Wordsworth’s Collector’s Editions of Classic Novels
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Wordsworth's Collector's Editions of Classic Novels
Newly released last month is another delightful collection of hardcovers to add to my long list of publishers of classic children’s literature and other classic novels. These British Wordsworth Collector’s Editions are very affordable volumes (hence, glued bindings, so perhaps not a long-term investment). They come in attractive bright colours with matching coloured end papers, and feature embossed gold and coloured blocking to enhance their beautiful, bespoke cover illustrations.
The books are compact editions (trim page size is 178 x 129mm) which is nice for kids to hold, with an original retail release price of under £7. The images below show a bit of closeup of the boards (which are covered in textured card), a sample of the cute quotes and images on the back cover, the binding, and the decent text size.
Early books in the series (first released in 2018) were children’s classics, but later years have seen an expansion to more adult titles (still appropriate for a child audience), including the Brontës in 2019, numerous Jane Austen novels in 2020, and a set of Sherlock titles in 2021.
If you are looking for a cute and inexpensive set of hardback classics, this one will suit nicely. On the other hand, if you are interested in Wordsworth’s even cheaper paperback collection (which is essentially the same content under a paperback binding), check out their Exclusive Collection here…
2018 releases
Little Women by Luisa May Alcott
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
❦ Also check out the Collector’s Guide to the most beautiful editions of The Secret Garden...
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
This edition comes with an introduction and notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury.
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
❦ Also check out the Collector’s Guide to Alice in Wonderland...
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
This edition is translated by Irene Testot-Ferry and includes the author’s illustrations.
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wordsworth Classics, 2018
➡ Find at: Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
2019 releases
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wordsworth Classics, 2019
➡ Find at Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Wordsworth Classics, 2019
➡ Find at Amazon | Book Depository
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Wordsworth Classics, 2019
➡ Find at Amazon | Book Depository
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2019
➡ Find at Amazon | Book Depository | Amazon AU
2020 releases
Emma by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Wordsworth Classics, 2020
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon UK
2021 releases
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228311, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228069, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228052, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228083, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
A Study in Scarlet & The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228090, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228076, Sep 2021
This omnibus edition includes The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear.
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
Dubliners by James Joyce
Wordsworth Classics, 9781840228106, Sep 2021
➡ Find at Book Depository | Amazon
Pretty Christmas stack of Wordsworth books Image from @UmutReads, instagram.
10 Comments
Emma · 18 June 2022 at 6:37 am
Hello! I was wondering if you’ve had any issues with the quality of the covers? This set looks really pretty and I’d love to collect them, but I’m concerned about the quality. I saw multiple reviews online about the colors of the covers being easily scuffed off, and the material itself degrading quickly. There was even one comment that the interior pages smelled funny… Any thoughts?
Daisy · 18 June 2022 at 7:39 am
Hi Emma – yes, I’d agree that the covers on this series do scuff very easily. The books are designed to look very pretty on the shelf, but are made of materials that won’t stand up for a long time (e.g. the edges of the paper covers can lose colour with rough handling, the bindings may start to come loose after repeated reading). It’s a cost trade off, because they are really affordable but only because they cut costs on materials. I haven’t had issues with funny smelling pages though.
Emma · 18 June 2022 at 11:00 pm
Thank you so much!
Sophie · 5 June 2022 at 1:57 pm
Hello, I was wondering about the paper quality of the wordsmith classics. Are they acid free? Thanks
Daisy · 5 June 2022 at 2:31 pm
Hi Sophie! Yes, the pages are acid free (although not top quality). The glued bindings do have a shelf life of probably 20-40 years though.
Sophie · 5 June 2022 at 2:58 pm
Thanks for the quick response! Would this lower-quality paper, though acid free, still yellow quickly over time?
I have some the Barnes and Nobles paperbacks, which look really pretty with the spines arranged by color on a shelf. But after 10 years they’ve yellowed and started to smell old, so I’m looking for another set of classics with pretty solid-colored spines that I can arrange by color 🙂 Suggestions welcomed!
Daisy · 5 June 2022 at 3:05 pm
Publishers have slowly been replacing acidic paper with acid-free over the past 10 years or so, and now they mostly all are – so probably if you bought those same B&N paperbacks now they wouldn’t yellow. The B&N hardback collectible classics have some gorgeous spines, are (now) acid-free, and often go on sale. And there are a bunch of other beautiful classics options here that you could look through to see if any fit your aesthetic – I’m actually working on a classics review video at the moment as well 🙂
Sophie · 5 June 2022 at 10:06 pm
Thank you so much for the info! And looking forward to the new video! 🙂
Mitali · 18 August 2021 at 4:17 pm
Please compare macmeel majoline bastin edition and chiltern edition. Specially paper quality
Daisy · 18 August 2021 at 6:38 pm
Hi Mitali! The Marjoline Bastin and Chiltern editions are quite different. The Bastin editions are larger (about twice the size of the Chiltern), illustrated with floral decorations, and contain pull-out paper pieces, like letters and menus from the book. The paper is matte and good quality (off-white, looks like recycled paper), and the covers are paper covered boards which will need to be looked after carefully to protect them. The Chiltern have really tactile embossed covers, and high quality glossy paper, and are really sturdy. They are small sized books that replicate the original size of the publications during Victorian times, but the quality of materials gives them a bit of weight. Both are well made, so you can feel comfortable whichever you choose!