This course will explore some of the different ways in which books across the ages have provided a creative space for the text to interact with visual images. Through analysis of a range of selected examples, we will explore such questions as what makes illustrations of literary works different from illustrations of other kinds of text? Is the function of these images primarily to entertain or do they provide information to complement or even change the message of the text? Should an author’s own illustrations be regarded differently to those of another artist? To what extent does the text-image relationship of a book affect the reader's experience?