Celebrating All Kinds of Love

January 27, 2023

Valentine’s Day is a chance to show your love and appreciation for all the special people in your life. So, this year, think beyond traditional hearts and flowers relationships and explore these literary love stories that celebrate the plutonic as well as the passionate.

Illustration © Diana Ejaita 2022, from Their Eyes Were Watching God

Romantic love: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Many themes run through Zora Neale Hurston’s triumphant novel but love is always at the forefront. The protagonist Janie must navigate an arranged marriage then a self-serving rogue before she finally finds her soulmate. The wait is worth it; Janie bides her time to fulfil her modest dream of happiness with a man she truly loves.

Illustration © James Weston Lewis 2022, from A Walk in the Woods

Friendship: A Walk in the Woods

Bill Bryson and his walking companion Katz put their friendship to the ultimate test in this laugh-out-loud account of their hike along the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail. Tedious days of hunger, exhaustion, injury and insect bites lead to many a falling-out but ultimately the shared experience cements their friendship.

Illustration © Rebecca Green 2014, from Little Women

Family love: Little Women

You might bicker with your siblings when you’re young, argue about whose turn it is to host Christmas, and raise your eyebrows at some of their life choices, but for most people family ties are a lifelong bond. Perhaps that’s why Louisa May Alcott’s engaging story about four siblings still captivates readers more than 150 years after it was first published.

Illustration © Abigail Rorer 2011, from The Call of the Wild

Four-legged friends: The Call of the Wild

Pets are part of the family and the bond that ties a beloved cat or dog to its human can run deep. This special relationship is explored in Jack London’s classic novel, with John and Buck equally influential and essential in the other’s life.

Illustration © Valentina Catto 2020, from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Self-love: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

As Mark Twain famously wrote, ‘A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval’. Sometimes you need to look after yourself before you treat someone else and, if so, this is the perfect read: the story of a woman who went against the grain of judgemental Victorian society to put her own wellbeing first.

Illustration © Quentin Blake 2021, from The Twits

Love and hate: The Twits

Love isn’t always straightforward, as demonstrated in this classic Roald Dahl story. A hateful, spiteful couple that is way beyond marriage counselling, Mr and Mrs Twit spend their days conjuring up ever more evil ways to harm and humiliate each other.

Find out more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

One of the defining African-American novels of the 20th century, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is beautifully illustrated by Diana Ejaita in this striking Folio Society edition.

A Walk in the Woods

Full of sweat, tears and side-splitting humour, Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is a page-turning travelogue and this Folio Society edition is the ultimate companion for fans of the author’s inimitable wit.

Little Women

Illustrated by Rebecca Green and introduced by Jane Gardam, this gorgeous Folio Society edition of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women celebrates its status as a timeless classic, an early feminist novel and a wonderfully engaging read.

The Call of the Wild

A powerful story of nature and nurture, Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is beautifully illustrated by Abigail Rorer and introduced by David Vann for this exceptional Folio Society edition.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Published to mark the 200th anniversary of Anne Brontë’s birth, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall completes the Folio collection of the Brontë sisters’ most distinguished titles.

The Roald Dahl Collection (Set 1)

Grab your golden ticket for three of Roald Dahl’s finest fizz-whizzing adventures – James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Twits – in this splendiferous new Folio Society set, featuring Quentin Blake’s iconic black-and-white illustrations and the classic texts.

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Celebrating All Kinds of Love