"The Purple Book" is a luxurious compendium of contemporary illustration that explores fantasy, sensuality and the erotic imagination. It highlights visual art and the written word as media for representing human desires relationship with the dream-state, make-believe, and symbolism. Much of the work by illustrators exploring these themes is unpublished, personal work, and many works here appear in print for the first time.

As well as a treasury of portfolios by 21 of the very best international contemporary illustrators, a series of specially-commissioned works illustrate five classic literary texts that have inspired the themes of "The Purple Book". The personalities behind this commissioned work are revealed through interviews with their creators, exploring the imaginative process behind their visual fantasies and how this translates into the final artwork.

The title of the book is inspired by "The Yellow Book", the periodical published in the 1890s and initially art directed by Aubrey Beardsley. While the colour yellow represented the daringly salacious in the 1890s, today the colour purple is synonymous with opulence and sensuality.