THE FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE: An Illuminated Edition

A truly beautiful book, I love it!

On par with Folio Society books. Beautiful, quality materials & build - last a life time. If there was a down side - the book’s on the larger side and can become uncomfortable to read over long periods. But who cares? It’s stunning!

This is not a review of the book's literary merit, just the quality of the particular edition. First thing that comes to mind when you finally hold this book is: gorgeous. There’s no doubt that this is a publishing company that loves books and gives them the treatment they deserve. Every little detail has clearly been carefully thought over. The binding? Just the way it should be – smyth-sewn so the book is still around intact when you want to pass it onto the next generation and so that you can enjoy reading it without any effort as it opens flat. The paper? Nice quality, thick with no images or text bleeding through, matte and bright white. The font? Ideal size for easy readability, crisp, with generous line spacing and visually pleasing margins from the edge. That one seems obvious but so many books nowadays try to save space by cramming text that bleeds ink into every possible inch of the page it feels like your eyes never get to rest. The book size? I was dreading it to be quite huge as I’m not a big fan of books that require special manoeuvres. But once out of the slipcase, it turns out it’s not much bigger than an A4 size. Due to the thicker paper, it feels a bit heavier but thankfully this is a book of stories so it’s easy to read through one without feeling like you had to exert yourself. The overall design? Everything fits together perfectly - the illustrated endpapers create a beautiful contrast with the bright yellow slipcase, the circular cutout in the slipcase allows for the design of the front cover to cheekily peek through, bringing in a darker shade of blue, and what’s more, even the white box the book arrives in comes with a black and white designed print. Is there anything they haven’t thought of? The illustrations? Generously dispersed throughout the book, with 6 full page colour illustrations, 3 colour illustrations across 2 pages, 1 (sort of) frontispiece illustration of Oscar Wilde, and numerous black and yellow illustrations, motifs and illustrated drop caps. So much care went into this production, it’s a joy for a reader to open the packaging and for once be left a bit breathless at seeing what books of this literary quality should look like. This is a must have for fans of Oscar Wilde, book illustration enthusiasts, and obviously collectors of beautiful books that also deliver in the quality department. As for the price, I managed to find the book while it was on discount which is what prompted me to finally cave in and see what the Beehive Books production was about for myself. Having done that, I must admit the book is worth it even at the original price and I’ll definitely be looking out for their other publications in the future. Reviewing the edition published by Beehive Books in 2019, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, ISBN: 978-1-948886-01-7, priced £49.25 at the time (not purchased on Amazon).

Beautifully done

This is the second book I ordered and it's damaged as well! Someone isn't checking! actually, the box cover is damaged. What pisses me off is that I have the pain in the ass to send it back. As for the book itself, if your looking for Yuko Shimizu art, you will be dissapointed. That being said, the book is a beautifull read written by one of the greatest authors. It's easily a 4 star book, if it featured more Yuko Shimizu art, it would be at the very least 5.

This is one of the most beautiful books that I now own. I had planned to give it to my niece, but I don't think so. I'll be keeping it.

My reaction to *The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: An Illuminated Edition* is a mixture of admiration and unfulfilled expectations. While the edition is technically remarkable—featuring beautiful illustrations, high-quality paper, and an elegant design—my disappointment stems from a deeper expectation that this edition would offer something more profound, whether in terms of content, presentation, or the connection between the two. Wilde's nuanced prose is challenging to fully capture visually. Perhaps the edition does not fully capture the thought-provoking, bittersweet essence of Wilde's tales. His stories often blend wit with dark insights into human nature, and an overly polished, beautiful edition might unintentionally detract from the raw, emotional depth many of his tales convey. There could also be a sense that while the edition impresses aesthetically, it does not deepen my understanding or appreciation of Wilde's work.

Es la edición más bella en mi librero, lo ame 💗