The duvet story of Albert Camus & # 39; The Plague
As the sale of the classic novel increases, we look at The Plague's visual legacy and the recurring symbols used to sell the book
After the coronavirus pandemic, people turned to literature to find some comfort – and Camus' 73-year-old novel The Plague is one of the titles where sales have risen sharply.
The story of the Algerian city of Oran, in which the bubonic plague and the subsequent quarantine of the population erupt, is obviously resonating. Penguin reported in March that it was in a hurry after sales increased 150% in February compared to 2019. In other countries, the book has also jumped onto the bestseller lists.
To follow the visual story of the novel, CR spoke to Dylan Mulvaney, head of design at New York's creative agency Gretel, who examined some of the recurring symbols that have been used by book cover designers for the past 70 years.