About Engine House Classics
What Are Engine House Classics?
Engine House Classics are editions of books whose copyright has expired and that are out of print or hard to find.
What kind of books do you select as Engine House Classics?
You won't find editions of Great Expectations or Pride and Prejudice
published as Engine House Classics. Books of that ilk are easy to find from other
publishers. We try to select obscure books that have been more-or-less forgotten,
but which we have enjoyed.
We also expect to be publishing collections of stories from one or more authors that may not have ever
been published together before.
Why do Engine House Classics have no ISBN?
ISBNs allow distributors and retailers handle books efficiently. While it
costs little for a publisher to purchase an ISBN, making a book available to retailers
is expensive, since typically retailers require a roughly 100% markup, and contractual obligations
usually ensure that the publisher is not permitted to sell the same edition at a price that
undercuts retailers.
Since the purpose of our Engine House Classic line is to make the books available as cheaply as
possible, we therefore have chosen not make this line available through the regular distribution
network; and therefore ISBNs are not necessary.
Are Engine House Classics available from other sources?
Generally, no. As we mentioned above, a large part of the price you pay for a regular book goes directly to the retailer
(even if it's an online retailer). Also, the cost to enter
a book into the distribution system is considerable. Engine House Classics have
no ISBN and are not available from ordinary retailers. This allows us to charge much
less than would otherwise be the case.
What is the quality like?
Engine House Classics are produced to exactly the same physical quality levels as our regular books.
We typeset them to professional standards (indeed, better than the standard of many publishers) and
use high-quality typography throughout.
Are these abridgements or condensed versions?
No. The words we print are, as near as we can determine, those that the original author intended.
We may slightly change punctuation in order to establish consistency, but otherwise we intend that
the contents mirror the author's original desires.
What Engine House Classics are available?
The current selection is available from the Classics drop-down menu at the top of this page.
