It’s time again for the Friday Face-Off meme, created by Books by Proxy, with weekly topics hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog.  The idea is to put up different covers for one book, and select a favorite.

This week’s theme is: Meringue – the puffy dress? – Lots of covers with ‘big’ dresses

What a fun theme!  I thought of several books with impressively puffy dresses, but they only had one cover each.  And then I considered that my Jane Austen Book Club is currently reading Pride and Prejudice – and that’s a book with many covers.  I’m not sure “puffy” is exactly right for Regency fashion, but sure enough, puffy dresses abound.

I suppose this is Elizabeth and Jane?  Movie versions tend to make Jane blonde, but the book doesn’t actually say – though there is a reference to Elizabeth’s “dark eyes,” so she probably is a brunette.

This is certainly a dress cover!  Not sure it tells me much about the book though – and I have doubts about that “Jane Austen” font choice.

Pretty sure this is a case of choosing a classic painting, even though the scene doesn’t make any particular sense.  Did I miss the moment when Elizabeth fell asleep in a garden??  Nice dress, though.

This appears to be Pride and Prejudice as directed by Tim Burton!  That dress is the very opposite of puffy–and am I mistaken, or is he stepping on the end of it? 🙂

Such puffiness!!!  This looks far more Victorian than Regency though.

This translation cover is the best (the only?) one I’ve seen for actually capturing the story!

The translation cover is a hot contender, but I’m going to choose this one as my favorite.  It has a nice classic feel, the dress seems Regency-appropriate (possibly the same one from the sleeping cover??) and that little detail of putting her head over the header does a surprising amount to make it feel active and dynamic.  I like how reflective she looks, plus I notice she’s leaning on a sundial, so perhaps there’s an implied message about urgency and not letting opportunities slip by?  I may be reaching, but I like this one anyway!