The extensive use of gold foiling and the intricate floral and faunal decorations are suggestive of the ornamented letters found in illuminated manuscripts. The UK cover follows a different approach, as it is typographical and much simpler in terms of the amount of elements used. The parchment-style design used for the title and author’s name hints at the importance of writing and the frequent exchange of letters in the novel. The feather can both symbolise Hamnet’s death and burial ritual, as well as the quills his father, Shakespeare, used in his restless writing.

A key element is the feather covering Hamnet's eyes –probably that of a falcon, such as the one his mother kept at her farm. The US version presents a pictorial depiction of the young Hamnet in a Renaissance painting style, using a sombre colour palette. The US and UK editions of Hamnet have been marketed differently through their cover, but both are reminiscent of the specific historical period in which the novel is set. The white background is sliced through with bold typography which reveals an apartment building, integrating elements of blue and red into the colour palette and representing the first and last sections of the novel, entitled “Lispenard Street”, which is the first apartment Jude and Willem share in college, illustrating their adolescent friendship which is referenced in the final pages. The UK cover however is strikingly more minimalistic. The white typography compliments with a subtle contrast so we focus more on the image. Although sometimes unpopular amongst readers, the black and white realistic image articulates the dominant emotion of the complex character. The theme of pain, both mental and physical, which we encounter throughout the book is demonstrated on the US cover, presumably a photographic representation of Jude. Covering over forty years of friendship and love, particularly focused around the mysterious Jude, their dynamic shifts as their lives progress. The emotional story follows four friends who find each other in their early days of college Jude, Willem, JB and Malcom. Hanya Yanagihara’s heart-breaking novel A Little Life has recently been swept up by a new wave of readers.

Cover of a little life