Brief History
- First published in 1847 by London-based publisher and printer Thomas Cautley Newby.
- Originally published under the pseudonym “Ellis Bell”.
- Bronte wasn’t unearthed as the true author until the US edition was published by Harper & Brothers in 1848.
Key Elements
The most obvious element to discuss is the simplicity of the cover design. In an era where books were considered a luxury and owned only by the elite, the cover fails in its attempt to portray this implied high social standing. With its structural formation and change of typographic styles for text type – (title, sub-heading, etc) the cover instead seems more reminiscent of the modern day title page found in the front matter of a book. Harper’s decision to not provide a cloth jacket for Wuthering Heights may seem like an unusual one, but it does give us the opportunity to distinguish just how far cover design has come in over 200 years. Whereas this cover serves as an informative piece – giving the reader all of the book’s necessary information – the modern covers rely on colour, images, typography and layout as a means of marketing the book to a specific subset of readers.
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, 2009, HarperTeen, USA
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga revolutionised the book market in a multitude of ways – even going as far as creating a new sub-genre of fiction: paranormal romance. However, the most surprising of developments occurred when the book’s main character – Bella Swan – compared her relationship to that of Cathy and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. This in-text reference to Bronte’s novel and the unexpected exposure it brought inspired the marketing and design team at HarperCollins to issue a reprint of the classic text with a twist. Instead of featuring a picture of the dreary Yorkshire moors, or a young woman full of angst, HarperCollins produced a near carbon-copy of the bestselling Twilight book covers in hopes of attracting a new reader demographic – teenage girls.
Colour and Images
In comparison to previous Wuthering Heights editions, this cover image is arguably quite simplistic in its use of a limited colour palette. With only four colours at their disposal – black, red, green and white – the designers have relied on the stark contrast of the red rose against the black background as their main selling point. As well as being visibly striking, the use of a wilting rose as a symbol of Cathy and Heathcliff’s love is an effort to foreshadow the ultimate slow demise of their relationship. Whilst the combination of colour and images works in a contextual sense, it is inevitable – for me – to not look at this cover and think “Twilight”.
Typography
Sticking with the simplicity element, HarperCollins have only utilised two typefaces on this cover. Although both examples of sans serif fonts, the typefaces contrast one another in a way that allows the consumer to differentiate between book title and author name upon first look. For the author name and book’s tagline: ‘Love never dies’, the publisher has used the typeface Seria and implemented true small caps as a means of emphasising the content. In an almost direct contrast, the title – although sans serif – has an entirely different look. Possibly taking influence from the gothic themes explored within the novel, this typeface looks more relaxed and less structured than the other. The typeface is almost enchanting, and is reminiscent of typefaces used on YA fantasy novels such as The Fog Diver by Joel Ross.
Through this experimentation of key design elements, and a focus on making the book appeal to a younger audience, HarperCollins relied on their consumers to associate this new edition of Wuthering Heights with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. This attempt to reach a new market and reader demographic ultimately transpired to be a successful marketing ploy as the sales of this edition totalled at 34,023 in 2009 – quadrupling the previous year’s total sales. (Wallop, 2010).
BOOK COVERS AS A MARKETING TOOL 