Typography & Drop Caps
Typography is the first thing a reader feels and the last thing they notice. This chapter opens with a drop cap, flows through small-caps subheadings, and closes with an ornamental rule. Every specimen below is followed by the source that produced it.
the elements of the page
<span class="kicker">the elements of the page</span>
Headings in Small Caps
Second-level headings render in gilded small caps. Third-level headings lean into italics:
A Third-Level Heading, Reclining
Body text uses a classic serif stack — Iowan Old Style, Palatino, Charter, Georgia — with generous 1.75 line height and hyphenation enabled. The stack, size, and leading are spec-driven: they live in spec/config.yaml under books.styles, not in the theme CSS.
The drop cap is automatic on the first paragraph after a chapter title — no class needed:
# Chapter Title
The first paragraph gets the drop cap.
Emphasis & Inline Styles
Prose supports italics for voice, bold for weight, and code for machinery. Keyboard chords render as keys: press Ctrl + Shift + P to summon the palette.
*italics for voice*, **bold for weight**, `code for machinery`,
and <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>P</kbd> for chords.
The Lead Paragraph
A lead paragraph states the promise of the chapter in larger italics. Use one, directly under the title.
<p class="lead">A lead paragraph states the promise of the chapter.</p>
Pull Quotes
Spec just enough. Verify first. Iterate. Succeed.
A pull quote interrupts the column with the book’s accent color, framed by hairlines above and below.
<p class="pullquote">Spec just enough. Verify first. Iterate. Succeed.</p>
Blockquotes
A blockquote carries a hanging quotation mark in the margin and a soft golden wash behind it. Use it for quoted voices, not for warnings — warnings get callout plates.
> A blockquote carries a hanging quotation mark in the margin.
Footnotes
Footnotes step politely out of the text1 and gather beneath a golden hairline at the foot of the page2. The reference is a gold superscript; the definition is set smaller, with tighter leading.
Footnotes step politely out of the text[^marker].
[^marker]: The definition, written at the very end of the chapter file.
The ornament above is a fleuron (❦), rendered by CSS on every horizontal rule. It marks a scene change within a chapter, and is authored as a plain ---.