If the cover has a handsome hero with a sweet-faced young beauty, will the story be more enticing to some readers? In her article for the New York Times – To Lure Twilight Teenagers, Classic Books Get Bold Looks – Julie Bosman reports on the trend to change the covers of those classics in the public domain. With updated outfits designed by a fashion illustrator, familiar characters from Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and even Bram Stoker are modernized and sometimes lose a few years in their new cover portraits.
Some teens have rejected the marketing…
“A display of repackaged classics did not sell well (in San Francisco)…the store’s owner {said} ‘Kids don’t want to feel like they’re being manipulated.'”
The books are doing well in the adult section with traditional covers.
When I was required to read Austen in high school, her books did not have the same appeal as when I read them as an adult. How about you?
The No Charge Book Bunch 
I’m a sucker for a nice cover. A lot of books I read are because of the look and feel of them when I picked them up.
Yes, I succumb to good marketing too, and most times I’m not disappointed.