20 Covers That Will Give you Major Book Envy- But Which Are Totally Affordable

Books in themselves are beautiful things. But, for me at least, there is a certain aesthetic appeal in buying a particularly attractive book. It will, after all, be gazing at me from the bookshelf for years to come. Aestheticism is the reason why I have four different editions of The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe, two editions of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy and multiple editions of works by Lewis Carol, Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. There is, of course, more to a book than looking pretty, but I am very proud of my bookshelves – and even more so when I have visitors – and so I have embraced my fetish: hardback, cased, clothbound and – dare I say it –  leatherbound with gold emboss.

This can, however, be a pricy hobby, so I have rounded up 20 of my favourite book covers that are affordable, most of them being £20 and under. Enjoy!

Wuthering Heights (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition), Emily Bronte. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition), Jane Austen. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Brave Old World, by Tom Hodgkinson. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

London: City of Disappearances, by Iain Sinclair. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Art of Instruction: Vintage Educational Charts from the 19th an 20th Centuries, by Katrien Van der Schuren. Available in the UK here and in the US here. 

The Secret Garden (Thread Edition), Frances Hodgson Burnett. Available in the UK here and in the US here. 

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Sound and the Fury (Vintage Classics), William Faulkner. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings (Clothbound Classics), Charles Dickens. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Paradise Lost (Vintage Classics), John Milton. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Book of Heaven, by Patricia Storace. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Boy, Snow, Bird, by Helen Oyeyami. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The End or Something Like That, by Ann Dee Ellis. Available in the UK here and in the US here. 

Sherlock Holmes (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics), Arthur Conan Doyle. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Clothbound Classics), Jules Verne. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Beautiful Day, by Kate Anthony. Available in the UK here and in the US here. 

The Complete Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft (Knickerbocker Classics). Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Travels (Clothbound Classics), Marc Polo. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

The Divine Comedy (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classic Edition), Dante Alighieri. Available in the UK here and in the US here.

Sammy is the owner of Poetic Pieces and makes literary inspired jewellery and accessories.