‘The Night Circus’ illustration by Cristina Bencina Courtesy of The Folio Society
‘The Night Circus’ illustration by Cristina Bencina
A new collection of beautifully illustrated literary treasures–including Erin Morgenstern’s acclaimed novel The Night Circus and Michael Herr’s epic Vietnam war novel Dispatches–has been released by The Folio Society.
The Folio Society is renowned for its exquisite and collectible editions and its Spring 2025 collection includes popular literary classics and acclaimed masterpieces, each one reimagined with new artwork by leading artists and illustrators. Markus Zusak’s modern classic The Book Thief features artwork by Alexis Deacon, Agatha Christie’s ultimate whodunit detective novel And Then There Were None is reimagined with illustrations by David Lupton, and Robert Carter’s dramatic artwork breathes new life into Robert Harris’s celebrated historical thriller Pompeii.
Erin Morgenstern introduces Lord Dunsany’s fantasy novel The King of Elfland’s Daughter, with illustrations by Julie Dillon, and Andrew Sillett curates Cicero: Selected Letters & Speeches, the ancient Roman philosopher’s political tome, with new illustrations by Neil Bousfield.
Erin Morgenstern portrait Courtesy of The Folio Society
Erin Morgenstern portrait Courtesy of The Folio Society
Highlights of the spring 2025 collection from The Folio Society include a new edition of Erin Morgenstern’s mesmerizing tale The Night Circus, illustrated for the first time with artwork by Cristina Bencina and an introduction by the author herself. Bencina’s enchanting illustrations breathe life into Morgenstern’s narrative, offering six full-page color artworks that complement the text’s whimsical and mysterious elements.
The Night Circus Courtesy of The Folio Society
The Night Circus Courtesy of The Folio Society
Morgenstern herself expressed her admiration for Bencina’s work, explaining how she felt about the collaboration with The Folio Society and Cristina Bencina on her much-loved book: “I was thrilled for Folio Society to perform their magic on The Night Circus as I’ve been a fan for years. When I saw Cristina’s portfolio, I knew she was going to conjure amazing images (her work has such fantastic use of lines and color) and I was more than happy to let her interpret the book however she wished with her impeccable style. The entire team did such an incredible job putting this edition together, I couldn’t be more pleased with the final product. I always feel strange talking about my own work and its even stranger to look back over the years since The Night Circus was first published. I wrote this introduction only days before its thirteenth anniversary and it turned out to be a lovely opportunity to consider where this story started—in handwritten notebook fragments—and to see how far it has travelled since.”
Another highlight is the first-ever illustrated edition of Michael Herr’s Vietnam War Classic Dispatches, featuring Tim Page’s unforgettable photography and an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Frances Fitzgerald. Dispatches is an immersive literary experience full of compelling prose which gives an insight into the horrors of the Vietnam war. Herr’s raw account of the Vietnam War captures the chaos and tsunami of emotions faced by soldiers, making it a seminal piece of war literature.
Dispatches Courtesy of The Folio Society
Dispatches Courtesy of The Folio Society
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frances Fitzgerald has written an exclusive introduction for The Folio Society edition of Dispatches, and she offers a unique perspective as one of the few women to report from Vietnam.
Frances Fitzgerald explains how she felt about being invited to write an introduction for Dispatches: “It was a pleasure to be asked to write the introduction for Dispatches. It’s the best book by far about GIs in the Vietnam War. It’s the language Herr does so well. Just listen because we may never hear it again.”
The Folio Society Spring 2025 Collection is available here.