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New
Editor's Note
Synopsis
Book Details
Set in the twilight of the American frontier, it brings together the protagonists of the earlier novels: John Grady Cole of All the Pretty Horses and Billy Parham of The Crossing. Together, they work on a cattle ranch, set against McCarthy's trademark Western landscape of vast plains and lonely mountains. This is a brutal and beautiful story of friendship, doomed love and men bound to a vanishing way of life.
The book features seven cinematic illustrations by series artist Gérard DuBois. The cloth cover is screen-printed in shades of red, black and navy, with a wraparound illustration of a lone cowboy on horseback gazing across the open country. It is a majestic final volume for those who have followed and loved this iconic trilogy.
When John Grady crosses the border and falls into a dangerous love, the consequences ripple far beyond the ranch. Cities of the Plain is a poignant, unflinching finale to Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy – a story of friendship, longing and the passing of the old West.
Production Details
Bound in screen-printed clothPlain slipcase
Dimensions
9 inches × 5¾ inches (22.9 × 14.6 cm)Font
Typeset in MaximePages
272Author
Cormac McCarthyIllustrated by
Gérard DuBoisIllustration
Six colour illustrationsBlack and white title page illustration
Publication Date
15/09/2026Printing
First PrintingCities of the Plain
Book 3 of the Border Trilogy
Perfect Additions
Cities of the Plain
New
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Gérard DuBois was born in France in 1968, studied graphic design in Paris and then crossed the Atlantic to live in Montreal. His illustrations have appeared in major North American and European publications, among them the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Rolling Stone, New Yorker and Playboy, as well as in more than 20 books. His acrylic pieces are to be found in many private collections, including those of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro, and Canada Post included his artwork in its 2018 Great Canadian Illustrators stamp series. His work for the Folio Society includes illustrations for Italo Calvino’s Italian Folktales (1956; Folio 2019), and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006; Folio 2021), Blood Meridian (1985; Folio 2022), No Country for Old Men (2005; Folio 2023) and All the Pretty Horses (1992; Folio 2024). DuBois’s many garlands include the Hamilton King Award, four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Moira Gemmel Illustrator of the Year prize at the 2022 V&A Illustration Awards for his work on the Folio Society edition of The Road.
:fill(white)/https://www.foliosociety.com/static/cms/media/COTP-Cities-of-the-Plain-illustration-01.jpg)
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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Gérard DuBois was born in France in 1968, studied graphic design in Paris and then crossed the Atlantic to live in Montreal. His illustrations have appeared in major North American and European publications, among them the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Rolling Stone, New Yorker and Playboy, as well as in more than 20 books. His acrylic pieces are to be found in many private collections, including those of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro, and Canada Post included his artwork in its 2018 Great Canadian Illustrators stamp series. His work for the Folio Society includes illustrations for Italo Calvino’s Italian Folktales (1956; Folio 2019), and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006; Folio 2021), Blood Meridian (1985; Folio 2022), No Country for Old Men (2005; Folio 2023) and All the Pretty Horses (1992; Folio 2024). DuBois’s many garlands include the Hamilton King Award, four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Moira Gemmel Illustrator of the Year prize at the 2022 V&A Illustration Awards for his work on the Folio Society edition of The Road.
:fill(white)/https://www.foliosociety.com/static/cms/media/COTP-Cities-of-the-Plain-illustration-02.jpg)
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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Gérard DuBois was born in France in 1968, studied graphic design in Paris and then crossed the Atlantic to live in Montreal. His illustrations have appeared in major North American and European publications, among them the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Rolling Stone, New Yorker and Playboy, as well as in more than 20 books. His acrylic pieces are to be found in many private collections, including those of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro, and Canada Post included his artwork in its 2018 Great Canadian Illustrators stamp series. His work for the Folio Society includes illustrations for Italo Calvino’s Italian Folktales (1956; Folio 2019), and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006; Folio 2021), Blood Meridian (1985; Folio 2022), No Country for Old Men (2005; Folio 2023) and All the Pretty Horses (1992; Folio 2024). DuBois’s many garlands include the Hamilton King Award, four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Moira Gemmel Illustrator of the Year prize at the 2022 V&A Illustration Awards for his work on the Folio Society edition of The Road.
:fill(white)/https://www.foliosociety.com/static/cms/media/COTP-Cities-of-the-Plain-illustration-03.jpg)
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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Gérard DuBois was born in France in 1968, studied graphic design in Paris and then crossed the Atlantic to live in Montreal. His illustrations have appeared in major North American and European publications, among them the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Rolling Stone, New Yorker and Playboy, as well as in more than 20 books. His acrylic pieces are to be found in many private collections, including those of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro, and Canada Post included his artwork in its 2018 Great Canadian Illustrators stamp series. His work for the Folio Society includes illustrations for Italo Calvino’s Italian Folktales (1956; Folio 2019), and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006; Folio 2021), Blood Meridian (1985; Folio 2022), No Country for Old Men (2005; Folio 2023) and All the Pretty Horses (1992; Folio 2024). DuBois’s many garlands include the Hamilton King Award, four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Moira Gemmel Illustrator of the Year prize at the 2022 V&A Illustration Awards for his work on the Folio Society edition of The Road.
:fill(white)/https://www.foliosociety.com/static/cms/media/COTP-Cities-of-the-Plain-illustration-04.jpg)
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:fill(white)/https://www.foliosociety.com/static/cms/media/contributor-cormac-mccarthy-1.jpg)
About the Author
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode Island in 1933. He later went to Chicago, where he worked as a mechanic while writing his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, which was published in 1965. After several years touring Europe and then living in Tennessee, in the late 1970s McCarthy moved to Texas, and in 1979 published his fourth novel, Suttree, a book that had occupied his writing life on and off for 20 years. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1981, and published his fifth novel, Blood Meridian in 1985 (Folio 2022). All the Pretty Horses, the first volume of the 'Border Trilogy', was published in 1992 (Folio 2024). It won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and was later turned into a feature film. After concluding the Border Trilogy, McCarthy's next novel, No Country for Old Men, was published in 2005 (Folio 2023). This was followed in 2006 by a novel in dramatic form, The Sunset Limited, originally performed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. The Road (2006; Folio 2021) won the Pulitzer Prize. McCarthy died in June 2023.