Middlemarch

Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & Books

Winner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design Award

Praise for Penguin Drop Caps:

”[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering.”
—Fast Company

“Vibrant, minimalist new typographic covers…. Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections.”
—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

“The Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive, even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they’re beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische’s fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen’s A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte’s B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf.”
—Rex Bonomelli, The New York Times

“Drool-inducing.”
—Flavorwire

“Classic reads in stunning covers—your book club will be dying.”
—Redbook

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans Cross)

George Eliot was born on November 22, 1819, at Arbury Farm in Warwickshire, England. After receiving an ordinary education, she pursued independent study to expand her intellectual horizons. In 1841, she moved to Coventry, where exposure to “skeptics and rationalists” led her away from strong religious beliefs and ultimately to a break with the church. Her father’s death in 1849 left her with a small inheritance and the freedom to focus on her literary ambitions.

In 1851, Eliot became the assistant editor of the Westminster Review, a position she held for three years. In 1854, she met George Henry Lewes, an editor who became her lifelong companion and advisor for the next twenty-four years.

Her literary career began with Scenes of a Clerical Life (1858), followed by a series of acclaimed novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), and Middlemarch (1872).

The death of Lewes in 1878 left Eliot deeply saddened. On May 6, 1880, she married John Cross, a long-time friend. She passed away in London on December 22 of that year, shortly after a brief illness.

Jessica Hische

Jessica Hische is a letterer, illustrator, typographer, and web designer. She has been recognized as a “30 under 30” in art and design by Forbes Magazine, an ADC Young Gun, and one of Print Magazine’s “New Visual Artists.” Hische has created designs for notable clients such as Wes Anderson, McSweeney’s, Tiffany & Co., and Penguin Books, among many others. She primarily lives in San Francisco, with occasional stays in Brooklyn.

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