The celebrations of the 225th anniversary of WH Smith include some Brontë-related interesting bits:
W H Smith is celebrating its 225th anniversary year with a classic ‘yellowback’ book collection similar to the ones sold in the mid-1800s by the retailer.The favourite book vote includes Jane Eyre.
The ‘yellowbacks’ became popular in the mid-1800s because they were cheap, entertaining and could be carried when you travelled.
Now W H Smith is bringing them back to mark 225 years since the store was founded in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith, who first traded from a stall on Little Grosvenor Street in London with his wife Anna.
The seven exclusive classic titles have been developed with publisher Vintage Classics and are: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, The Warden by Anthony Trollope, Silas Marner by George Eliot, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
The titles cost £7.99 each, with a Buy One Get One Half Price offer at both High Street and Travel stores.
In a bid to raise over £2m for three charities voted for by W H Smith employees - Cancer Research UK, Mind and the National Literacy Trust, £1 from the sale of each of the titles will go to charity.
The titles hit high street, railway and train station stores this week.
The company is also asking its customers and every book-lover nationwide to vote for their favourite book from the past 225 years. A national poll based on recommendations from the #WHS225Books hashtag. (Natasha Onwuemezi in The Bookseller)
Jane Eyre (WHSmith 225th Anniversary Yellowback Edition)
Charlotte Brontë
Format: Paperback
ID: 9781784873165
ISBN10: 1784873160
As part of our 225th anniversary celebrations in 2017, we're paying homage to seven popular classics by reproducing them as limited edition yellowbacks.
Nowadays yellowback books are a rare collector's item but back in the late 1800's they were a common sight on Britain's railways. Yellowbacks are an incredibly important part of the history of WHSmith, cementing our place in the books and rail industries, and we are very proud of the role we played in bringing books to the masses.This is a special yellowback edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. A classic novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman's search for equality and freedom.
