The Shining
By Pauline MARIE
public domain image
Published in 1977, The Shining is a piece of horror fiction written by Stephen King (1947-), a famous American author known as the “master of horror”. This novel is full of fantasies and macabre events, dealing with a haunted house and corpses. The Shining is a story about the Torrance family, who are driving to the Overlook hotel, Colorado, to be the sole caretakers throughout the winter season. Before the staff depart, the cook talks to the child, Danny Torrance, and tells him that he “shines”. This “shining” is a mysterious ability to feel things that have happened or might happen. And the hotel is full of secrets that will be revealed to the Torrances during their stay. Is this “shining” a blessing or a curse?
This novel is part of the fictional horror genre, and we will see how different publishing houses from different countries manage to convey it.
Shining, French Edition
This book cover was designed for the 2007 edition of Stephen King’s novel The Shining, published in France by Le Livre de Poche. This front cover is entirely red, from
the top to the bottom, with variations in pattern: at the top, the bright red – or maybe even blood – roughly spread, fading into a maroon-ish pattern. This second pattern is much more geometric, recalling a sort of beehive. Two types of black shapes are highlighted: three closed doors and one that is open, allowing in light against which the child’s black figure, on a tricycle appears. The bright red color of the top reappears behind this open door.
In France, the first edition of Shining was in 1979, and the movie adaptation by Stanley Kubrick in 1980 – with 2,359,705 tickets sold. This cover may be making reference to Stanley Kubrick’s movie adaptation of The Shining, since its beehive pattern could be associated with the emblematic carpet shown in the movie, as well as the child playing on his tricycle while this door opens mysteriously in front of him. Maybe the publishing house tried to aim, in addition to the readership at an audience familiar with Kubrick’s movie.
If we look at the typography, we can see that the title “Shining” is written as if it were a form of laceration. First published as “L’Enfant lumière”, it will be finally entitled “Shining”. The missing article in the title is a French particularity, adopting the original English but misusing it. Also, its white handwriting allows the name of the title to stand out against the red background, as well as the name of the author. “Stephen KING” is spelt out in huge letters, taking almost a third of the front cover. It is even larger than the title of the novel. It feels as if the publishing house wanted to highlight the name of the author more than the novel itself.
Finally, on the bottom right corner is the logo of the publishing house. The position adopted for the logo is characteristic of this publisher, which places its seal-like symbol at this precise corner.
El Resplandor, Spanish Edition
This book cover was made for the 2013 edition by Spanish publishing house Debolsillo. Contrary to what was done in the French edition, the
original title was changed for a Spanish readership.
As we can see, this front presents a child’s face with black and green-ish yellow-ish color stripes over it, conveying the impression of illness. The cover seems to focus on the child character of the book, looking out suspiciously, but also with determination, at the reader. This chiaroscuro effect suggests that the child is hidden in a closet. We might think that the publishing house sides with the child by representing him on the front cover.
The name of the publishing house is quite sober among this amount of information given through this cover. Also, the book is stamped by a “Best-seller” certification for the reader.
The style of handwriting of the author’s name is similar to that of the title, but here again, the name of the writer is bigger than the title of the novel. The creepy typography looks as if the word were written with some white paint. Judging by its irregular aspect, we could imagine that this was written with a finger, or something even more scary.
El Resplandor, Mexican Edition
As in English-speaking countries, the publishing houses of Spanish-speaking
countries have different front covers.
This cover is that of the Mexican publishing house Megustaleer’s edition of the book of 2019. This publishing house belongs to Penguin Random House.
The illustration is very sober, balancing its tones between black, grey and white. The black shapes seems to be those of a door left ajar and create the shadow of the word “redrum” – the anagram of “murder” – which is cast on its threshold. “Stephen KING” and the moon are emphasized by the bright white. There is no sign of the publishing house except on the back cover.
Stephen King’s name is once again more strongly highlighted than the title of the novel.
The Shining, British Edition
This front cover was designed in 2013 for the Penguin Edition of The Shining and was made for a British readership.
This cover is quite interesting inasmuch it does not focus on the child, as did the two previous book covers, but on the environment where the story takes place.
Indeed, we find, again, the bright red background. Its shading is uneven. The mountains, in a darker maroon-ish shade, are emphasized through their color but also their position on the cover. The white peak leads the reader’s gaze to the author’s name and the title. The title seems to have been cut and put back together like a puzzle.
If we zoom in on the gigantic mountains, we can perceive a kind of one-way maze, with a tiny car on the rim of it, and a tiny mansion at its center. Here, the designer chose to not focus on the characters – and the child in particular – but on the environment focusing the reader’s attention on the atmosphere of the story.
The publishing house’s logo is the emblematic penguin, conventionally placed in the bottom right corner at its usual size.
(For more information about the artistic process of this book cover: https://www.behance.net/gallery/11962903/Stephen-Kings-The-Shining-Special-Edition-Book-Cover)
The Shining, Anchor Book UK
After some researches, Penguin does not seem to have had a cover design for a specific British edition. However, Anchor Book UK editions published a new edition of The Shining in 2012:
This cover was designed for the 2012 edition, also adopted for the US and Canada Penguin Random House editions. Here again, the author’s name is bigger than the title in itself. However, the title is highlighted by its white color, in comparison to “Stephen KING” printed in a darker tone. Nonetheless, the author’s name is imposing thanks to its bold font, splashing over the cover. As in the Spanish Debolsillo edition, the front cover is stamped by several relevant certifications, making it attractive for the potential buyer – or reader - : “#1 BESTSELLER”, and a teaser: “With an excerpt from the sequel, Doctor Sleep”, and finally a quote from the Los Angeles Times: “A MASTER STORYTELLER”.
On the cover, as on the French edition, the viewer is confronted with some filmic references: the “REDRUM” inscription, and the door torn to shreds are related to the cinematographic adaptation of The Shining by Stanley Kubrick.
The Shining, Hachette Australia Edition
Here is the 2018 cover of the Hachette Australia edition.
This front cover has a vintage look, as if it were in poor condition. It looks damaged around the edges. The title and “Stephen King” recall the 1990s Goosebumps novel series. The author’s name takes up almost half the cover. It is printed in a bright red that makes it stand out. There is no sign of the publishing house, not even the logo.
In the middle of the cover, we can see a child’s figure that seems to be in motion. The interior in which the child is placed is undefinable; we don’t know if it’s a house, a hotel – or maybe a hospital. Like the first two covers, this book adopts the point of view of the child. However, this child has a particularity because he is shining – or maybe the light comes from behind him. In a way, this front cover makes a link with the title, “The Shining”, and the child who is actually shining.
The vintage aspect of the cover is one way of informing the reader, or at least the viewer, that this book belongs to the horror fiction genre.
On all of these covers when the child is depicted, he is mostly represented through his figure rather than through a detailed portrait. For the Spanish edition, the child’s face is the only thing we see, and only part of it (the eyes and the mouth). The reader may think that the story will revolve around him, as an important, or maybe the main character. The projected cover for the British Penguin Edition, the environment is the element foregrounded by the designer. Here, the viewer may think that the setting would influence the story.
In any case, all the editions have a common point: they all add their logo to the cover quite soberly, it at all, but they also all spell out the name of Stephen King in a large font, so that it takes up a third to a half of the book cover. We may assume that it is not so much the novel in itself that is sales-oriented, but the name of the prolific writer, who has an international reputation. The size of the font also alerts us to the “popular culture” dimension of the novel.