The Friday Face-Off: I Got No Strings to Hold Me Down

---

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

---

Dolly by Susan Hill

---

Welcome to the Friday Face-Off where this week we’re comparing covers that feature either dolls or puppets.

Anticipating some horrendously creepy covers this week (dolls AND puppets?!), I’ve gone for two covers that I find incredibly disturbing with Susan Hill’s novella, Dolly. Scroll down to see which cover is your favourite… if you dare!

---

Profile Books (Hardcover) | Cover #1

Cover Art by Peter Dyer

Profile Books (Paperback) | Cover #2

Cover Artist Unknown

---

| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |

Cover #1 gives the book a sense of the Gothic with its Victoriana inspired binding. Blending a rich green damask, which features intertwining floral motifs and a title that looks as though its been embroidered into its fabric, this cover would appear sumptuous and enticing… if it weren’t for the ghostly doll in its centre. With the vines of the damask twisting around its limbs, and a strange translucency that gives the doll its ghostly appearance, this is quite a beautiful, if incredibly creepy, cover.

While I can appreciate the beauty in Cover #1 (minus creepy doll #1), Cover #2 is just a big fat no.  The burnished colour which fades to black gives the doll’s face a terrifying focus; and the cropped imagery, the cracked porcelain and the staring eye are the stuff of nightmares. From the painted red lips, to the finely drawn eyebrow, to the snub nose and the glassy blue eye, Cover #2 is effective in conveying a ghostly, haunting piece of literature which may be found cover-less on my shelves!

With two highly disturbing covers which are more than likely to give me nightmares, the winner of this week’s face off is Cover #1.

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:

When she was a child, the witch locked her away in a tower that had neither doors nor stairs

A cover featuring a Tower

Remember to check The Friday Face-Off Feature Page for upcoming themes

---

| Links |

Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy

Wendell @ Bookwraiths

Steve Smith @ Books and Beyond Reviews

Mogsy @  The Bibliosanctum

Lynn @ Books and Travelling with Lynn

S. J. Higbee @ Brainfluff

Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin