The Folio Book of Short Novels — The Folio Society | 1995 | First Edition | Illustrated by Sara Fanelli | in Slipcase

A very good first edition of The Folio Book of Short Novels, published by the Folio Society in 1995 — an expertly curated anthology bringing together five of the greatest short novels in world literature, in a production as visually inventive as its contents are distinguished.

The selection is exceptional: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, that most unsettling of ghost stories, in which ambiguity itself becomes the source of horror; The Call of the Wild by Jack London, one of the defining adventure narratives of American literature; Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, a novella of fatal obsession and artistic dissolution set against the glittering, decaying backdrop of La Serenissima; The Virgin and the Gipsy by D.H. Lawrence, a late, luminous work of suppressed passion and breaking convention; and Gigi by Colette, that most Parisian of tales, sparkling with wit and an unsentimental understanding of desire. Together they form a collection of remarkable range and depth — five masterworks, five distinct worlds, five of the most compelling prose voices of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Folio Society's production matches the quality of the contents with a design of considerable originality. The silver illustrated boards carry Sara Fanelli's playful, instantly recognisable graphic design — miniature Eiffel Tower for Gigi, a Venetian gondola for Death in Venice, the spectral elongated figure for The Turn of the Screw — each story given its own visual shorthand with wit and economy. Fanelli's illustrations continue throughout the text. Dark blue endpapers. 408 pp.

Housed in the original red card slipcase.

Condition note: The book is in very good condition internally — pages clean, binding firm and tight, text fresh throughout. The silver boards have some light surface marks and grazing, as noted and visible in photographs. The red slipcase is in good condition with minor shelf wear. Priced honestly to reflect the board condition.