It’s a little-known fact that our capacities for visualisation and inner monologuing vary greatly from person to person.
Imagination and introspection are on a spectrum, with certain individuals going through life without that constant, nagging little voice in their heads. How peaceful some existences must be. Though the two aren’t mutually exclusive, those who lack a visual imagination often experience a lack of auditory imagery (or inner voice) too.
While those without the capacity for inner monologuing (anauralia) and detailed sensorial visualisation (aphantasia) may exist in a slightly more relaxed state, their imaginative ability is greatly compromised. This means that when reading novels, all they see are words on a page.
No matter how extravagant and detailed the language, they do not have the ability to picture the author’s descriptions or hear the words spoken by characters. This is a phenomenon which also applies to descriptions of taste, touch and smell. Aphantasics, for instance, will struggle to imagine the sensation of biting into a still-warm, half-melted and aromatic freshly baked cookie.
Illustrated novels are typically associated with children’s books, but they offer incredibly moving and visually appealing storytelling no matter your age, or what your imaginative ability may be. Novels adorned with beautiful artwork offer double the enjoyment and none of the work involved with constantly trying to visualise a fictional, literary universe.
Adding an artistic, visual element to literature offers an entirely different dimension of experience, whether you were able to imagine your own version of the tale through words alone or not.
Literary and artistic collaborations throughout history have proven to be wildly popular for this precise reason, from Roald Dahl to Quentin Blake, Lewis Carroll to Sir John Tenniel and A.A. Milne to E.H. Shepard – not just because they make easily digestible bedtime stories, but because their words and images continue to captivate readers at every stage of life.
The delights of visually stimulating illustrations paired with fantastic writing are endless. Where carefully curated words give voice to otherwise inexpressible thoughts and feelings, beautiful artwork often relaxes the mind and awakens the soul.
We’ve curated a selection of the best illustrated books of all time, from childhood classics to intricate graphic novels.
Aesop’s Illustrated Fables
Slave and storyteller, Aesop lived in Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. His many didactic fables, which initially survived through oral tradition, were used from the Renaissance onwards in children’s education.
The short stories often contain interactions between animals of different species to illustrate a greater moral lesson, and they continue to offer wildly popular examples of important universal truths that remain part of our cultural vocabulary. The Tortoise and The Hare, for instance, is the origin of the well-known mantra ‘slow and steady wins the race’.
This beautiful clothbound book contains 400 of Aesop’s fables with glorious illustrations to boot. The featured artwork is rendered by Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Ernest Griset through engravings and colour plates.
Buy now £30.00, Waterstones
Ulysses: An Illustrated Edition
A famously unreadable piece of literature made digestible through illustration? Sign us up. Literary enthusiasts of the highest order have often failed to read James Joyce’s convoluted, stream-of-consciousness Ulysses all the way through. Whether you’re a lifelong fan of the author who has managed to finish the novel or you’re fascinated by the visual interpretations of such complicated prose, this illustrated edition might just be for you.
Though a limited run of illustrated copies of Ulysses was published in 1935 with lithographs by Henri Matisse, these are naturally incredibly difficult to get your hands on. In this edition, Spanish neo-figurative artist Eduardo Arroyo produces beautifully accessible illustrations of the bizarre happenings which occur in Joyce’s magnum opus.
Buy now £44.98, Amazon
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, illustrated by Jemima Catlin
Though The Hobbit was indeed illustrated by Tolkien himself, the delightful hand-drawn scenes are few and far between. For a wholly illustrated edition of the beloved fantasy novel look no further than this colour illustration by Jemima Catlin, published by Harper Collins. Catlin creates beautiful and intricate representations of beloved scenes throughout the tale, which are brilliant both for children exploring The Shire for the first time and lifelong fans of the series.
Buy now £12.45, Amazon
Grimm’s Fairy Tales, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
A wonderful gift for any fairytale enthusiast, the Folio edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales contains 60 of the brothers’ collected stories alongside glorious illustrations by Arthur Rackham – one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration (1880s-1930s). Expect mystifying and ethereal depictions of stories such as ‘Snow White’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, ‘Red Riding Hood’ and so much more.
Buy now £65.00, The Folio Society
The Birds of America by John James Audubon
We’d be remiss not to include one of the most influential books featuring illustrations of all time. Though void of literature, Audubon’s life-size, impeccably detailed illustrations of birds throughout the United States offered an insight into the incredible flora and fauna of the continent before photography and travel were commonplace. They also served as the basis upon which the practice of wildlife illustration was developed.
This complete edition of the 19th-century masterpiece was created by disbounding and photographing the original folio. For those interested in Audubon’s experience of exploring the American frontier, he also wrote a series of episodes which eventually became an Ornithological Biography, or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America (1831-1839).
Buy now £29.73, Amazon
Winnie-the-Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shephard
No matter how old we get, there’s no series of stories more charming than those involving Pooh bear and his woodland friends. This complete collection features the original illustrations by E.H. Shephard.
Buy now £27.22, Amazon
The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Originally written in French, The Little Prince is technically a children’s book yet serves as a parabolic tale of morality and virtue, the lessons from which many of us have taken with us into adulthood. If you’ve ever found yourself questioning the meaning of life, we highly recommend picking up this seemingly unlikely, beautifully illustrated guide.
Buy now £6.99, Amazon
Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
As the name of William Blake’s beloved chef d’oeuvre suggests Songs of Innocence and Experience offers a series of reflections on youth and its eventual dissipation. The famed artist and poet produced a series of almost pyrogenic accompanying illuminations, all of which are included in this wonderful edition. The beautifully rendered artworks appear to dance around the page, filling words and figures with incandescent light.
Buy now £8.85, Amazon
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Before we explain the wonders of Susanna Clarke’s hefty debut novel, we highly suggest diving into the critically acclaimed Piranesi. More of a Novella, the 272-page book will familiarise you with Clarke’s masterful, almost surrealist style and get you excited about retroactively discovering her earlier works.
Now that we’ve got that out the way, Neil Gaiman himself declared Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell to be “unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years”. The 782-page novel isn’t exactly a light read, but it’s one that won’t leave your consciousness for years to come. The story follows the adventures of two 19th-century magicians who find themselves in fierce and decidedly dangerous competition with one another. Think: Christopher Nolan’s Prestige but if it were written by Charles Dickens.
Though Portia Rosenberg’s delightful illustrations are sparsely dotted throughout the 1,000 page book, they add yet another magical element to the impressive novel.
Buy now £10.99, Amazon
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Whether you first came across Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis as a graphic novel or motion picture, chances are you were wildly emotionally affected by the author and illustrator’s illustrated biography.
The story follows the coming of age of a young Marjane, who is the child of radical Marxists and the grandchild of Iran’s last emperor. From her childhood in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and her eventual escape to France, Satrapi crafts a poignant, deeply moving and – at times – utterly hilarious work of art.
Buy now £8.01, Amazon
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Sendak’s wonderfully magical children’s book has been a family favourite since the early 1960s. Considered groundbreaking due to its glorious treatment of the full spectrum of children’s emotions, it’s a brilliant soothing tale for anxious, imaginative and sometimes troublesome little ones.
Buy now £6.29, Amazon
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
A moving illustrated tale for readers of all ages, Shel Silverstein’s classic book teaches us the wonders of generosity and the dangers of giving into greed and entitlement.
Buy now £10.99, Amazon
A Shakespearean Botanical by Margaret Willes
A lovely pocket botanical by Margaret Willes, this precious book is for those whose special interests involve both gardening and Shakespeare. Willes takes fifty quotations from Shakespeare’s works which reference flowers before delving into their botanical history, societal relevance and symbolic meanings.
Buy now £11.45, Amazon
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A 150-year-old fantasy adventure which continues to enchant and enthral both adults and children alike, ever-curious Alice falls down the rabbit hole to discover an entire universe lies hidden beneath it. Featuring Sir John Tenniel’s iconic illustrations depicting iconic and beloved characters, many readers are unaware of the fact that the novel also has a marvellous sequel. Follow this classic up with Through the Looking Glass.
Buy now £4.38, Amazon
