Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover–Issue Twenty-Two: Historical Fiction (Part 3)

“Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover” is a regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which I pay tribute to some of the best and brightest the publishing world has to offer in the way of book cover design. This feature is inspired by Katie’s Cover Love on her blog One Page At A Time, and the idea is being used with her gracious permission.

I think we’re all familiar with the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. And you know what I have to say about that? Rubbish! Covers are an invaluable part of a book’s package. A truly great cover can tell you a lot about the novel contained within its pages. Book covers can also catch your attention and attract you to a novel you might otherwise ignore. So go ahead, judge a book by its cover – We all do it!

For the twenty-second edition of Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover I’ve decided to re-visit the Historical Fiction genre once again, and I must admit I’m a little conflicted about my selection of covers this week. While I do love all of the ones I’ve selected, I’ve never responded well to model-based covers, and I find this sort of cover is particularly prevalent in this genre. That said, I do think this can be used to good effect under the right circumstances and some of the covers I’ve chosen this week are hopefully a demonstration of that. Some of my favourite covers this week include Caught In The Current by Daniel Hryhorczuk, The Beautiful American by Jeanne MacKin, Sing For Me by Karen Halvorsen Schreck, Lola Bensky by Lily Brett, Sea Of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh and I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira.

As you also might have noticed, per the request of a couple of commenters and friends this week I’ve included links to each individual title on Goodreads, so that you might learn more about a book should you find a particular cover intriguing. I hope this proves useful. Be sure to let me know what you think about this new addition in the comments!

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson ● Caught In The Current by Daniel Hryhorczuk ● Stillwater by Nicole Helget

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller ● The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed ● Fatal Enquiry by Will Thomas

The Beautiful American by Jeanne MacKin ● Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck ● Sing For Me by Karen Halvorsen Schreck

Harlot Queen by Hilda Lewis ● Lola Bensky by Lily Brett ● Empress Of The Night by Eva Stachniak

The Queen’s Dwarf by Ella March Chase ● The Crimson Ribbon by Katherine Clements ● The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

The Many Deaths Of The Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen ● Against The Tide by Elizabeth Cameron ● The Anatomy Lesson by Paullina Simons

Sea Of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh ● I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira ● Godiva by Nerys Ann Jones

Yankee Invasion by Ignacio Solares ● The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons ● Palmerino by Melissa Pritchard

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favourite historical fiction covers? Did I list one of your favourites here or is there one I forgot that just has to be included? Let me know in the comments!