THE FOLIO SOCIETY
BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
Folio artist Dodie Masterman dies aged 91
Veteran illustrator of many Folio books including Anna Karenina
Dodie (Rhoda) Masterman, beloved illustrator of several Folio books, has died aged 91. She created many memorable images for Folio Society editions of the works of Balzac, DH Lawrence, Joyce and Tolstoy, and was also well known for her Jane and Peter series for children.
Dodie was born in Devon of parents of Russian-Jewish extraction. After her parents divorced she lived mainly with her grandmother, who introduced her to Victorian art and aesthetics. After attending the Slade School of Art, she both drew and modelled for Vogue, and had her first solo exhibition in 1945, leading to a career in book illustration. Her first commission for The Folio Society was Eugénie Grandet by Honore de Balzac in 1953, followed by The Virgin and the Gypsy by D.H. Lawrence in 1954, and her final commission for The Folio Society, in 1986, was The Secret Garden – appropriate considering her love of the Victorian era.
To read a detailed obituary in The Guardian, click here:
The Sea, The Sea wins prestigious Design Week award
First ever Folio entry scoops award for Print Editorial Design
We are delighted to announce that The Folio Society's edition of The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch, illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi, last night won an award for Print Editorial Design at the Design Week Awards 2010. This is the first time The Folio Society has entered these awards. The judges commented: ‘An unusual, but handsome book with lots of illustrations, it is very controlled and understated.’ The Award was accepted by Folio Society Art Director Sheri Gee.
Tatsuro Kiuchi has a superb website, well worth a visit, which gives you more information on his art. For further details about the Design Week Awards, click here and you can find out more about our edition of The Sea, The Sea here. And don’t forget the other titles in our series of illustrated Booker Prize winners: Midnight's Children, Schindler's Ark, Oscar & Lucinda, The Siege of Krishnapur, Possession and The Remains of the Day.
'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad ...' in London Word Festival
Award-winning live performance of M.R. James's spine-chiller
As part of the London Word Festival, Robert Lloyd Parry will perform his dramatisation of the spine-chilling story by M.R. James set on the Suffolk coast, at Jamboree in London's Cable Street Studios. Parry's performance was previously awarded the Dracula Society’s 2007 Hamilton Deane prize for best dramatic presentation of the gothic. To read more about this event and book tickets, click here.
Chekhov anniversary marked with major new publication, introduced by James Lasdun
Edition features Ronald Hingley's acclaimed translation and new illustrations by Laura Carlin
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Chekhov's birth and The Folio Society celebrates with a new 4-volume illustrated collection of his finest short stories. Master of the genre, inspiration to later writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver and William Trevor, by the time of his death at 44, Chekhov had produced an astonishing 600 or so stories, alongside, of course, his seminal stage plays. Sixty of his greatest stories have been selected for this edition, which uses Ronald Hingley's acclaimed translation. The edition is further enhanced by the beautiful illustrations of Laura Carlin, who recently did some wonderful work for our publication of Le Grand Meaulnes. Acclaimed writer James Lasdun introduces the collection with a very persuasive argument for Chekhov's pre-eminent position in the history of shorter fiction - 'his unsurpassed greatness as a teller of stories'. If you'd like to find out more about it, click here.
Celebrations marking Chekhov's birth on 29 January 1860 are taking place around the world. In Russia, a nationwide six-month festival in his honour was launched in January, with President Dmitry Medvedev jetting to Chekhov's birthplace, Taganrog in southern Russia. According to Reuters, Medvedev paid tribute to the physician-turned-writer, describing his literary output as "immortal". The BBC is currently running a Chekhov season, both on radio and television, whilst productions of his plays are going on throughout the year, from Three Sisters at the Lyric Hammersmith in London to the upcoming Uncle Vanya at the Sydney Theatre Company in the autumn, starring artistic director Cate Blanchett.
As a sad footnote, we just learned of Ronald Hingley's passing in January this year. Hingley, who produced his acclaimed translation of Chekhov's stories in the 1960s, was Emeritus Professor at St Antony's College, Oxford. He was praised, in particular, for the attention he paid to colloquial speech, reflecting Chekhov's ability to capture all facets of Russian society.
Simon Callow reads from the Folio edition of The Canterbury Tales
New facsimile edition limited to 1,980 copies
The launch of our latest facsimile edition, The Canterbury Tales featuring Eric Gill's magnificent illustrations, has inspired us to create our second Folio podcast, with the exceptional talents of stage and screen actor Simon Callow. Filmed in the Folio Society's head office in Central London, Mr Callow reads from our edition, with passages from the General Prologue and the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale, in the latter giving an inimitable interpretation of Chaucer's much-married West Country matron. Click through here to view the podcast. It is also available on YouTube via this link.
An accompanying narration by actor Gilbert Wynne provides some insight into Gill's collaboration with Robert Gibbings of the Golden Cockerel Press. Together these two artists created one of the most beautiful books of the 20th century. With its sublime marriage of image and text, Gill's edition of The Canterbury Tales is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest poems in the English language.
For more information on The Canterbury Tales, click here. And please note that some copies of The Four Gospels - one of our most successful limited editions of recent years - are still available to order here.
Children's Bible Stories wins young Folio fan
Beautifully illustrated edition enchants seven-year old
We are always delighted to welcome new readers to The Folio Society; but it's especially gratifying when the youngest generation takes to one of our books. The latest edition of the Church Times featured a 'children's book selection', which included an appraisal of our recent publication of Children's Bible Stories with illustrations by Peter Malone. Claire Drew and her son Stanley, seven, gave their verdict. For Claire, 'Peter Malone is responsible for the amazing images [see Adam and Eve, right] ... I can't praise this book enough'. Stanley was equally thrilled: 'I love this book. I want my mum to read me a different story every night until it's finished. I have another children's Bible, but this one is much better because it's a bit more grown up' ... a sentiment to warm the heart of any bibliophile! You can read more about this book here.
'Splendid Folio edition' praised in the TLS
Cretan Runner one of our bestselling new titles of the year
The Cretan Runner, one of our most popular new titles, has recently been praised by the Times Literary Supplement. In the 1 January issue, James Campbell commends the 'splendid Folio edition', drawing his readers' attention to the sketches, previously unpublished photographs and correspondence reproduced with the text. As Campbell observes, Patrick Leigh Fermor's sketches of the andartes were smuggled out on a submarine (as well as being labelled with false names in case they were captured by Germans) - a fact that adds to the sense of immediacy and danger throughout the narrative. We're delighted that this wonderful autobiographical account is receiving the attention it deserves. To read more about our edition, click here.
An inside view of Chekhov's life and work
'The House That Chekhov Built' on BBC Radio 4
January 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of Chekhov's birth and the publication of a new Folio edition of his collected stories (with the celebrated translation by Dr Ronald Hingley). By happy coincidence, BBC Radio 4 has just broadcast 'The House that Chekhov Built', a fascinating programme in which actor Michael Pennington visits the White Dacha, Chekhov's home in the Ukraine where he wrote his greatest works.
Chekhov was able to build the house in 1898 after the considerable success of The Seagull, and found solace there from ill health and personal tragedy. It was here that he found inspiration for some of his best-loved stories. The house, however, stands on land that now risks being sold off and a campaign has been launched to raise €200,000 by the end of January.
Among the contributors to the programme are actress Prunella Scales and playwright Christopher Hampton, both of whom have visited the White Dacha for their own artistic inspiration. If you would like to listen to it, it is available online via BBC iPlayer until 26 January. You can link to it here. Expect more news soon on the Folio edition The Collected Stories of Anton Chekhov.
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