Parallel Lives news! The COVER!

[Stefani]

http://lizzieandrewborden.com/MondoLizz ... ver-cover/

Take a gander at this cover! Simply gorgeous! Don't you agree?

[Harry]

Right purty!

Looking forward to its release.

[twinsrwe]

Ohhh, I like it!!!

I am also looking forward to its release.

[shakiboo]

Oh, yes! I like it too!! Can't wait to read it!

[stargazer]

"Poifect," as the 3 Stooges would say, or did they ever say it like that ? I love the color, and the simple focus on....her.

[Steveads2004]

It really is a beautiful cover. I wish I could read the dust jacket blurbs...

[twinsrwe]

...I wish I could read the dust jacket blurbs...

Steveads2004, I found a way that you can read the dust jacket blurbs!

Go into the link that Stefani posted, then left click on the image of the dust, located on the left hand side; this will enlarge and open the dust jacket so that you can see it full view.

Now, place your cursor over the gust image; you will notice that your cursor is round with a + sign in the middle of it – left click on this image and it will enlarge enough so that the dust cover information can be read.

I thought I would need a magnifying glass to read it, but found that I didn’t.

[mbhenty]

Yes, I too must agree with everyone.......it's a beautiful, classy and elegant dustjacket.

The person who colorized Lizzie did a very professional job. You can almost believe it was taken from an original color slide. Her hair color, skin.......he/she got it just right.

To those who have written that Lizzie Borden was plain and homely, have done her an injustice in print. I find her very attractive. Perhaps more alluring than beautiful, more sexy then gorgeous, more bewitching than charming, but never homely.

But, before I say anymore, please allow me to say I really love the cover. Who ever designed it did a wonderful job.

Now, that being said, let's flip the coin.

When it comes to judging a book by it's cover this dust jacket misses it's mark by 50%. It does not speak to its title PARALLEL LIVES. The book has been revealed as the telling of Lizzie Borden and the upper class in contrast to the common working man and the poor of Fall River, the place where Lizzie/Lizbeth lived.

Thus, the background photograph of the jacket does not give the whole picture. Though nothing extraordinary or interesting, or anything that would take away from the striking image of Lizzie, it is still the wrong photograph. Instead of a scene of the well-to-do in recreation or ceremony, it should have displayed a photo of the common man or woman, perhaps a mill scene, a street scene, a parade, a photo of the average working family etc., dressed for work or in their Sunday best.

After all, we have Lizzie on the cover as half of the "Parallel Equation," as the title denotes, but where is the other half, the masses of Fall River, those who made what the Bordens had become. Can we assume that they were not worthy enough to grace the cover? Would an image of children holding dinner pails and standing behind Lizzie soil the cover.......take something away from the pleasing aesthetics of the wrapper? Or, is it that they/it would be too dull. After all, everything in America is about image, the beautiful, the glamourous. Who wants to see poverty splattered. Conceivably, the cover designer knew what he was doing.

Now, if I got the precept or explanation of the title and of the book wrong, that is to say, that the book is about the Parallel lives of Lizzie Borden in comparison with the rest of the hoi polloi wealthy, then they got it just right, and I'm just blowing smoke. (which I do well)

Perhaps this approach of using a photo of the common Fall Riverite of the times was thought of and rejected. Either way it still is a marvelous cover. To me I just see it as a lost opportunity to give a better interpretation about what is behind the boards of this very informative volume.

Don't get me wrong. It's a real nice cover. I don't see anything unsuitable about it. Just that it could be improved to tell a better story

I may be wrong, or you may not agree, but at the very least, it gives you something to ponder and perhaps talk about.

Some may think I'm a little critical, speaking the way I do about the cover for Parallel Lives, especially since the book is not even for sale as of yet. (and he's already critiquing the cover)

But, as one of my favorite authors, Oscar Wilde, once said, "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

[Fargo]

The cover looks good.

I have got to thinking about the Hilliard papers. I remember the book being talked about before we were talking about Parallel lives.

I am guessing the Hilliard Papers were put on the back burner so parallel lives could be completed.

[BedfordCord]

The cover does juxtapose two disparate social brackets: Lizzie vs. Good Society. She couldn't get in! Showing a picture of Lizzie vs. an immigrant family doesn't say much because Lizzie does not and did not represent society living of the super-rich. She did not belong in that circle - nor did she feel she belonged to the working class demographic. Lizzie was in socio-economic limbo and was forced to live as a middle-class citizen. How frustrating would that be? Living on the wrong street, in the wrong clothes, in a claustrophobic house simply because Dad chose to keep his money in the bank than spend it on "foolish things." The cover speaks volumes!

[mbhenty]

Yes, BedfordCord.

You may very well be right. You are right about one thing..........the cover does speak volumes. My argument above was that it "speaks" the wrong language.

But, that is a very astute observation on your part, and very true to the book's contents, that is to say, the comparison between "Lizzie vs. Good Society." A good portion of this book is indeed about Lizzie vs the super rich around her, or those in her affluent class, her contemporaries. But, there are also stories about the working men and women. The ordinary every day citizen of fall river. Around 25% of the material is about the common man; stories about tenement living and mill working.

Its sort of like Godzilla vs King kong. Lizzie is King Kong and the super rich of fall river is Godzilla, (or visa-versa) And the common fall riverites are the tiny people in the town. As Godzilla and King Kong battle, they step on and destroy the town around them. The people are insignificant.

(Of course the working class is well presented in this book. They have indeed not been overlooked. They have been given their station in this volume, thus, my discussion is not about the book content, but about the cover portrayal.)

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Your approach is probably right on the money. Lizzie vs. Good Society BedfordCord.

But I was playing devils advocate, if I may, in support of the working class. A good percentage of this book is about the poor, the working class, the average Joe. I still feel they needed a place on the cover.

Perhaps I feel I have a pony in the race since my parents and many of my friends worked the mills of fall river. Though they did not contribute to the pocketbooks of the Bordens and her kind, and the mills were much different places when they worked there, I can still relate. (so you see, it's all about me.)

In the end it's all in the designer and authors mind. It's what they wish to relate that matters. I still believe there was a missed opportunity and stand by as a spokesperson or indorser of the working class, though the designer's objective may have very well been accomplished, and done so with style.

But there's always someone like me to throw a monkey wrench into the works and see how it stands up. If the cover was a plain brown or white paper wrapper I would still have a constructive opinion about it.

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Lizzie vs the Good society.

I can see that.

Maybe the "problem" is not with the cover, but with the title.

Perhaps they should change the title. LIZZIE VS THE GOOD SOCIETY. Sounds like a good one to me.

[BedfordCord]

Perhaps there should be 3 pictures - the affluent society, the working classes and Lizzie stuck in the middle!!!

[DJ]

I firmly believe a good dust jacket can enhance a good book, and a so-so one can detract from it. No, you can't judge a book by the cover, but you sure as heck may be more inclined to buy it if the cover is "boss," reaching back to '70s lingo.

Nice job here, and I'm amazed at seeing so much of Lizzie's daring decolletage! Girlfriend sure put on the glad rags to go to the police station. Little doubt there re the message about her social standing, as attached to her attire.

[mbhenty]

The interest I have taken in the cover of Parallel Lives is no accident.

I have been collecting books for many years and some of my collections were amassed for the cover art alone.

For example: George Alfred Henty was a British author who wrote boys books in the later part of the 19th century. Today he is very collectible. Many collect Henty for his cover art, or dare I say, most collect it for the cover art.

G.A. Henty wrote over 60 boys books. All fiction and centered around historical accounts. But it is not the stories that sell Henty but the covers.

I was embarrassed when I spoke to a prominent Henty collector and bookseller who had one of the biggest Henty collections in the world, when I had to admit to him that I have read only 3 Henty titles. But, I was surprise when he admitted to having only read a couple more than I had. Like everyone else, the cover sold him Henty.

Along with my Henty collection, I have a general collection of 19th century boys books by various authors, all collected for their marvelous covers.

Below is a photo of my Robinson Crusoe Collection. All collected for their cover art. This is a small example of a collection which has over 200 different publication companies over a span of nearly 200 years. All the same title, the same story. All collected for their cover art. (I have read everyone of those books. In doing so, all I had to do was read one.)

So, you can see why I had to throw in my 3 cents about the Parallel Lives Cover.

The cover art alone does not sell me a modern classic or new title. But, it sure impels me to pull it off the shelf and look it over.


(If you click on the photo below, you can truly see how beautiful these covers (spines) are.)

[xyjw]

Nice cover, any news on the release date?

[shakiboo]

Your collection of the book's are quite impressive. They are quite pretty, the older one's are alot more decorative and more elaborate then the newer one's.

[Bob Gutowski]

It's nice to see Liz in something other than blue for a change! I must tell you that while Jay and I were recently in Iceland we kept running into Victorian couches, so we invented the sad saga of Lizzie Bjordin.

[shakiboo]

It's nice to see Liz in something other than blue for a change! I must tell you that while Jay and I were recently in Iceland we kept running into Victorian couches, so we invented the sad saga of Lizzie Bjordin.

She's everywhere!! lol That's too funny!!!

[DJ]

Did she overdo the Ice-Andy-a vodka and then grab a hatchet?

[stargazer]

mbhenty : If those books were fancy pastries, they'd be devoured ! They are gorgeous. (pun intended)

[mbhenty]

Yes indeed. Very good. Fancy pastries. Good analogy. It's just what I feel about them.

Since we are talking about covers, I thought I would display some of my collection, those which are collected for their covers.

Below is a book about collecting paperbacks with decorative covers. Unlimited field, but one accomplished on the cheap. Great book, called THE GREAT AMERICAN PAPERBACK by Richard Lupoff. (Beside it is one of my scruffy copies of The Girl in the House of Hate.) More or less a coffee table size book, it is full of colorful covers from paperback books covering almost every conceivable subject; cirme, sci-fi, classics, etc.

The other photo is a small portion of my George Alfred Henty collection. Most of the stories have to do with military conquest. Most of the colorful spines are decorated with a figure, person, or soldier dressed in pertinent clothing. These are the lesser, cheaper copies in my collection. The main collection, along with all the first editions, resides in boxes and is stored away. Book collectors are just one step away from hoarders.