In preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. First published in 1926, it is now recognised as one of the most significant works of fantasy. It was largely unknown for many years, although it was revered by authors and devotees of the genre.
Neil Gaiman has described it as;
‘Hope Mirrlees only wrote one fantasy novel, but it is one of the finest in the English language.
The book begins as a travelogue or a history, becomes a pastorale, a low comedy, a high comedy, a ghost story and a detective story. The writing is elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.
It is a little golden miracle of a book, adult, in the best sense, and, as the best fantasy should be, far from reassuring.’
It is one of his top ten favourite books.
Our edition will have over forty stunning relief prints by Scott McKowen. Neil Gaiman suggested that we commission him, and it was a masterful idea!
Next on the press is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by Dave McKean. He is using a modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques that made mid-twentieth century illustrated books so exciting. It too, along with Frozen Hell, is due to be completed this spring.
This was a dreadful night, I know as I was helping to move art in the same studio block. They are self funded, so any help for this amazing resource I’m sure would be gratefully received!
We all hope that you have had a wonderful break, much needed here! First, a big thank you!
We started Areté two-and-a-half years ago and we are most grateful for your support since then – we couldn’t have got this far without you. Thank you.
We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books during 2023 which will be coming out this year. Here is Frozen Hell, written by John W. Campbell and illustrated by Gregory Manchess, is due for completion in the first quarter. The letterpress text has been printed and the colour prints are now on the press. binding is going to be a long, complex job as we want the plates to lie completely flat when the book is open. Some of them are a metre wide!
We started Areté two-and-a-half years ago and we are most grateful for your support since then – we couldn’t have got this far without you. Thank you.
And now we want to tell you about our plans for the coming year.
Marcelo and Phil
Looking forward to 2024
We have a spectacular year coming. We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books during 2023 which will be coming out this year. Frozen Hell, written by John W. Campbell and illustrated by Gregory Manchess, is due for completion in the first quarter. The letterpress text has been printed and the colour prints are now on the press. binding is going to be a long, complex job as we want the plates to lie completely flat when the book is open. Some of them are a metre wide!
Next on the press
Next on the press is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by Dave McKean. He is using a modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques that made mid-twentieth century illustrated books so exciting. It too is due to be completed this spring.
Payment by instalment
Both these books are available for pre-order from our online store. Happily we’ve been able to implement staged payments for all our books – just look for the Partially option in the checkout.
A major new publication
We are working with Allen Jones R.A. on an important new edition of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The book has long been recognised as one of the most important pieces of English twentieth-century literature and is a worthy subject for an artist of Allen’s stature. He has been excited by the idea of an artist’s book from the start and over the last two years has created dozens of new images in colour and monochrome. The centre-piece will be a twelve-page section made up entirely of his colour prints.
We’ll be announcing more in the coming months. Meanwhile, here are a few of the images Allen has been working on.
“One of the finest fantasy novels in the English language”
Also in preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. First published in 1926, it is now recognised as one of the most significant works of fantasy. It was largely unknown for many years, although it was revered by authors and devotees of the genre. Neil Gaiman has described it as “one of the finest fantasy novels in the English language… It is a little golden miracle of a book.” The writing, he says, is “elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.” It is one of his top ten favourite books.
Our edition will have over forty stunning relief prints by Scott McKowen. Neil Gaiman suggested that we commission him, and it was a masterful idea.
More exciting projects
We’re very happy that we have an on-going relationship with Neil Gaiman and we are working on new projects with him. We can’t say more at the moment except that we know these are going to be really exciting books.
