Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Welcome to the Friday Face-Off where this week we’re comparing covers that feature something from Greek mythology.
This week I’ve found two stunning covers for C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces; a masterful and beautiful retelling of the story of Psyche and Cupid. While the artwork isn’t overtly ‘Greek’, I think you’ll agree that both covers are an inspired take on the Greek myth and create a very difficult choice! Take a look and see which one wins your vote!
Time-Life Books (1966) | Cover #1
Cover Art by Leo + Diane Dillon
Le Livre de Poche (2006) | Cover #2
Cover Art by Renaud Bec
| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |
This week was an incredibly hard choice. So hard in fact that I had to call it a draw. These two covers are an absolute joy to behold and I wasn’t happy until my heart rested safely in the middle.
The Time-Life cover is in the style of a stained glass window, with blues, purples, greens and browns swirling across the page to create a beautiful and mesmerising composition. The fragmented panes create a flow of movement around each character and you can almost image the light filtering through the page. Bold in colour yet gentle in its forms, with the figures of Psyche and Orual providing contrast, this cover is an eye-catching delight.
The Le Livre de Poche cover is bold, sombre and displays a seriously good piece of artwork. I love the swirl of light around the central figure of Orual contrasted with the shadowed hoard below. The richness of colour which illuminates the throne becomes a wash of colour which radiates out from her form. The typeface may be a little lacking but the imagery more than makes up for it – this is a beautiful and memorable cover.
Which cover wins your vote this week? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!
Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads
Next week’s theme is:
…but Icarus flew too close
A cover featuring the Sun
Remember to check The Friday Face-Off Feature Page for upcoming themes
| Links |
Lynn @ Books and Travelling with Lynn
Steve Smith @ Books and Beyond Reviews
Books by Proxy 
Wow. Absolutely beautiful covers and I agree that it’s impossible to choose.
Lynn 😄
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You are right… both covers are stunning – but my heart lies with the stained-glass one which is absolutely exquisite. I haven’t read this book – and as I LOVE Greek myth retellings, it looks as though I should…
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Both are very beautiful, but I’m drawn more to cover 2…but I love cover 1…yea, definitely a draw. I wish one of those was the cover I had.
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I would love to own either of these covers. I kept switching between the two and it felt like a disservice to pick one above the other!
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The stained-glass motif is both unusual and eye-catching, so that’s where I will cast my vote 🙂
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It is a very beautiful cover – and you’re right, the style is rather unusual for a book cover, but after seeing this I wish there were more like it! 😀
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Oh wow, this one was tough! I love both covers, they’re beautiful!
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They really are! 😀 I wish I owned them!
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Wow Proxy, this is a really hard choice… they are both so gorgeous! If I had to choose I think I am slightly leaning towards the stained glass inspired one. This also reminds me, I really need to read this book!
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They really are two beauties! Every time I though I liked one more my mind started leaning to the other one. I think a draw is the definite solution in such cases! 😀
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LOVE this meme!! I found out about it thanks to S.J. Higbee, who created a post with different covers for Mary Renault’s “The King Must Die”.
I have to say that my absolute favorite is the stained glass cover. When I took a look at who created it, I thought to myself, “Of course!” You see, Leo and Diane Dillon are among my favorite cover artists of all time! I think they were BRILLIANT.
As for the other cover, yes, it’s masterfully done. However, it does give me a VERY creepy feeling. So I can’t look at it for very long, lol.
Thanks for featuring these!! ❤ 🙂
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Thank you! 😀 I’m so glad you enjoy the meme.
Leo and Diane Dillon have created some amazing covers and I could just stare at this one for hours! It’s so beautiful! 😀 And you’re right, the French cover is VERY creepy but I think that’s what I like about it!! Haha
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