In April 2012 Penguin Press brought out the first set of what they referred to as Penguin English Library, a selection of fiction books from some of the great English authors of the last three centuries. These included some of the usual suspects of Dracula by Bram Stoker, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, and Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Then there are some titles that the average punter might not have heard of before, such as The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg and Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, (both of which are books I will be reviewing here on this blog). With each passing month in the run up to Christmas, Penguin intended to release another ten titles to compliment the original twenty that hit the bookshops that Easter.Yet despite being criticized for not including non-fiction works like the 1963 cheap and affordable paperback series by Penguin, I admit to having a deep love for the new publications. This is for many reasons, one of which I am not ashamed to say is purely cosmetic. The Penguin English Library books have a wonderful look and feel to them.
I first encountered them in the Foyles at King's Cross St Pancreas station and I bought two immediately - the two I am reviewing this summer. They have a soft feeling cover and a consistent theme to their covers, much like the Black Classics except the form is cheaply made and thus the price is lower even for thick books like Moby-Dick and Little Dorrit, being just £5.99 each. Moreover the selectiveness of the titles means that readers who see all the copies laid out can come across the rarely, lesser known classics like The Monk, Evelina and Two on a Tower.
As all the novels themselves are written in the English language there is no need to analyse the quality of the translations. The novels themselves are as good as their writers are. What the Penguin English Library comes down to are two things: their looks and the selection of titles. Due to the prettiness of the covers, the materials and the fact that every copy comes with the Penguin English Library leaflet means it wins on the first mark. Due to the obscurity of some of the titles, it wins on the second mark too. Had I not discovered these books, I would not have discovered the authors that I have - despite being an English student.
Do check them out. They will introduce you to a lot of 19th century novelists and their titles but they also make a pretty addition to your bookshelf.
