I love Jane Austen’s books. I’ve read them over and over and over. I’ve read spinoffs, modern interpretations and just about anything else Austenesque (except the zombie books–I mean, really). I’ve watched the movies and loved some and loathed others. And now the latest installment in the never-ending marketing of Jane Austen . . . luscious cover art.
Check out Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Ooh-la-la! Could that be Catherine Morland exposing a high heel shod foot on the lawn? Surely not. Perhaps it’s fickle Eleanor Tilney. Regardless, it’s a mighty intriguing cover.  And where in the world did Anne Elliot get lipstick so shockingly red? Plus nail polish? While there were, indeed some products for coloring, scenting or buffing nails in Jane’s day, nail enamel didn’t come along until the 1920s when automobile paint was invented.
So what do you think? Will covers like this pull in a new generation of Austen fans? Or are artists trifling with something sacred?