Quite an Exquisite Book! in need of a brown paper bag

We stumbled across this book by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins recently and found it absolutely enchanting. Published in Nov 2010, it’s still considered a new book.  If you missed V-Day, and you still want to get you’re love a little something, we’d definitely recommend this book as a belated offering.

A compendium of delightful things from across the span of time (most of the not very dear), this charmingly written work combines history, fashions, travel, and social commentary in bijoux essays only a few paragraphs to a couple pages long.  It’s a must have for women looking for a light read while soaking in the tub surrounded by candles!

It’s only drawbacks are visual.  The cover design is hideous, whether you find it in red and white or maroon and buff, but you can fix that by putting a plain jacket on it. What you can’t fix are the awful illustrations (and even headings) in sepia. Add to this all manner of dingbats, also in sepia.

We understand what they were aiming for stylistically, but it simply doesn’t work, worse, its aesthetic is off-putting to people most likely to buy it.  Oh well.  If you’re the sort that doesn’t want uber-ugliness around, wait for paperback.  The writing is truly wonderful, and the content enchanting.

If it were a woman . . . you’d just want to her have a better dress.

The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights is currently available only in Hardcover and ebook formats.
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