A few weeks ago I was looking for an image to complement an article I was working on and noticed that Arthur Waley‘s Monkey (1942), his classic 30-chapter abridged translation of Journey to the West, has many different cover designs. I decided to collect the more interesting ones here for others to enjoy. Three are adaptations of Monkey by his second wife, Alison Waley.
(Click images to enlarge)
Monkey (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1942)
The Adventures of Monkey (Chinese Classics in English, 1942)
The Adventures of Monkey (John Day Company, 1944)
Monkey (Grove Press, 1958)
Monkey (Penguin Classics, 1961)
Monkey (Penguin Classics, 1973)
Dear Monkey (Blackie & Son, 1973)
Dear Monkey (Bobbs-Merrill, 1973)
Dear Monkey (Harper Collins, 1975)
Monkey (Unicorn Books, 1984)
I have a 1973 cover version – my mother worked for Alison Waley as a home help. They remained friends long after my mother retired and Alison gave my mother a signed copy as a gift.
That is so cool!