Bello is Pan Macmillan’s digital andprint-on-demand (POD) imprint,
established to revive classic and out of
print titles as both ebooks and large
format paperbacks.
Evelyn Waugh
by Bentley/Farrell/Burnett
The book covers for the complete series of Evelyn Waugh’s novels, by Bentley/Farrell/Burnett from the late 1970s, are among the most distinctive designs in Penguin’s history. Each book has the same cream covered background, bearing a striking and elegant illustration that blends Art Deco with psychedelia. The main reason behind then Penguin Art Director David Pelham’s decision to use a cream coloured background was primarily based on there being a substantial amount of unused paper stock that was too expensive to waste. The initial design brief Pelham issued stated: the covers were to have Art Deco architectural features in soft pastel colours. Happily, Bentley/Farrell/Burnett ignored him and instead produced their marvelous hallucinogenic illustrations with characters to the forefront.
Fantastic covers, and the grand tradition of the Pelham family continues. His son Jonathan created our cover template:
Another absolute classic for this Andrew Garve, Murderer’s Fen is the tale of Alan Hunt, an ambitious and unpleasant caravan salesman with good looks, youth and charm.
The Narrow Search
Whatever became of baby Christine? asks the cover of this edition of Andrew Garve’s The Narrow Search. Maybe she became a young woman in a flowery dress opening a canal lock?
Penguin paperback number 921 is our classic cover today, for An Avenue of Stone by Pamela Hansford Johnson.
To celebrate the publication of our latest batch of 20 books, here for your entertainment is one of the best covers we’ve had so far from all those that have come through the Bello office. The gentleman does look rather like a butler, except I wouldn’t want him serving me my tea!
Not only is it World Book Day (hurrah!), but it’s New Bello Books day! To start us off with a new batch of covers, here’s a very cool and sophisticated cover for D. J. Taylor’s short story collection, After Bathing At Baxter’s.
A very stark cover for this Large Print edition of My Wife Melissa, no hints at all to what’s inside! Except for the big arrow saying ‘MYSTERY’, of course.
Another alternative cover for a Mark Treasure mystery today. An ominous candle!
Divided Treasure features a murder in a sweet factory, though I’m not sure a stick of rock is the murder weapon!
Quick! Somebody has murdered a paper doll!
I can reassure you that there’s a little more to the plot of Francis Durbridge’s The Pig-Tail Murder than a literal interpretation of the cover might suggest.
What I like to call Pamela Hansford Johnson’s ‘Good’ series. This is not a comment on the books, although they are more than good, but the easiest way to refer to them as a pair!
The third novel featuring Dorothy Merlin, Cork Street, Next To The Hatter’s is described as ‘A novel in bad taste’, and the cover features the programme for a play called ‘A Potted Shrimp’. Any guesses as to the plot?
A plethora of Gerald Durrells! (Or whatever the appropriate collective noun for Gerald Durrell books is.)
Two different editions of the same book today - Wedding Treasure by David Williams, another featuring his merchant banker sleuth, Mark Treasure.
I like the paperback cover for the hint of a dead body behind the tree!
One of the best things about Gerald Durrell’s books are the titles, they really make you want to find out what’s inside! Here are two of the covers for a couple of books that we republished as ebooks in December, with some great illustrated covers.
