Cover versions: why are UK and US book jackets often so different?
The American edition of Hillary Clinton’s What Happened looks stylish and elegant; the UK one is dreadful. But the reasons that books differ so much across different markets isn’t solely down to simple sales
Covers sell books. But in the case of Hillary Clinton’s memoir What Happened, you can’t help thinking that the book’s sales in the UK are despite the jacket treatment, not because of it. Whereas the US jacket oozes the gravitas you expect from the woman who stood up to Donald Trump, the UK jacket has all the power of a shrugged “meh”.
The book is published worldwide by Simon & Schuster, and the company’s US division opted for bold lettering on a white-and-blue background (incorporating the Democrats’ traditional colour). The design screams its serious credentials: this, it tells the reader, is The Book by the woman everyone expected to be a shoo-in for the Oval Office, a woman defined by her service in husband Bill’s and Barack Obama’s administrations.
Related: What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton – digested read
