Chels

One of the great things about classic novels is that a lot of them are out of copyright, which means publishers can print them as part of their own classics collections. Where modern novels are usually limited to one hardback or one paperback, with the occasional special edition, you can usually find a classic novel sold by all of the big publishing houses, and often in multiple editions by each company.

For aesthetics, it means you can tailor your book collection to any style you’d like – perhaps you prefer the uniformity of all black, or perhaps you’d rather have a rainbow of bright or pastel covers. You can have a uniform collection or mix and match. Maybe you only read hardbacks. Maybe you only read paperbacks. 

We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to classic novels, so this week I want to recommend some of the editions that I love.

Wordsworth Editions

The Wordsworth editions (now Wordsworth classics) make up the biggest portion of my collection. The reason? They’re cheap. Back in lockdown when I was getting through at least one novel a week, the Wordsworth editions made the most sense – they were available online for £1-5 each, it was perfect. I could get multiple books for the same price as one contemporary novel. The downside is since they’re so cheap, the paper quality isn’t incredible. The old covers got a lot of flack too, for being low quality, often using stock images that didn’t fully capture the story. The covers have improved a lot in the last few years, they tend to be illustrated now. 

Wordsworth classics aren’t quite as cheap as they were six years ago (is anything?), but they’re still typically available for under £5.

Wordsworth Collector’s Editions

The Wordsworth collector’s editions redeem Wordsworth for their past questionable covers. These hardbacks all have really beautiful illustrations, suited to the novels themselves but also forming a cohesive collection. They’re small and compact, perfect for travelling, and true to the brand, they’re relatively cheap for hardbacks. Each book is £9.99, although I was lucky enough to pick mine up in TKMaxx for about half of that price. 

There are only 59 books in the collection, with quite a few repeat authors (lots of Dickens, Doyle, and Shakespeare), so if you’re looking for less well-known books, you might not find them, but the novels that they do have are a really fun selection.

Penguin Classics

Like the Wordsworth classics, Penguin classics are a uniform design, sleek black and white for the spine, with hit or miss cover images. They’re a bit sturdier than Wordsworth classics, and they hold up better during reading, so if you like your books looking pristine, they’re probably the better of the two cheaper options to go for. 

The pricing for Penguin classics isn’t incredibly consistent – some of the more popular titles are available for under £5, but some longer novels or story collections, and some nicher titles can be up to £15 each. They’re a very popular series, though, so they’re often available secondhand for much cheaper.

Penguin Clothbound Classics

I really love the aesthetics of the clothbound classics – as I’m sure most people do. They’re really beautiful, and lend themselves well to being collected, but they do have a major flaw. The detailing on the covers is prone to rubbing away with use. Perhaps if you were to lay the books on a flat surface and avoid too much handling, they’d stay intact, but the average reading experience is likely to cause some wear and tear. It’s a shame, because they’re really quite beautiful. They’re probably more suited to the book buying hobby over the reading hobby.

Maybe if they were cheaper, the damage would be more justified, but at £15-25 per book, as much as I love the clothbound classics, I probably won’t add any more to my collection.

Penguin English Library

I think, at this point in my life, the Penguin English library collection is my go-to for classics. The covers are just as pretty as the clothbound classics, although the colours tend to lean slightly more muted. I also generally prefer the feel of paperbacks over hardbacks. There’s a really big selection of novels – currently 126 titles in the collection – and they range from well known to niche.

The English library titles typically range between £7-10, though they’re often on sale, and you can get a 5 for £25 deal on the Penguin website, bringing them down to £5 each. I think the Penguin English library is a solid choice for people relatively new to classics or book collecting who want to build up a broad library on a budget.

Handwritten Classics

The Handwritten classics are a real guilty pleasure for me. There are only four books in the series so far, but they’ve been released relatively consistently since 2020, so I’m hoping we’ll see more released. Created by Barbara Heller, the hardbacks feature handwritten ephemera between the pages, so you can actually hold and read the letters and notes written between characters. The books are so beautifully made and make for a really immersive experience.

Of course, since they’re so beautiful, and Barbara Heller is so skilled in crafting the inserts, they’re an investment. The books are £20-25 each, but I think they’re worth it.

The only issue I have with my Handwritten classic is that it’s much larger than the rest of my books, and it sticks out on the shelf in comparison.

SF Masterworks

For science fiction classics, my favourite collection is the SF Masterworks series. The cover art features really beautiful illustrations, but the spines are a uniform muted yellow and white. They cover 199 titles, both well known and rare. 

The pricing doesn’t make much sense to me – they’re typically priced between £6-15, but there’s no correlation between the price and rarity or size or even demand. SF Masterworks does sell bundles in 5, 8, or 10 book sets with themes like aliens, time travel, space, and dystopia.

This post is not affiliated with any of the brands I’ve mentioned, I just really enjoy browsing for books. Did I miss any of your favourites?