Classic books receive modern makeovers

A number of classic books are being published with new covers in an attempt to attract the so-called 'Twilight generation' to some of the defining works of English literature.

Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire series has been a publishing phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic and now publishers are hoping to capitalise on the resurgence in reading among young people by diverting their attention to classic novels that they may not have read.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility have both been repackaged in vivid covers with arty depictions of the characters and bold text displaying the titles of the novels, with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and her sister Emily's Wuthering Heights undergoing similar makeovers.

The move is mainly aimed at young, female readers who have been engrossed by the love triangle between Edward, Jacob and Bella in the Twilight books and may be searching for more tales of heartache, explained Eileen Kreit, president and publisher of Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin.

'We didn't want to go with a muted approach. We wanted to appeal to that teenager and give a fresh look to these stories that have been around a very long time,' she added.

To capitalise on the vampire craze, Bram Stoker's Dracula will also be reissued with a new cover depicting a ghostly woman floating in the centre and the title and author scrawled over a large pool of blood.

The move was summed up by book store owner Julie Klein, who commented: 'As a bookseller, I appreciate the classics and I love when I can sell them to a new generation. Anything that gets kids to look at them.'