Page & Wick #3: July 2024
Despite my intention to catch up on my missing unboxings over the Christmas break, I found other things to do and my blog got neglected once again. Since I can’t help but be a completionist, it doesn’t really feel right to leave it as is, so I decided to upload the missing book boxes anyway, including the ones I received in December. I hope to post these 7 missing book boxes in quick succession over the next two weeks, before I get another one in. No hard feelings if you decide to ignore these posts, because I can see that it’s a bit late for many 😀
First up is the July book from Page & Wick, which got huge delays. My experience with this subscription is currently sitting at fifty-fifty. I received – as the title of this blog indicates – two books from them before, which were undeniably beautifully made and carefully thought out, but whose designs I did not find to be a resounding success. So I was a bit worried about this third book, precisely because Page & Wick had to update several times that the delivery was delayed because the result did not meet their standards. In the end, this box was not delivered until October!
The theme for the month was Queen of Cunning. It was shared in advance that the book would have a redesigned and exclusive cover by Niall Grant (@niallcgrant) whose artwork is seriously stunning, so I was hopeful!
The book associated with the July theme is Babylonia by Costanza Casati, a book that reinterprets the rise of the only female ruler of the Assyrian Empire.
Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing could have foretold her legacy or the power she would come to wield. A female ruler, once an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire – certainly no one in Ancient Assyria would bend to her command willingly. Semiramis was a woman who knew if she wanted power, she would have to claim it.
There are whispers of her fame in Mesopotamian myth- Semiramis was a queen, an ambitious warrior, a commander whose reputation reaches the majestic proportions of Alexander the Great. Historical record, on the other hand, falls eerily quiet.
In her second novel, Costanza Casati brilliantly weaves myth and ancient history together to give Semiramis a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne no one promised her. The world Casati expertly builds is rich with dazzling detail and will transport her readers to the heat of the Assyrian Empire and a world long gone.
This is a piece of history that I know very little about and at first I don’t feel much about it either, but this synopsis sounds super interesting!
And the new cover that Page & Wick promised is also a bull’s eye! The colour is beautiful and the illustration is so absolutely gorgeous! Although the illustration doesn’t really need it, it is made even more beautiful by the use of gold foil. Yes, this seems to be the first resounding succes for P&W in my eyes!
The hardcover itself is made of a linen-like fabric in a complementary blue colour. On it a relatively simple illustration in gold foil, both front and back and on the spine. Simple, but beautiful and quite fitting, I think.
On the foredge, another illustration by @niallcgrant has been digitally sprayed.
This artist also made a design for the endpapers, a fairly complex geometric pattern that repeats itself on both the front and the back.
Furthermore, the book has also been hand-signed by the author.
Yes, this one was so worth the delay! I think this is my best Page & Wick book yet! I’m glad they moved away from their in-house artist for cover design, because I wasn’t a big fan of their style. And it seems they’ll keep doing just that, because the announced books after this one from July all have a different illustrator! So, definitely to be continued 😉
Cheers,
Charlotte
