Swanns Way (Penguin Drop Caps)

It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectible and hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. In a design collaboration between Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the series features unique cover art by Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to Wes Anderson's recent film Moonrise Kingdom to Penguin's own bestsellers Committed and Rules of Civility. With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische's hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, the Penguin Drop Caps series debuted with an 'A' for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a 'B' for Charlotte Brönte's Jane Eyre, and a 'C' for Willa Cather's My Ántonia. It continues with more perennial classics, perfect to give as elegant gifts or to showcase on your own shelves.eview



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

About the Author



Marcel Proust (1871–1922) spent his twenties as a conspicuous society figure, but after 1907 he rarely emerged from a cork-lined room in his apartment where he devoted himself to the composition of In Search of Lost Time.



Lydia Davis has been a MacArthur Fellow, National Book Award finalist, and Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Davis was awarded the 2003 French-American Foundation Translation Prize for her translation of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way. She lives near Albany, New York.



Jessica Hische is a letterer, an illustrator, a typographer, and a web designer. She currently serves on the Type Directors Club board of directors, has been named a Forbes Magazine "30 under 30" in art and design as well as an ADC Young Gun and one of Print Magazine’s "New Visual Artists". She has designed for Wes Anderson, McSweeney's, Tiffany & Co, Penguin Books, and many other clients. She resides primarily in San Francisco, occasionally in Brooklyn.



Series: Penguin Drop Caps

Hardcover: 496 pages

Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (November 5, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0143124692

ISBN-13: 978-0143124696

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 7.8 inches