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.
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…