I know we’re told never to judge a book, by its cover but it’s kind of hard not to when you’re facing this newly released ‘Gothic Red’ range of classic Gothic horror novels from Penguin. Designed by artist Coralie Bickford-Smith, the artwork on these covers is simply stunning. I love them! My absolute favourite has to be The Spook House cover (the knives are apparently just plain old Ikea knives 
)), followed closely by The Virgin of the Seven Daggers.
I haven’t read many classic Gothic horrors in my time so if ever there was an excuse to start a new reading challenge, then this would be it. Just a shame it would cost almost £80 for the entire set. Oh well there’s always Christmas )
All of the information on these books, plus a video interview with the cover artist Coralie Bickford-Smith, can be found on the The Penguin Book Blog
The Full range:
THE DUNWICH HORROR – H. P. Lovecraft (9780141038766)
THE BEETLE – Richard Marsh (9780141038797)
THE HAUNTED DOLLS’ HOUSE – M. R. James (9780141038773)
THE SPOOK HOUSE – Ambrose Bierce (9780141038810)
THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND – William Hope Hodgson (9780141038742)
THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM – Bram Stoker (9780141038759)
LOIS THE WITCH – Elizabeth Gaskell (9780141038803)
THE VIRGIN OF THE SEVEN DAGGERS – Vernon Lee (9780141038780)
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH – Edgar Allan Poe (9780141038827)
THE HAUNTED HOTEL – Wilkie Collins (9780141038736)
About Rob
Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul" - 
these are amazing! i bought my copy of Candide just for the comic strip cover but ended up enjoying the book as well!
says:
I love them too. Like I said above this is a set where the rules of ‘judging the book by it’s cover’ gets ignored. Then again can you really go wrong with Classic Gothic; Lovecraft, Stoker and Poe? Nah!!!
Yes, they are beautiful, aren’t they? I must admit that seeing them on screen last year didn’t persuade me that I would want to actually own them – but then I saw them in a bookshop and fell in love. I managed to show some little restraint, by only buying six of them (one each visit, so I could sneak them into the house easily… don’t tell me I’m the only one who does that…?). Reading them, of course, is another matter entirely, but in a dramatic break with tradition, I have now read one of them – James’s The Haunted Dolls’ House – and will be posting about it on my blog later this week.
I must admit that the cover I like least is one of your favourites – The Virgin of the Seven Daggers. The problem is that on that cover image, rather than seeing a heart pierced by seven daggers, I can only see a set of luminous yellow bagpipes…
Now, what about those Penguin leather-bound Bill Amberg classics…!
says:
John – Nice of you to drop by – I’m honoured but also a bit miffed – you’ve now put ‘luminous yellow bagpipes’ into my mind as well
)
As for those Amberg Classics I don’t think there’s words powerful enough to truly describe them – pure, unadulterated luxury, and oh how I’d love to own from the series, Fitzgerald’s ‘Gatsby’ or Capote’s ‘Breakfast’
Finally, sneaking into the house with a secret book hoard? It’s pretty much a daily practice for me too. I feel like I’m smuggling drugs past airport security
)
Warmest
Rob