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Pushkin Press is partnering with literary institution The London Library to produce a series of "beautifully designed" books containing material from authors such as Lewis Carroll, E M Forster and Virginia Woolf.
The first six titles in the series, called ‘Found on the Shelves’, will appear in May to coincide with The London Library's ‘Words In The Square’ literary celebration marking 175 years since it was founded. A second set of six titles will be published in November.
Each book in the series will be 96-128 pages long and priced at £4.99. They will contain writing found in The London Library’s million-plus volumes held on 17 miles of shelving in its St James’s Square home, including authors Jerome K Jerome and George Eliot.
The series will be edited by The London Library’s librarian, Inez Lynn, its head of bibliographic services, Dunia García-Ontiveros, and Pushkin Press’ assistant editor Julia Nicholson. Jacket designs will come from designer David Pearson.
The titles in the first series will be Cycling: The Craze of the Hour, On Reading, Writing and Living with Books, On Corpulence: Feeding the Body and Feeding the Mind, The Gentlewoman’s Book of Sports, and Life in a Bustle: Advice to Youth, The Lure of the North.
Lynn said: “The Library offers keen readers direct access to a rich archive of treasures, from the profound to the quirky. In this anniversary year, we’re delighted to be working with Pushkin Press to bring some of these long-hidden gems to a new reading public, many of whom we hope will be inspired to become members and discover the joy of exploring this unique collection for themselves.”
Adam Freudenheim, publisher and managing director of Pushkin Press, said: “It is a real honour to be working with The London Library in its anniversary year. Together we have dug deep into its incredible collection to find the most amazing writing that, while in many cases unseen for over a century, remains as entertaining and enlightening as the day it was originally published. The incredibly talented David Pearson will be creating beautiful and striking jackets that will make these books truly desirable and collectable.”
The first six 'Found on the Shelves' titles will be published on 5th May. The London Library’s ‘Words In The Square’ literary celebration runs from 5th to 8th May. Tickets are available from The London Library.