This wonderful series book cover designs for Jane Austen novels is a self-initiated project by London-based designer Rebecca Richardson.

Wanting to create a series of covers that conveyed the emotion and romance that many of Austen’s novels touched upon, Rebecca took Austen’s writing and used it as the basis for the cover concept, setting quotes from each book in a hand-written style on a textured paper background to represent a hand-written note or letter, a key practice in many of the stories.

These were then treated with stains and drips to denotes tears, not necessarily tears of sadness, but also tears of joy or laughter, illustrating Austen’s broad range of writing styles and the various emotional responses she can evoke.

A simple idea that works well.