Books worth keeping, and worth finishing.

Why we exist

The great books are wonderful, and most copies of them leave you on your own. You meet a word that has changed its meaning, a sum of money with no scale, a name you can't place, a line every first reader recognized, and you either stop to look it up or you let it go. Do that often enough and the book goes back on the shelf.

Our editions put that context where you need it: a short note before every chapter, a who's who, a glossary and an introduction that tells the story behind the book. Modern context, without having to research anything yourself.

What we believe

• The text comes first. We print the book itself, never a retelling or a summary: a named early edition (usually the first) or, for a book first written in French, a named English translation, and we say which. We never rewrite it, and every correction we make is recorded.
• Help belongs before the chapter, not in the way. Our notes stand before each chapter and never interrupt the text.
• Never spoil what's ahead. A note may say what happens in its own chapter, but never what happens in a later one.
• Say only what's true. Every book's page describes exactly what's in it. If we get something wrong, we correct it in future printings and ebook downloads.
• Make books to keep. Cream paper, clean type, generous margins, and a hardcover on rigid boards.

How we make and ship them

Our printing partner prints each copy for your order and ships it straight to you, where possible printing it in the country it ships to. That means no warehouses of unsold books, and a fresh copy for every reader. Our ebooks are built to be just as comfortable on a screen.

Our series

The Reader's Companion Edition: great books with the context built in. In the shop now: Dangerous Liaisons. Our list grows as each new edition is finished. See every book in the shop.