Spiegel und Licht by Hilary Mantel (Büchergilde Gutenberg)

Spiegel und Licht is the German title of The Mirror & The Light. Published in 2020, it concludes Hilary Mantel’s trilogy of historical novels “charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, minister in the court of King Henry VIII, covering the last four years of his life, from 1536 until his death by execution in 1540.” It was translated to the German by Werner Löcher-Lawrence.

Shown here is the book club edition by Büchergilde Gutenberg. For the jacket and cover design, Münster-based studio KOSMOS (Klaudia & Martin Denker) worked with Le Murmure (Velvetyne 2018). The three words of the title are set with one word per line, in force justified all caps, and impaled by a dagger. The weapon echoes the sharp details (like the G’s beard) found in Jérémy Landes’ serifless condensed typeface with selective high contrast. Le Murmure is supported by Arca Majora (Hanken Design Co., 2016), a geometric sans with pointed apexes by Alfredo Marco Pradil.

See also Falken, the second volume in the trilogy.

Hilary Mantel passed away this week at the ago of 70. Rest in peace.