of a book matters – i would never advise you to judge a book by it’s cover alone because you’re obviously making a snap judgement that may or may not be correct – but when you’re in a book store and you’re browsing, your attention must be caught and held. it’s not that certain styles will work and others will not it’s just that a book cover is part of the book. like someone said above it’s like your first impression with a new person. and i’m sorry but the twilight cover the uk originally had wouldn’t have even have made me stop for a second (there are a million novels in the teen section that look just like that)
The UK book cover was the first sort of Twilight cover we had in Australia when it came out, and i remember very distinctly picking up it up in the school library, looking at the cover and the blurb and putting it back down repeatedly all because it looked boring (I was very very wrong with that!)
So I think the book cover plays a HUGE part in a readers choice.
The UK = crap.
The Original black, white and red cover = FANTASTIC.
I would not have read Twilight if that was the cover. I’m sorry but that’s just me and I do judge a book by it’s cover and I shouldn’t because the best books I’ve read have had the best and worst.
But that is a bad cover. I’M HAPPY WITH THE THE WAY THE TWILIGHT BOOKS LOOK.
AND AGAIN the Twilight books have a distinct look about them were everytime you go somewhere and see one your like SHE’S READING TWILIGHT.
This is soo true about the covers of Twilight, my soon to be 6 year old daughter can pick anything Twilight out of anywhere just b/c of the covers.
i love the twilight covers! and if i saw the UK one in stores or something i probally wouldnt of picked it up to read it. i know back in lk 5th grade my teacher was reading twilight and i was lk why is there jst an apple on the cover that seems lk a stupid book…HAHA. wow was i wrong. brings us back to, dnt judge a book by its cover(:
covers can say too much and give the wrong message – this cover looks like a school yard drama. The black and red covers are enticing without giving much away.
Also, as much as I love Twilight I’m really uncomfortable about classics covers that are ‘twilighted’… if they touch any Austen I’ll be really upset.
this cover is really cool!! I love the art work!!!
Cover’s don’t usually matter to me. When I read Twilight in the shop for the first time I think it was THIS cover. I still see it sometimes if I look really hard.
I don’t really see the connection with this cover and the story. Where as with it’s proper cover I can see it. The connection.
funnily enough, it was this cover that made me pick up the book in the first place, because it reminded me of a book I had read and enjoyed a few years before
Actually, when I first discovered Twilight it was the UK version that I read. Admittedly, I probably would never have picked it off the shelf without my best friend’s killer recommendation… and the girl on this cover does continue to baffle me–is it supposed to be Bella or Alice?!
The cover definitely matters. I discovered Twilight because I was walking through the mall bookstore at lunch (back in 2007, before the hype) and thought the cover was interesting so i took a picture of it with my cell phone. After checking Amazon to see if anyone liked it I decided to buy it. If the cover never grabbed my attention I never would have known about it.
i have the original uk cover, it’s what first came out in australia, and by the cover i would not have picked it up, but a friend from the uk told me to read it so i was like what the hell, but my friends thought it was funny, they were like oh gemma’s reading the weird book again
the funniest thing was they were stuck on the fact that the girl on the cover had short hair but in the book bella has long hair, strange
i loved the newmoon uk cover
but yeah suposably becuase of the weird covers it just didn’t go like it did in US
same with auz
Am I the only one that finds this cover to be extremely creepy??
You couldn’t have paid me to read Twilight with the UK cover!
yes! totally!!! it has nothing to do with the story, and it looks like she´s going to faint and die right on your hands just by holding the book…
It totally creeps me out too.
I would have never bought the UK book. Would have took one look and said “Nope. Definitely not interested, doesn’t look good.”
The worst thing is, if the cover designer does not actually read the book – I hate when there is a person on a cover, but you have no idea who the hell is he/she, because he/she doesn’t look like any person that you read about 8/
UK cover: this can’t be Bella (short hair), so – Alice?. Why Alice on a cover?..
Covers are just a form of advertising, so of course it’s important, unless you have previous knowledge of a book it’s the first thing that catches your eye.
That cover is disgraceful, the new covers are clean and striking
BTW i dont think she has short hair, look at the darkness around her face it’s as if that’s the shape of her hair swept back – i think its bella
it is bella, but her hair isn’t swept back
it’s juts plan old weird
i remeber studying my copy a million times trying to mkae sure, and it’s the same with the newmoon one
and yes it’s creepy
but at the same time if i feel like reading twilight in peace and not being naged by my friends i read this version cause no one recognises it
it’s a nice style, but to be honest i would have just dismissed it as another crappy young teen book. the current twilight cover is simple, bold and says so much. and it makes you want to find out more about the book
I don’t like admitting that covers help. But I prefer a book that seems to have some kind of symbolism to it or is very simple. I would call the org. UK cover to much and it does look like most YA books out there.
The org. Twilight cover it full of symbolism and simple beauty. I love telling people that I could probably write a 10-15 page paper on the symbolism of the Twilight Saga covers.
I think it matters sometimes. I would have walked right past that book in the store, simply because of the lockers, it screams teen. Then there’s the sickly thin and deformed girl on the front, which I agree…is that supposed to be Bella or Alice? Regardless, it’s an insult to both of their characters. lol The apple cover is ageless, and that’s why I think the book has reached so many older readers.
I live in the UK and agree that this cover is rubbish! If they put the cover that is on Twilight now I think it would of sold so much better!
And the girl on the front of this one kinda creeps me out a little and from looking at the cover you would never of guessed that a hot/sweet vampire named Edward was awaiting for you inside .LOL.
The girl on the cover looks like a character from “The nightmare before Christmas”! Ha! The UK cover is terrible.
haha tht is exactly what i was thinking!!
I agree that covers are important to draw you in and let you know something about the tone of a book. As for the Twilight covers, I pride myself in being able to spot the books in public-even without the glossy dust cover, just the size of the novel is a give away! For marketing, that has GOT to be significant.
I, personally, avoid books with the cover to match the movie…I HATE THAT! If I can, I get the book with the original cover, especially in SM’s case because she had so much to do with choosing the covers (yes, I know…except New Moon). AS for the cover affecting whether I buy a book, if I am familiar with the book already, it doesn’t. If I am browsing for something new to read, the cover might catch my attention and cause me to pick it up to see what it is about. However, if the description on the back or the flap isn’t interesting, I won’t buy the book no matter how interesting or “pretty” the cover art is.
i bought wurthering heights and find it very difficult to read. The jargain is so old english that i could hardly get past the first few chapeter. the story sound interesting enough so i will try again
when i loook at books i just look at the cover and whichever cover (and title) catches my eye is the one that i’ll pick up and look at and that cover definately wouldnt have made me want to pick it up and see what its about
Hi, I’m from Croatia and I just wanted to say that this picture above is on our hard cover Twilight book but on the back side. The front side is normal (the hands holding the apple). I personally don’t see the connection between what Twilight is about and the picture (the little goth girl with school lockers behind her).
The “Wuthering Heights” version I have is from the MTV movie several years back, so it has a picture of the cast from the movie. I’ll admit that makes it more appealing.
I saw that original UK cover in my library just the other day and I was struck by how unappealing it looks. I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t judge a book by its cover but I find that I am glad my set has the black covers. It can make a difference to the success of a book – sadly, appearance is key these days.
I admit it, most of the time, I do judge a book by its cover. I would never have given a second glance at the cover with the goth girl(which makes no sense at all). It’s always the cover of a book that attracts me first.
wow I just bought that the other day! First glance its like ew who’s going all twilight look now? .. Oh wait what Bronte? And then I noticed the little red stamp ‘Bella & Edwards Favourie Book’ and then had to buy!
Yeah I guess I do cover judge It took my friend ages to finally convince me to read twilight it all seemed very dark like and words vampire and werewolve thrown around its like um no.. But yeah no more book cover judging I say! I think I did it with Harry Potter too.. Now both my faveourite book series..
Chalk up another one that gets drawn to pick up a book by it’s cover. I wouldn’t have bought twilight either by that cover. It looks like an anorexic school girl.
i think that a cover does change the way people might look at the book and how appealing it may be to them. i think that what´s important here is to note the new shift in reading toward the classics. people are reading different titles thanks to twilight; the book cover is only a side note.
It’s sort of “harry potter-ish” to me in a way. I was given the book from my niece and it was coverless, read new moon from her; coverless also, but did see the twilight cover in the new moon book but it was in black and white. When I saw them in person I loved them!! Of course I bought all 3 books for myself and waited in line at midnight for breaking dawn!!
What is represented on the cover is important in representing the entire package. I would have kept on walking by if I didn’t know more about the story.
Is anyone else disturbed by her pointy, Madonna-esque “girls”?
Honestly, that cover is scary. Is it alluding to the fact that Bella wanted to be invisible when she started at Forks? ‘Cause she’s kind of fading away there.
Bah. Whatever. I like the apple cover better.
I do judge a book by its cover, as much as I try not to, and I think it’s wonderful that publishers are taking note of what is inspiring the public, especially young adults, to pick up a book these days. If a shiny new cover on Wuthering Heights means that more people will pick it up and enjoy the writing, then more power to the publishers! It might make me pick up a classic I’ve yet to try one of these days.
As a side note, I think the UK cover is horrible, and I’m relieved that Twilight was published with such a beautiful cover here in the US.
I was JUST at the bookstore and saw the new cover for Wuthering Heights. I love it! I was drawn to it, before I read what the book was. I think this is a great way to get teenagers interested in the classics. They should re-brand ‘em all! Great idea!
I saw these editions of Wuthering heights in about March; they even say “Bella and Edward’s favourite book” on the front. I was tempted to get one, only to laugh at it. It’s not Edward’s favourite book…
I must say though, the cover was very nive and twilight-esque. It was also in the Number 6 slot at Waterstones (major UK bookstore), something that I hadn’t seen from a classic in years.
Rebecca.
They had a big display at WHSmiths (I’m offshore England)today and I have to say it was a pretty white crocus on a black background below the familiar Twilight series covers that caught my attention and made me look again to see what it was. I think it’s gorgeous, so definitely, a cover has to draw your attention unless it’s something you’ve been recommended and are looking for anyhow.
actually the uk version is the reason i bought twilight in the first place!
V. glad i did now because with it being autographed i’d say its fairly unique