Publishing & Research
A curated publication of Victorian short stories exploring the dualities of romance and ruin. Two contrasting collections sourced from Project Gutenberg; Victorian Short Stories of Successful Marriages and Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages, bound into a single volume, the design physically manifesting the harmony and chaos of these relationships.
1. Covers, 2021.
The covers establish this tension through deliberate subversion. The front cover, introducing the successful marriages section, depicts the Crystal Palace actively engulfed in flames. The back cover, introducing troubled marriages, shows the building pristine and intact. Destructive passion on one side, deceptive calm on the other.
2. Successful Marriages – Table of Contents, 2021.
3. Troubled Marriages – Table of Contents, 2021.
Rather than a single unified table of contents, each section opens with its own; reinforcing the idea that these are two distinct books sharing a binding. The typographic system mirrors this split throughout: the successful marriages half is set in black ink on white, clean and traditional, a deliberately ideal reading experience at odds with its burning cover.
4. Successful Marriages Spread, 2021.
5. Troubled Marriages Spread, 2021.
The moment the content shifts, the book inverts entirely; white text on black, plunging the reader into a darker space. Period paintings were selected for each chapter opening, matched thematically to the emotional register of the story that follows.
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