How Barnes & Noble’s ‘Diverse Editions’ Of Classic Novels Widely Miss The Mark

Why classic novels with new covers featuring Black versions of white characters is literary blackface.

Image Credit: TBWA\Chiat\Day\New York

Barnes & Noble recently announced its partnership with publisher Penguin Random House to sell “diverse editions” of a curated slate of classic novels to celebrate Black History Month.

These editions will be available for sell at Barnes & Noble’s Fifth Avenue location in New York — the largest bookstore in the country — on February 5th.

Twelve classic novels have been selected for this initiative:

• Alice In Wonderland
• Moby Dick
• The Secret Garden
• Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
• Peter Pan
• Frankenstein
• Treasure Island
• Three Musketeers
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Wizard Of Oz
• Emma
• Romeo And Juliet

The alteration making these classic novels “diverse?”

It is a series of specially commissioned covers featuring a white main character from each book drawn as…