I finally found a copy of Iain Pears' The Dream of Scipio, used. A cheap paperback with thin pages destined for the racks of airport shops, next to the magazines and mints. Likewise, the cover's uninspired.

Am still halfway through Orlando. I had to return the version I originally borrowed from the library, but there're so many copies floating around that I couldn't be bothered to renew the loan. Just ran into a library and grabbed another.

I had begun with the latest printing - Orlando is part of Penguin's freshly released Red Classics series. Another reinvention of older books! This series is stripped of any notes or commentaries though. Cost issues?

(Incidentally, in my opinion the quality of the cover art isn't as good throughout. The Jane Austen ones do stand out nicely with the largely uncoloured hand-drawn illustrations.)





The second time I borrowed Orlando, I got the silver-covered Modern Classics version. The cover is an asymmetrically cropped screen capture from the 1992 film, with striking composition. And beautiful Tilda Swinton casting a self-assured, even smug look at the reader. You can't see it in the image, but there's a hint of a smirk tucked away in the corner of her lips.









btw, if you're interested: American paperback covers of Virginia Woolf's Orlando.)