In our disposable age of cheap materials and a publishing world bloated with BookTok trends and celebrity memoirs, it’s a joy to find The Folio Society still going strong, almost 80 years after its foundation. London-based, independent publishers, The Folio Society produces exquisite hardback editions of classic books, with an emphasis on traditional bookbinding and printing techniques. Old favourites take on aesthetically beautiful new physical forms, with specially commissioned artwork and insightful forewords. These are books designed to last a lifetime, books as heirlooms and miniature works of art. Take a look at our quartet of recommended titles.

Enormous TV screens airing game shows all day long, a robot with a mind of its own, persecuted academics, banned books, school shootings, communication through earpieces- sound familiar? Written in 1953 during the dark days of McCarthyism, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a scarily prescient sci-fi novel that will leave you gobsmacked. Bound in blocked and printed cloth and introduced by Michael Moorcock, this Folio volume contains some incredibly evocative illustrations by Sam Weber.

A dystopian, futuristic story about a totalitarian regime where women’s bodies are political currency, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has become a modern classic since it was published in 1985. We are in New England, renamed Gilead, sometime in the not too distant future. All women have been fired from their jobs and classified as house slaves, wives, brainwashers or breeding machines (handmaidens). Atwood’s exploration of  feminism and democracy is introduced in this Folio edition by the esteemed author herself, beautifully clothbound and presented in a slipcase.

A novel we love, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller boldly retells The Iliad’s famous legend of Achilles from the point of view of Patroclus, an awkward, lonely young prince. First friends, and then schooled together in the arts of war and medicine, Patroclus and Achilles embark on a warriors’ journey to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. This Folio edition comes in a printed slipcase with gilded top edges and glorious illustrations by award-winning artist, Julie Dillon.

‘Be with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in the abyss, where I cannot find you!’. Another personal favourite, the glowering intensity of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is celebrated in this stunning edition. Blessed with a lyrical introduction by Patti Smith and the hauntingly lovely illustrations of Rovina Cai, Brontë’s classic weaves a spell with its dramatic setting (including a perennially louring sky), pervasive sense of  impending and inevitable tragedy, and desperate (both unrequited and requited) love story.