diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/layout/search-form.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/layout/search-form.svelte
index 1d1e945..fdc3c5a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/layout/search-form.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/layout/search-form.svelte
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 	import { getLibraryState } from '$lib/state/library.svelte';
 	import type { PaginatedResponse, Book } from '$lib/schema';
 	import BookImage from '../view/book-image.svelte';
+	import GeneratedCover from '../view/generated-cover.svelte';
 	import { goto } from '$app/navigation';
 
 	const libraryState = getLibraryState();
@@ -104,10 +105,16 @@
 							class="cursor-pointer"
 						>
 							<div class="hover:bg-base-200 flex gap-4 p-3">
-								<BookImage
-									src="/api/{book.cover_image}"
-									class="w-24 rounded object-cover shadow-lg"
-								/>
+								{#if book.cover_image}
+									<BookImage
+										src="/api/{book.cover_image}"
+										class="w-24 rounded object-cover shadow-lg"
+									/>
+								{:else}
+									<div class="aspect-9/12 w-24 shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded shadow-lg">
+										<GeneratedCover {book} />
+									</div>
+								{/if}
 								<div class="flex-top flex flex-col">
 									<span class="font-serif text-lg">{book.title}</span>
 									<span class=" text-md">{book.subtitle}</span>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-cover.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-cover.svelte
index 903a4b9..526164f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-cover.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-cover.svelte
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <script lang="ts">
 	import type { Book } from '$lib/schema';
+	import GeneratedCover from './generated-cover.svelte';
 
 	let {
 		book,
@@ -10,12 +11,6 @@
 	let failed = $state(false);
 
 	const src = $derived(book.cover_image ? `/api/${book.cover_image}` : null);
-
-	// A stable hue per title, so a book with no artwork still gets its own
-	// colour rather than every placeholder looking identical.
-	const hue = $derived([...book.title].reduce((acc, ch) => (acc * 31 + ch.charCodeAt(0)) % 360, 7));
-
-	const authors = $derived(book.authors.map((a) => a.name).join(', '));
 </script>
 
 <!--
@@ -65,20 +60,10 @@
 	{:else}
 		<!-- No cover on record, or the file is missing. Draw one. -->
 		<span
-			class="flex h-full flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-sm p-3 text-left shadow-lg"
-			style="width: {Math.round(height * 0.66)}px; background: linear-gradient(152deg, hsl({hue}
-				30% 34%), hsl({hue} 38% 18%));"
+			class="h-full overflow-hidden rounded-sm shadow-lg"
+			style="width: {Math.round(height * 0.66)}px;"
 		>
-			<span
-				class="line-clamp-4 font-serif text-xs leading-tight"
-				style="color: hsl({hue} 38% 95%);">{book.title}</span
-			>
-			{#if authors}
-				<span
-					class="line-clamp-2 font-mono text-[8px] tracking-wider uppercase"
-					style="color: hsl({hue} 24% 78%);">{authors}</span
-				>
-			{/if}
+			<GeneratedCover {book} />
 		</span>
 	{/if}
 </span>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-thumbnail.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-thumbnail.svelte
index 6fb35a7..762d01e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-thumbnail.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/book-thumbnail.svelte
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <script lang="ts">
 	import { resolve } from '$app/paths';
 	import BookImage from './book-image.svelte';
+	import GeneratedCover from './generated-cover.svelte';
 	import { Progress } from '$lib/components/ui/progress/index';
 	import { getLibraryState } from '$lib/state/library.svelte';
 	import { getBookSelectionState } from '$lib/state/bookSelection.svelte';
@@ -31,13 +32,30 @@
 			: ''}"
 		onclick={handleClick}
 	>
-		<BookImage
-			src="/api/{book.cover_image}"
-			class="h-full w-full rounded-sm object-cover transition-all duration-200 group-hover:brightness-50 {selected ||
-			darkened
-				? 'brightness-50'
-				: ''}"
-		/>
+		<!--
+			Checked rather than left to the image's onerror: with no cover_image the
+			src became "/api/undefined", 404'd, and fell back to the generic
+			default_cover.jpg — which is what made every coverless book look alike in
+			the grid.
+		-->
+		{#if book.cover_image}
+			<BookImage
+				src="/api/{book.cover_image}"
+				class="h-full w-full rounded-sm object-cover transition-all duration-200 group-hover:brightness-50 {selected ||
+				darkened
+					? 'brightness-50'
+					: ''}"
+			/>
+		{:else}
+			<div
+				class="h-full w-full transition-all duration-200 group-hover:brightness-50 {selected ||
+				darkened
+					? 'brightness-50'
+					: ''}"
+			>
+				<GeneratedCover {book} />
+			</div>
+		{/if}
 
 		<!-- Inside the anchor, which already clips to rounded-sm, so the bar
 		     follows the cover's corners instead of floating below it -->
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/generated-cover.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/generated-cover.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..946d784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/generated-cover.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+	import type { Book } from '$lib/schema';
+
+	let { book, class: className = '' }: { book: Book; class?: string } = $props();
+
+	/**
+	 * Bookcloth tones rather than a point on the hue wheel.
+	 *
+	 * The old placeholder derived a hue from the title with `hash % 360`, which
+	 * eventually lands on acid green. Hashing into a fixed list keeps every
+	 * generated cover looking like it came from the same library.
+	 */
+	const CLOTH = [
+		'#1f5f5b', // teal, the app's own accent
+		'#7a2e2a', // oxblood
+		'#2f4858', // slate
+		'#3c5148', // forest
+		'#6b4a6e', // plum
+		'#8a6a1f', // brass
+		'#2b3038', // graphite
+		'#5a4632' // tobacco
+	];
+
+	/** Weaves, as CSS gradients — an SVG <pattern> would need a unique id per cover. */
+	const WEAVE = [
+		// twill
+		`repeating-linear-gradient(45deg, transparent 0 4px, currentColor 4px 5px)`,
+		// horizontal ribbing
+		`repeating-linear-gradient(0deg, transparent 0 5px, currentColor 5px 6px)`,
+		// crosshatch
+		`repeating-linear-gradient(45deg, transparent 0 6px, currentColor 6px 7px),
+		 repeating-linear-gradient(-45deg, transparent 0 6px, currentColor 6px 7px)`,
+		// vertical laid lines
+		`repeating-linear-gradient(90deg, transparent 0 5px, currentColor 5px 6px)`
+	];
+
+	/** Stable per title, so a book always looks the same. */
+	function hash(value: string) {
+		let out = 7;
+		for (const char of value) out = (out * 31 + char.charCodeAt(0)) % 100_000;
+		return out;
+	}
+
+	const seed = $derived(hash(book.title || 'Untitled'));
+	const cloth = $derived(CLOTH[seed % CLOTH.length]);
+	const weave = $derived(WEAVE[(seed >> 3) % WEAVE.length]);
+
+	const authors = $derived(book.authors?.map((author) => author.name).join(', ') ?? '');
+
+	/**
+	 * Stepped by length rather than scaled continuously: a long title shrunk to
+	 * fit would end up smaller than the author line, which reads as a mistake.
+	 * Units are cqw so the whole thing works at any size the caller asks for.
+	 */
+	const titleSize = $derived.by(() => {
+		const length = (book.title ?? '').length;
+		if (length <= 14) return 17;
+		if (length <= 28) return 13;
+		if (length <= 46) return 10;
+		return 8.5;
+	});
+</script>
+
+<!--
+	Drawn, not stored. It costs nothing, follows the title when it is edited, and
+	is replaced the moment a real cover is uploaded. Colours are fixed rather than
+	themed: this is an object on a shelf beside real artwork, which does not
+	change with the theme either.
+-->
+<div
+	class="generated-cover {className}"
+	style="--cloth: {cloth};"
+	role="img"
+	aria-label="Generated cover for {book.title}"
+>
+	<div class="weave" style="background-image: {weave};"></div>
+
+	<div class="type">
+		<span class="title" style="font-size: {titleSize}cqw;">{book.title}</span>
+		{#if authors}
+			<span class="author">{authors}</span>
+		{/if}
+	</div>
+</div>
+
+<style>
+	.generated-cover {
+		container-type: inline-size;
+		position: relative;
+		overflow: hidden;
+		height: 100%;
+		width: 100%;
+		background: var(--cloth);
+		color: #f4f1ec;
+		isolation: isolate;
+	}
+
+	/* currentColor drives the gradient, so one rule covers every weave. */
+	.weave {
+		position: absolute;
+		inset: 0;
+		color: #ffffff;
+		opacity: 0.14;
+		z-index: -1;
+	}
+
+	/* A little depth so it does not read as a flat swatch next to a photograph. */
+	.generated-cover::after {
+		content: '';
+		position: absolute;
+		inset: 0;
+		background: linear-gradient(150deg, rgb(255 255 255 / 0.1), rgb(0 0 0 / 0.28));
+		z-index: -1;
+	}
+
+	.type {
+		display: flex;
+		height: 100%;
+		flex-direction: column;
+		justify-content: space-between;
+		gap: 6cqw;
+		padding: 10cqw 9cqw;
+	}
+
+	.title {
+		font-family: var(--app-font-serif, Georgia, serif);
+		line-height: 1.04;
+		letter-spacing: -0.02em;
+		text-wrap: balance;
+		/* Clip rather than spill: an overflowing title looks broken, a clipped one
+		   just looks like a long title. */
+		display: -webkit-box;
+		-webkit-box-orient: vertical;
+		-webkit-line-clamp: 6;
+		line-clamp: 6;
+		overflow: hidden;
+	}
+
+	.author {
+		font-family: var(--app-font-mono, ui-monospace, monospace);
+		font-size: 4.4cqw;
+		letter-spacing: 0.12em;
+		text-transform: uppercase;
+		opacity: 0.75;
+		display: -webkit-box;
+		-webkit-box-orient: vertical;
+		-webkit-line-clamp: 2;
+		line-clamp: 2;
+		overflow: hidden;
+	}
+
+	/* Below about a centimetre the author is unreadable, and the padding is
+	   eating the title. Show the title alone. */
+	@container (max-width: 72px) {
+		.author {
+			display: none;
+		}
+
+		.type {
+			padding: 8cqw;
+		}
+	}
+</style>