"Wondrous, ingenious, gorgeous . . ."—USA Today

"Extremely original . . . classical myth, reality, and fantasy are blended artfully in this modern allegory"—Los Angeles Times

Beloved by millions the world over, Griffin & Sabine redefines the art of the novel. With its combination of lush illustration, creative storytelling, and the guilty pleasure of reading other people's correspondence,Griffin & Sabine is part romance, part mystery, and completely a work of art. Each turn of the page contains a new card or letter to be unfolded from its envelope, and is vibrant with wildly imaginative creatures, landscapes, and intrigue. Destined to become a collector's volume, this limited, 25th anniversary edition contains new artwork, an original postcard, and specially created decorative stamps, making this a book that is as rewarding to enjoy all over again—or to discover for the very first time.

A love story for the ages, the tale of Griffin and Sabine is an international sensation that spent over 100 weeks on theNew York Times bestseller list and continues to beguile readers 25 years after its original publication. Here to celebrate that anniversary is the final volume in Griffin and Sabine's story—a book that can be enjoyed as a singular reading experience or in conjunction with the series as a whole. The Pharos Gate rejoices in the book as physical object, weaving together word and image in beautifully illustrated postcards and removable letters that reveal a sensual and metaphysical romance, one full of mystery and intrigue. Published simultaneously with the 25th-anniversary edition ofGriffin & Sabine, The Pharos Gate finally shares what happened to the lovers in a gorgeous volume that will surely delight Griffin and Sabine's longtime fans and a new generation of readers.

A fresh, modern prose retelling captures the vigorous and bawdy spirit of Chaucer's classic

Renowned critic, historian, and biographer Peter Ackroyd takes on what is arguably the greatest poem in the English language and presents the work in a prose vernacular that makes it accessible to modern readers while preserving the spirit of the original.

A mirror for medieval society, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales concerns a motley group of pilgrims who meet in a London inn on their way to Canterbury and agree to take part in a storytelling competition. Ranging from comedy to tragedy, pious sermon to ribald farce, heroic adventure to passionate romance, the tales serve not only as a summation of the sensibility of the Middle Ages but as a representation of the drama of the human condition.

Ackroyd's contemporary prose emphasizes the humanity of these characters-as well as explicitly rendering the naughty good humor of the writer whose comedy influenced Fielding and Dickens-yet still masterfully evokes the euphonies and harmonies of Chaucer's verse. This retelling is sure to delight modern readers and bring a new appreciation to those already familiar with the classic tales.

With the same romance and drama that put his Griffin & Sabine saga on the New York Times best-seller list for over 100 weeks, selling three million copies in 12 international editions, Nick Bantock presents an unforgettable story of one woman's journey to self-discovery. Ana, a striking young dancer, is promised in marriage to a man she doesn't love. No one understands her reluctance to wed. After all, isn't Marco a fine man? Won't the union of their two families benefit her people? And yet Guided by her heart and forces she does not yet recognize, she flees to the exotic port of Serona in search of Felix Bulerias, a man reputed to have the answers she seeks. But along the way, the attentions of four unusual men threaten to lure Ana in directions that she could never have fathomed and lead her down a path of sensuality and understanding beyond any she could ever have imagined. Bantock's compelling narrative is accompanied by over 200 masterful color collages that form a frieze throughout. Brimming with myth and intrigue, Windflower is sure to enchant Nick Bantock fans the world over.

His internationally best-selling Griffin & Sabine saga is treasured for its blend of lyrical storyline and compelling, imaginative art. Now Nick Bantock gives a short course in visual creativity in Urgent 2nd Class. A tour through the techniques and materials which constitute his signature style, Bantock shares with readers numerous ways ways of using old paper ephemera -- maps, letters, postcards, ledgers, scraps, photos, and many more items -- to create their own idiosyncratic art. Written for people of all artistic skill levels, the materials mentioned are all easily found and inexpensive, and the processes are simple enough to do at home (and with access to the most advanced machinery used in the book, a photocopier). An inspirational guide to the simple artistic techniques which can alchemically transform ephemera into remarkable works, Urgent 2nd Class is the handbook for a new generation of visual poets.

Alexandria will continue to delight the 3 million readers who fell in love with the epistolary romance of Griffin & Sabine. Awash with gorgeous artwork, the mystery of Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem now entwines Matthew Sedon, an archaeologist steeped in Egyptian antiquity, and Isabella de Reims, a student in Paris whose vision holds the key to a new reality. Intrigue turns to danger and romance turns to passion as Matthew and Isabella struggle to make sense of a world-and feelings-beyond experience. Only the guidance of Griffin and Sabine, expert navigators of myth and reality, can keep them safe. Author and artist Nick Bantock brings a new sensuality and romance to his vivid dreamscapes and unique visual perspective. Alexandria is a breathtaking new chapter in a saga that has captured hearts, minds, and imaginations the world over.

Griffin & Sabine, Sabine's Notebook, and The Golden Mean have sold over 3 million copies worldwide, and spent over 100 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. At long last, Nick Bantock brings us a new volume in the Griffin and Sabine story. The Gryphon is a tale rich in the artistry, mystery, and surprise that make the original saga so beloved. Although readers will be drawn into the book without ever having read the trilogy, The Gryphon begins to answer the question that fans have been waiting eight years to answer: 'What happened to Griffin and Sabine?' As their remarkable fates are gradually revealed, we are introduced to Matthew and Isabella, long-distance lovers who find themselves entwined not only in each other's lives, but also in a perilous and alluring intrigue. The drama literally unfolds from postcard to richly decorated postcard and as provocative letters are pulled from real envelopes. The Gryphon features stunning new imagery, offering glimpses of mythic dreamscapes and surreal creatures as only Nick Bantock could have imagined. For those meeting Griffin and Sabine for the first time, here's an introduction that will have them yearning to explore the earlier volumes. And for those who have already entered the enchanting world of Griffin and Sabine, The Gryphon is a delightful rediscovery of a truly extraordinary correspondence.

From the author of The Transitive Vampire, comes an invitation to a strangely illuminated City of Light, Paris out of Hand. This seductively beautiful replica of a 19th-century travel book?replete with illustrations of sights you will never see and maps that may plummet you into a different era?guides readers through the Paris that is, that might be, and that never was. Amid the Parisian locales you know and love, unheard-of temptations abound. If your visit to the Cafe Conjugal ends in a spat, you can make up at the luscious and fantastic Museum of Lips and Books. From the disconcerting Brasserie Loplop, steal your chair for the Cinema Pont Neuf, whose movies flow onto the Seine. Your curiosity sated for the day, check into Hotel des Etrangers, where phantoms change the sheets and your room in the middle of the night. Unhandy glossaries help you talk your way through these provocative encounters, with such apropos comments as J'aimerais sortir avec votre hyene pour boire un verre (I'd like to take your hyena out for a drink). A rare and rowdy entertainment that dares its readers to explore a Paris one can only wish existed.

Nick Bantock's illustrated novel, The Venetian's Wife, is part love story, part mystery, and part ghostly tale?and an altogether bewitching brew of sensuality and lost treasures. Thoroughly bored with her job at the local museum, Sarah heads to the gallery to take another look at that new drawing, the one she can't stop thinking about, the one of the Hindu god Shiva, who dances...That's when it all begins. The next day, an e-mail message brings her a job offer: to find the few remaining pieces of a 15th-century adventurer's renowned collection of Indian sculptures. Her employer, curiously, wishes to communicate only by computer. She has no idea who he is or why he wants her. But other mysteries soon preoccupy her, such as the meaning of an enigmatic illuminated manuscript?and the sensual transformation that seems to be overtaking her. Through her quirkily decorated diary and the artful e-mail exchanges between Sara and her mentor, Nick Bantock has conjured up a richly illustrated tale of a relentless quest, an amorous legacy, and the resonating power of art?a lush, romantic adventure of the soul that tantalizes the reader to the last line.

Sabine -- I was sure I understood. Yet you were not here when I returned and there was no sign that you ever had been here.... Today comes your card saying you were in this house for three days after my return. I am bewildered. I need you badly. -- Griffin

In this final volume of the phenomenal, best-selling trilogy begun with Griffin & Sabine and continued in Sabine's Notebook, the mystery of the two artists deepens, their questions grow more urgent. New obstacles (including a sinister intruder) test the tenacity of their passion, and in each letter or postcard, painting and prose are even more richly intertwined. Destined to be the most sought after novel of the year, The Golden Mean builds toward a powerful conclusion that will satisfy the millions of readers already entranced by the spirited, imaginative, enigmatic union of Griffin and Sabine.

With over 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and one million copies in print, the first two volumes of this unique trilogy have captured the imagination of readers and reviewers across the country.

Griffin Moss è un artista grafico che vive a Londra. Sabine Strohem fa un mestiere stranissimo ma simile: disegna francobolli in un atollo sperduto dell'Oceano Pacifico. Un giorno Sabine scrive a Griffin per dirgli tutta la sua ammirazione e rivelargli una misteriosa, inspiegabile affinità psichica che li lega. Ha inizio così una corrispondenza fatta di curiosità, confessioni, tormenti che presto diventano amore; poi l'amore diventa ossessione... La forma del libro è curiosa: un epistolario fittissimo di cartoline e lettere illustrate che il lettore può davvero sfogliare ed estrarre dalle rispettive buste.

Griffin?Foolish man. You cannot turn me into a phantom because you are frightened. You do not dismiss a muse at a whim. If you will not join me, then I will come to you. ?Sabine

Sabine was supposed to be imaginary, a friend and lover that Griffin had created to soothe his loneliness. But she threatens to become embodied, to appear on his doorstep, in fact. So he runs.

Griffin & Sabine, the most creative and talked-about bestseller of 1991, left readers on the edge of a precipice. With Sabine's Notebook, they begin?along with Griffin?the fall. Once again, the story is told through strangely beautiful postcards and richly decorated letters that must actually be pulled from their envelopes to be read. But this volume is also a sketchbook and diary kept by the possibly unreal Sabine, who is living in Griffin's house in London while he wanders through Europe, North Africa, and Asia, backwards through layers of ancient civilizations?and of himself.

Filled with her delicately macabre drawings and notations, the notebook adds a darker element of visual intrigue to their complex and mysterious world. For the thousands who finished Griffin & Sabine and asked, 'What happened next?,' this second volume in the trilogy provides the answers?but raises new and even more haunting questions of its own.

Griffin: It's good to get in touch with you at last. Could I have one of your fish postcards? I think you were right -- the wine glass has more impact than the cup. --Sabine

But Griffin had never met a woman named Sabine. How did she know him? How did she know his artwork? Who is she? Thus begins the strange and intriguing correspondence of Griffin and Sabine. And since each letter must be pulled from its own envelope, the reader has the delightful, forbidden sensation of reading someone else's mail. Griffin & Sabine is like no other illustrated novel: appealing to the poet and artist in everyone and sure to inspire a renaissance in the fine art of letter-writing, it tells an extraordinary story in an extraordinary way.