Exclusive 'yellowbacks' sold in W H Smith to mark anniversary

W H Smith is celebrating its 225th anniversary year with a classic ‘yellowback’ book collection similar to the ones sold in the mid-1800s by the retailer.

The ‘yellowbacks’ became popular in the mid-1800s because they were cheap, entertaining and could be carried when you travelled.

Now W H Smith is bringing them back to mark 225 years since the store was founded in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith, who first traded from a stall on Little Grosvenor Street in London with his wife Anna.

The seven exclusive classic titles have been developed with publisher Vintage Classics and are: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, The Warden by Anthony Trollope, Silas Marner by George Eliot, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

The titles cost £7.99 each, with a Buy One Get One Half Price offer at both High Street and Travel stores.

In a bid to raise over £2m for three charities voted for by W H Smith employees - Cancer Research UK, Mind and the National Literacy Trust, £1 from the sale of each of the titles will go to charity.

The titles hit high street, railway and train station stores this week.

The company is also asking its customers and every book-lover nationwide to vote for their favourite book from the past 225 years. A national poll based on recommendations from the #WHS225Books hashtag.