diff --git a/components/PageReader.tsx b/components/PageReader.tsx
index dea9b6a..9270a2f 100644
--- a/components/PageReader.tsx
+++ b/components/PageReader.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useState, useEffect, useRef, useCallback } from "react";
+import { useState, useEffect, useRef, useCallback, useMemo } from "react";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import {
@@ -84,6 +84,13 @@ export function PageReader({
   const observerRef = useRef<IntersectionObserver | null>(null);
   const pageRefsRef = useRef<Map<number, HTMLDivElement>>(new Map());
 
+  // Reverse-fetch cursor: the offset of the first loaded page of the
+  // starting chapter. Used to prepend previous pages when the user scrolls
+  // up from a resumed mid-chapter position.
+  const prependOffsetRef = useRef(offsetRef.current);
+  const prependLoadingRef = useRef(false);
+  const prependExhaustedRef = useRef(offsetRef.current === 0);
+
   const advanceChapterOrFinish = useCallback(() => {
     if (fetchChapterIdxRef.current + 1 < chapters.length) {
       fetchChapterIdxRef.current += 1;
@@ -93,6 +100,71 @@ export function PageReader({
     }
   }, [chapters.length]);
 
+  const startChapter = useMemo(
+    () => chapters.find((c) => c.number === startChapterNumber),
+    [chapters, startChapterNumber]
+  );
+
+  const prependBatch = useCallback(async () => {
+    if (
+      prependLoadingRef.current ||
+      prependExhaustedRef.current ||
+      !startChapter
+    )
+      return;
+    const currentOffset = prependOffsetRef.current;
+    const newOffset = Math.max(0, currentOffset - BATCH_SIZE);
+    const limit = currentOffset - newOffset;
+    if (limit <= 0) {
+      prependExhaustedRef.current = true;
+      return;
+    }
+    prependLoadingRef.current = true;
+    const beforeHeight = document.documentElement.scrollHeight;
+    try {
+      const res = await fetch(
+        `/api/pages?chapterId=${startChapter.id}&offset=${newOffset}&limit=${limit}`
+      );
+      const batch: RawPage[] = await res.json();
+      if (batch.length === 0) {
+        prependExhaustedRef.current = true;
+        return;
+      }
+      prependOffsetRef.current = newOffset;
+      if (newOffset === 0) prependExhaustedRef.current = true;
+
+      // Shift forward-fetch trigger indices + total count since every
+      // already-loaded page has moved right by batch.length
+      const shift = batch.length;
+      const shifted = new Set<number>();
+      for (const t of triggerIndicesRef.current) shifted.add(t + shift);
+      triggerIndicesRef.current = shifted;
+      loadedCountRef.current += shift;
+
+      setPages((prev) => [
+        ...batch.map((p) => ({
+          chapterNumber: startChapter.number,
+          pageNumber: p.number,
+          imageUrl: p.imageUrl,
+        })),
+        ...prev,
+      ]);
+
+      // aspect-[3/4] on the prepended <img>s reserves height before their
+      // bytes arrive, so scrollHeight is accurate immediately after React
+      // commits. One scrollBy keeps the previously-visible page anchored.
+      requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+        const afterHeight = document.documentElement.scrollHeight;
+        const delta = afterHeight - beforeHeight;
+        if (delta > 0) window.scrollBy({ top: delta });
+      });
+    } catch {
+      // ignore — user can scroll-up again to retry
+    } finally {
+      prependLoadingRef.current = false;
+    }
+  }, [startChapter]);
+
   const fetchBatch = useCallback(async () => {
     if (loadingRef.current || doneRef.current) return;
     const chapter = chapters[fetchChapterIdxRef.current];
@@ -253,6 +325,15 @@ export function PageReader({
         hiddenByScrollRef.current = true;
         setShowUI(false);
       }
+      // Trigger backward prepend when user approaches the top — fire early
+      // so the DOM/pics are already spawned by the time the user scrolls there
+      if (
+        y < 2500 &&
+        !prependLoadingRef.current &&
+        !prependExhaustedRef.current
+      ) {
+        prependBatch();
+      }
       // Nothing loaded yet — don't overwrite the resumed-page state
       if (pages.length === 0) return;
       let chapter = pages[0].chapterNumber;
@@ -277,7 +358,7 @@ export function PageReader({
       window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll);
       if (rafId) cancelAnimationFrame(rafId);
     };
-  }, [pages, startChapterNumber]);
+  }, [pages, startChapterNumber, prependBatch]);
 
   // Persist progress as user scrolls. offsetRef has been pre-seeded above
   // so the first fetched page IS the resumed page — no scroll restoration
@@ -377,7 +458,7 @@ export function PageReader({
               <img
                 src={page.imageUrl}
                 alt={`Page ${page.pageNumber}`}
-                className="w-full h-auto block align-bottom -mb-px [-webkit-touch-callout:none]"
+                className="w-full h-auto block align-bottom -mb-px aspect-[3/4] [-webkit-touch-callout:none]"
                 draggable={false}
               />
             </div>