Sleeping Beauty Holidays

It's always hard to focus on anything but family and the warm glow of the holidays around this time of the year, but I've finally gotten around to reading a book whose cover I've admired for years. The book is Orson Scott Card's Enchantment, and the cover, I feel, is a good example of Pre-Raphaelite-inspired art done right.

Sadly, I couldn't find an extremely large version of this image on the 'net, but the girl at the bottom of the picture is clearly inspired, with her flowing gown, by Millais' Ophelia. But the face and garment look more like a Waterhouse image of St Cecilia. The image of her sleeping in a meadow of autumn leaves is so dream-like, and the image of the floating damsel takes on a whole new meaning when surrounded by a different context.

The artist of this piece is Greg Spalenka, who apparently has done other covers I have admired.

And for the record, the book is excellent, and I'm almost finished with it.