My Antonia: Penguin Drop Caps

From A to Z, the Penguin Drop Caps series collects 26 unique hardcovers-featuring cover art by type superstar Jessica Hische

It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectable hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. Art-directed by Paul Buckley, the series features unique art by Jessica Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to a Wes Anderson film to Penguin’s own bestsellers Committed and Rules of Civility. With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische’s hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, Penguin Drop Caps debut with an ‘A’ for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a ‘B’ for Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and a ‘C’ for Willa Cather’s My Ántonia.

C is for Cather. My Ántonia is considered one of the most significant American novels of the twentieth century. Set during the great migration west to settle the plains of the North American continent, the narrative follows Antonia Shimerda, a pioneer who comes to Nebraska as a child and grows with the country, inspiring a childhood friend, Jim Burden, to write her life story. The novel is important both for its literary aesthetic and as a portrayal of important aspects of American social ideals and history, particularly the centrality of migration to American culture.