Beehive Illuminated Editions

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Beehive Illuminated Editions

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Beehive Books

The Beehive Books ‘Illuminated Editions' series is an ongoing series of classic literary masterworks. Each volume is beautifully designed by Maëlle Doliveux, filled with stunning illustrations, and presented in a slipcase.

The books are oversized (9″x12″) cloth-bound hardcovers with sewn signatures. The slipcases are textured, being elaborately debossed and embossed, die-cut, and foil blocked. The interior is printed on “creamy, acid-free uncoated paper with a fine tooth”, and each edition includes a minimum of ten full page illustrations, along with numerous spots, illuminated letters, and design pieces. The books are produced in a somewhat limited edition of 2500.

The books are first released via kickstarter, so you'll need to subscribe to their campaigns if you want a copy of the books immediately as they are released. The kickstarter campaigns also include access to their signed and numbered editions (limitations of 250 per title) that include foil-stamped slipcases, sprayed page edges, silk ribbon bookmarks and specialty bookplates, and recently lettered editions in a clamshell have also been added to the offerings. You can also buy the books directly from the Beehive Shop after the campaign has been fulfilled (assuming the limited book allocation hasn't been exhausted).

But if you're happy to wait a little in order to save a few dollars, they are usually cheaper when they become available through retail stores (links below – support the publisher's shop if you can, but otherwise check which option is cheapest for your destination – shipping from the shop to destinations other than the US is verrrrrrrrry expensive!).

The Illuminated Editions

2027

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum

Author/illustrator
Text by Frank L. Baum, illustrated by David Plunkert, essays by Kelly Lin and Gore Vidal.

Publication
9781948886574. Beehive Books, trade edition anticipated Feb/Mar 2027.

Plunkert's Oz is a dreamscape of fractured geometry and uncanny color, with an original introduction by MacArthur “Genius” Kelly Link, an essay by Gore Vidal.

Illustrated with over 80 images by The New Yorker cover artist David Plunkert, Baum's kingdom in Plunkert's imagining is a land of rough surfaces, fractured geometry, woodcut textures and uncanny color. There is humor and whimsy along with pathos, unease, and ominous danger. This is an Oz that earns its strangeness: not the candy-colored dream of the 1939 film, but something older and more unsettling, closer to the book Baum actually wrote, as a fledgling American culture was taking its first wobbling steps into modernity.

The standard trade edition comes in an elaborately embossed & debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened and foil-stamped with artwork. Kickstarter editions also include a signed and numbered edition with a clothbound slipcase and foil-blocked fine art print of an image not otherwise featured in the book and a die-struck enamel pin (300 copies), and a signed and lettered edition which comes in a cloth clamshell solander housing with everything in the numbered edition plus two laser-cut metal plates mounted on French doors, and an original drawing from David Plunkert (26 copies).

➤ Preorder it at Amazon | B&N | Waterstones | Blackwells | Beehive Books

➤ See the Kickstarter campaign

2026

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

Author/illustrator
Text by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti, essays by Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Bellamy.

Publication
9781948886536. Beehive Books, trade edition anticipated Aug 2026.

A tale of shipwrecks, giants, utopias and paradoxes. A man lost at sea, encountering the impossible: floating cities, talking animals, forgotten civilizations, and technological empires. Disguised as a fantastical travelogue, then detonated as one of the fiercest cultural weapons in literary history, now reimagined as an Illuminated Edition with images by Italian graphic artist Lorenzo Mattotti, with original essays by Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Bellamy.

Illustrated with over sixty images by the celebrated cartoonist, illustrator, fine artist and filmmaker, Lorenzo Mattotti, and enhanced with essays by the comedian and author Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Bojack Horseman) and leading Swift scholar Elizabeth Bellamy (Translations of Power).

The standard trade edition comes in an elaborately embossed & debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened and foil-stamped with artwork. Kickstarter editions also include a signed and numbered edition with a clothbound slipcase and several added production effects (300 copies), and a signed and lettered edition which comes in a clamshell solander housing with laser-cut metal plates mounted on its French doors, including an original drawing from Lorenzo Mattotti (26 copies).

➤ Preorder it at Amazon | B&N | Waterstones | Blackwells | Beehive Books

➤ See the Kickstarter campaign

A Wonder Book - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Author/illustrator
Text by Nathaniel Hawthorne, illustrated by Das Pastoras, introduction by Guillermo Del Toro.

Publication
9781948886512. Beehive Books, trade edition March 2026.

In the summer of 1851, directly off the success of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne decided to update a series of classical myths for a young contemporary audience – to remove their “cold touch of marble” and bring them into the modern era. The book became an instant classic, paving the way for the success of fairy tales and legends for young readers throughout the 19th century and beyond. Das Pastoras, the poetic and painterly Galician visual artist, brings his vivid and fantastical vision to these larger than life tales, presented with more drama and thunder than ever before. Original essays from Guillermo Del Toro, Jose Villarubia and Kate Bernheimer explore the many meanings and visions contained within.

The standard trade edition comes in an elaborately embossed & debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened and foil-stamped with artwork. Kickstarter editions include a signed and numbered edition (limitation 300) with a clothbound slipcase and several added production effects, and a signed and lettered edition (limitation 26) nested in a clamshell solander housing with laser-cut metal plates mounted on its French doors, including an original drawing from Das Pastoras.

2025

Carmilla - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Author/illustrator
Text by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, introduction by Poppy Z. Brite.

Publication
9781948886406. Beehive Books, trade edition Aug 2025.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s magnetic and sinuous 1871 novella introduced one of the iconic antiheroines of gothic fiction, pioneered depictions of queer longing in European writing, and would go on to inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula. Today, Carmilla is considered a landmark work recognized for its major contributions to vampire fiction and queer gothic literature.

The trade edition comes in an elaborately embossed & debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened and foil-stamped with artwork. The Kickstarter editions include a cloth-wrapped signed and numbered version limited to 250 copies with fore-edge printing on the page ends, and a special lettered version limited to 26 copies presented in a cloth clamshell case with two laser-cut metal plates mounted onto its French door-style enclosure. Each comes with an original drawing by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell case.

The Inferno - Dante Alighieri

Author/illustrator
Text by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Sophy Hollington.

Publication
9781948886376. Beehive Books, trade edition March 2025.

This landmark Italian poem features a visionary suite of illustrations by British linocut artist Sophy Hollington that depict Hell's vast architecture, along with an exclusive introduction from the renowned Ukrainian poet Ilya Kaminsky, and an original essay from the celebrated Dante scholar Kristina Olson.

2024

Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi

Author/illustrator
Text by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Mike Mignola, removable annotations by author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler).

Publication
9781948886093. Beehive Books, Kickstarter edition December 2023, Trade edition June 2024.

This classic children's text features over fifty illustrations from Mike Mignola and colorist Dave Stewart, and an interactive full text annotation by Lemony Snicket with 36 removable typewritten sheets.

The trade edition comes in an elaborately embossed & debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened and foil-stamped with artwork. The Kickstarter editions include a cloth-wrapped ‘Marionette Edition' with a foiled printing on the page edges and a bound-in silk marker ribon; a cloth-wrapped signed and numbered edition limited to 300 copies; a ‘Puppetmaster Edition' which is housed in a cloth clamshell case with a removable foil-blocked fine art print mounted on a clothbound framing matte inside; and a special lettered edition limited to 26 copies presented in a silkscreened cloth clamshell housing with a 5×8″ original drawing mounted inside.

2023

The Kwaidan Collection - Lafcadio Hearn

Author/illustrator
Text by Lafcadio Hearn, illustrated by Kent Williams, introduced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, foreword by writer Kyoko Yoshida, and an essay by Bon Koizumi.

Publication
9781948886321. Beehive Books, Trade released Apr 2023.

A collection of supernatural Japanese stories, nightmares and strange tales that were originally published in Hearn's books Kwaidan (which translates as ‘ghost stories') and Shadowings. Over 60 rich, layered artworks by Kent Williams dreamily merge the real and the supernatural, beautifully capturing the haunting beauty, subtle horror, and mysticism of Hearn's poetic folklore narrations.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Author/illustrator
Text by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrated by the Balbusso Twins, introduced by Nathan Robinson.

Publication
9781948886284. Beehive Books, Trade Jan 2023

Set in the opulence of 1920s America, wealthy Jay Gatsby's quest to win the love of Daisy Buchanan leads him into the hollow core of the American dream. The novel unfolds through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Daisy's cousin and Gatsby's neighbor, offering a critique of the excesses and moral decay of the era. The book features fifty vibrant color illustrations by brilliant Italian artists, the Balbusso Twins. Marrying the extravagance of the Jazz Age with a sleek, modern aesthetic, this stylishly crafted book transports us directly into the ebullience of the 1920s.

2022 (Series 3)

The Beehive Series 3 kickstarter closed in February 2021 with books releasing to retail stores in 2022.

For the first time, this kickstarter included high-end lettered editions of the new titles, only 26 copies of each, housed in a silkscreened cloth clamshell case with a foil-stamped print by the illustrator.

A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay

Author/illustrator
Text by David Lindsay, illustrated by Jim Woodring, introduced by Alan Moore.

Publication
9781948886307. Beehive Books, Trade October 2022.

An interesting amalgam of mysticism, science fiction, sexual politics, and outrageous fantasy from the 1920s. Maskull is transported to the planet Tormance orbiting the star Arcturus. As he journeys across the alien landscape, encountering numerous fantastical beings and creatures, each new region propels Maskull into increasingly complex philosophical and spiritual discussions that explore human nature and the pursuit of enlightenment. Woodring's illustrations, reminiscent of quirky, kaleidoscopic woodcuts, joyfully capture the dynamic energy that underpins this delightfully esoteric text.

2021 (Series 2)

The Blazing World - Margaret Cavendish

Author/illustrator
Text by Margaret Cavendish, illustrated by Rebekka Dunlap

Publication
9781948886130. Beehive Books, Trade release September 2021.

Written in 1666 by the Duchess of Newcastle. The story follows a young woman who is transported to a world of animal-people, becomes their empress, and eventually leads an invasion back into her own world. This science fiction tale is an early exploration of gender, power, and knowledge – touching on spirit possession, astral projection, the many-worlds theory, and an inter-dimensional otherworldly queer romance. Dunlap's stunning psychedelic illustrations craft a lavish spectacle of this fantastical tale.

2020

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Author/illustrator
Text by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett, illustrated by Dave McKean, introduced by Lonny Harrison

Publication
9781948886123. Beehive Books, Trade released Dec 2020

Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg, formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker to liberate himself from poverty. This intense Russian psychological crime novel explores the protagonist's internal struggles of guilt, morality and philosophy. Dave McKean's mixed media artwork features brooding, shadowy paintings that vividly bring to life Raskolnikov’s tormented fever dreams.

Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie

Author/illustrator
Text by J. M. Barrie, illustrated by Brecht Evens, introduced by Maria Tatar

Publication
9781948886109. Beehive Books, Trade released Dec 2020.

The tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up brings Wendy and her brothers to Neverland, where he has a showdown with his nemesis Captain Hook. Bright and energetic images employ a fluid, vibrant palette, and the cover and case are gorgeous. However, for an imaginative children's story like this, I personally would have appreciated more illustrations.

2017-2019

The Willows and other nightmares - Algernon Blackwood

Author/illustrator
Text by Algernon Blackwood, illustrated by Paul Pope, introduced by Ramsey Campbell, colors by Omar Abdullah

Publication
9781948886000. Beehive Books, Kickstarter released 2018 / Trade edition published Sep 2019.

The title novella is a chilling story of two friends rafting down the flooded Danube, slowly becoming deranged by a mysterious force at work on the branch-choked river. The book also includes four additional suspenseful short stories. Pope's vibrant illustrations bring electricity and high spirits to this collection of supernatural tales.

The Island of Doctor Moreau - H. G. Wells

Author/illustrator
Text by H. G. Wells, illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz, introduced by Guillermo del Toro

Publication
9781948886031. Beehive Books, Kickstarter released 2017 / Trade edition published May 2019.

An early science fiction classic of human chimeras and deranged scientific curiosity. Sienkiewicz's style is a hybrid of golden age, midcentury modern and expressionist, with the book featuring 11 paintings and 35 spot illustrations of animals.

Important note: If you have a first printing of this title, note that there is some text missing from the first chapter (a significant fail for a book of this calibre, but as far as I am aware the only one). You can request an errata sheet from Beehive directly (email them at [email protected]).

The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde

Author/illustrator
Text by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, introduced by Michael Cunningham

Publication
9781948886017. First edition Beehive Books, 2018. 2nd edition Sep 2023.

A collection of Wilde's moving, sweet and magical fairy tales, with stories from both of his fairy tale books The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant. Stunning illustrations.

☞ See an in-depth review and video of The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde here.

4 Comments

Mink Maiale · 30 June 2023 at 1:05 pm

I very much believe that autocorrect is likely the culprit here, but for the upcoming Pinocchio release, the author’s first name is Carlo (not Carlos). As an Italian with many a Carlo in my family, I couldn’t resist commenting in the hopes that this can be rectified.

Daisy · 30 June 2023 at 6:14 pm

Indeed, autocorrect did Carlo a dirty deed here – thanks so much for catching it and letting me know to fix it!

Zan Rebolj · 13 July 2021 at 4:51 pm

Is this true, The Island of Doctor Moreau is not a complete book?

Mark Maultby · 29 March 2023 at 5:22 pm

Yes, there’s a short section missing near the start

Beehive Illuminated Editions