Book Synopsis
The novel is a collection of 31 correspondences composed by the eponymous Screwtape for his nephew and protégé, a younger demon named Wormwood. These letters were written for the express purpose of instructing the young demon on the finer points of how to corrupt the human soul. The unfortunate soul in question is referred to in the novel simply as The Patient and remains unnamed throughout the story. Screwtape heavily emphasizes in early chapters, or his early letters rather, that the best, most efficient way to fully corrupt the human soul is to do this as subtly as possible. He strongly advocates that Wormwood unsure that The Patient abandon reason--all reason--through any number of means: “busy-ness”, being excessively critical of peers, the Church, Christianity, and family, the idle pursuit of creature comforts, convenience, etc. as these would discourage The Patient and keep him too distracted from thinking about and accepting Christianity.
Concept & Design Objectives:
When it came to designing the limited edition version of The Screwtape Letters, a darker theme immediately came to mind. For the inside design of the book, I wanted to go classic. The body typeface I used is Garamond Pro, as its appearance is classic and sophisticated. It is also easy to read. For the chapter titles, since the book is based on letters, I wanted to give the chapter openings a handwritten ink feel, so I used the typeface, Broadsheet. To add to the handwritten ink feel, there are ink droplets that can be seen throughout the front matter and Colophon.
When it came to designing the outside of the book. I went for an all-black theme. The cover is a textured black fabric, black headbands, and black velvet end sheets. I chose the velvet because I wanted to go simple yet incorporate something that the reader can interact with and touch. It also adds a sense of luxury and high quality to the book. A final touch I added to the book was a red wax seal. The red is a nice pop of color that breaks the all-black theme. Since the book is about demons attempting to damn humans to hell, I thought red would be the perfect color for the seal. I also decided to add the seal as a decorative touch to allude to the fact that this book consists of letters that the antagonist, Screwtape, writes to his nephew, Wormwood. The “S” tells the readers that Screwtape is the one writing the letters. Like you would an envelope, you open the book to read the letter inside.
