4th Estate 25th Anniversary Books
25th Anniversary limited editions
Limited, collectable editions of five classic Fourth Estate books will mark the anniversary. Publishing in May 2009, the books will be beautifully produced hardbacks, with jackets designed by some of the finest artists at work today.
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
978-0-00-730881-1 HB £25 05/05/09
Winner of the Pulitzer, National Book Award and the Irish Times International Prize. The Shipping News has sold over 250,000 copies sold to date in the UK and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 48 weeks. In 2001 it was made into a major film starring Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore and Dame Judi Dench.
‘A very impressive achievement. So funny, so full of delights.’ Guardian
Cover design by Caragh Thuring
Caragh Thuring was born in 1972 and lives and works in London. Her oil paintings have been exhibited at many galleries including the Saatchi Gallery in London.
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
978-0-00-730883-5 HB £25 05/05/09
The insightful and remarkable best-selling diary of Jean Dominique Bauby, a paralysed man who could only communicate using his left eye-lid. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly has sold 1.2 million copies world wide and been translated into 23 languages. In 2007 a film adaptation starring Mathieu Amalric was released.
‘One of the great books of the century’ Financial Times
Cover design by Gillian Waring
Gillian Waring rose to prominence in the mid 1990s, exhibiting at shows which brought the so-called ‘Young British Artists’ to the public attention. In 1997 she won the Turner Prize.
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
978-0-00-730879-8 HB £25 05/05/09
The Corrections received great critical acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic winning the National Book Award in 2001 and going on to sell over 250,000 copies in the UK alone. The Corrections was a New York Times No.1 Bestseller.
‘A book which is funny, moving, generous, brutal and intelligent, and which poses the ultimate question: what life is for? And that is as much as anyone could ask.’ Blake Morrison, Guardian
Cover design by Michael Landy
Michael Landy, another of the so-called Young British Artists, is best known for his performance piece cum installation, Breakdown, in which he destroyed all of his possessions.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
978-0-00-730882-8 HB £25 05/05/09
The Year of Magical Thinking is a powerful and devastatingly honest book of a family coping with love, life and death. In spring 2008 the hugely successful Broadway stage adaptation starring Vanessa Redgrave and directed by David Hare transferred to the National Theatre in London.
‘This is a beautiful and devastating book by one of the finest writers we have.’ Zadie Smith
Cover design by Bob Crowley
Bob Crowley is an award-winning theatre director, scenic and costume designer. He has worked extensively on Broadway and at The Royal National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK. He was the designer for the stage adaptation of The Year of Magical Thinking.
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
978-0-00-730880-4 HB £25 05/05/09
Half of a Yellow Sun is a heartbreaking, exquisitely written literary masterpiece and won the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007. The novel is set in Nigeria during the 1960s, at the time of a vicious civil war in which a million people died and thousands were massacred in cold blood. It has sold over 650,000 copies in the UK.
‘Here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.’ Chinua Achebe
Cover design by Hurvin Anderson
Born in Birmingham of Jamaican parents, Hurvin Anderson’s work draws on the influences of time spent in the lush Caribbean landscape and at his home in London. His work establishes a constant dialogue between both worlds.
