Reading Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi for the first time is a lot like playing Myst — you’re dumped into a strange environment with absolutely no idea what’s going on. Since the same thing happened to Clarke’s protagonist, his exploration of Piranesi‘s endless halls and countless statues mirrors your own. First published by Bloomsbury in 2020, it instantly became one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels, after the Folio Society published a fine edition of Clarke’s previous novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, I had hoped that one day they would do the same for Piranesi.
As part of its 2025 Summer Collection, the Folio Society’s collector’s edition of Piranesi is a beautiful work of art and design that feels like it came straight out of Clarke’s imaginary world.
Slipcase
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
The blocked and die-cut slipcase features a clever knockout in the shape of a human head, which reveals a silhouette of the Greek god Pan playing a syrinx on the book’s front cover (a fitting image which was also on the original hardcover). Above the head, there are some gold-foil birds, a reference to the crows, albatrosses, and other birds that Piranesi encounters in the House.
Covers & spine
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
The covers and spine are among the highlights of this edition, with a deep blue and gold foil design that reminds me of the astronomical ceiling at Albertine Books. The gold-foil birds, title, author, and colophon are all slightly debossed, which feels nice under your fingers. It’s a gorgeous design by Julian de Narvaez, who also illustrated the interior.
The book is bound in printed and blocked textured paper, as opposed to cloth, though it does still have same grain. At just 8¾ inches × 5½ inches, Piranesi is on the smaller side — and nearly a full inch shorter than Folio’s edition of Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell — but this is natural given the novel’s length (just 248 pages here, even with a new afterword).
Paper & type
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)
Like all Folio editions, Piranesi‘s text block was printed on paper “sourced from certified paper mills who obtain fibre from responsibly managed forests.” The first printing copy I reviewed was printed on Abbey Pure Rough paper at Memminger MedienCentrum AG, Folio’s favorite German print shop these days.
The binding is Smyth-sewn by Germany’s Josef Spinner Grossbuchbinderei GmbH (first printing) with wound endbands in gold silk. The page tops are gilded, while the edges (trimmed) and bottoms are unadorned. The endpapers are also unadorned but dyed blue to match the cover.
I love it when Folio chooses a typeface that’s thematically resonant with the book at hand. In Piranesi, the text was set in Perpetua by Palimpsest Book Production Ltd. — a fitting typeface that lends an air of classical elegance alongside a clever linguistic nod to the neverending halls of the House. There is no ornamentation — such as chapter headpieces or graphic initials — on the pages between illustrations, except for a nice black-and-white vignette of the House’s statues on the part title pages.
Illustrations
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
Julian de Narvaez knocked this out of the park. His six full-color illustrations, including one stunning double-page spread, perfectly capture the atmosphere and scale of the House while suggesting far more beyond what you can see. Additionally, a black-and-white illustration graces the title page. They’re stylized like a mix between German expressionism, classical realism, surrealism, and Gothic art.
Text
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
The heart of this edition is, of course, Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021. The story unfolds within a vast, labyrinthine House filled with inexplicable sculptures where the titular character, Piranesi, has become trapped, but doesn’t remember how. Clarke’s brand-new afterword offers a glimpse what inspired Piranesi‘s creation, and her throughout prose is smooth and haunting, drawing readers into Piranesi’s world with a quiet intensity that is both unsettling and beautiful. Piranesi is a testament to the power of an original premise and a poignant look at humanity’s search for truth.
Overall
Rating: ★★★★⯪ (4.8 out of 5)
The Folio Society’s collector’s edition of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi is a magnificent jewel box of a book that feels like an artifact from Piranesi’s world.
FICTION
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Folio Society collector’s edition
Published May 6, 2025
248 pages
8.25″ × 5.5″
Price: $95
Alderbrink rating: ★★★★⯪ (4.8 out of 5)
Alderbrink 