Clever Girl Press

Independent annotated editions

The classics aren’t finished with us.

We make thoughtfully annotated editions of remarkable public-domain books—preserving the original voice while opening the door for today’s reader.

Browse the editions How we make a book
17
titles in the catalog
8
reading territories
1
careful text at a time
The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
A Honeymoon in Space by George Griffith
The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell
The String of Pearls

New lives for strange, smart, enduring books

Complete texts Original reader guides Spoiler-conscious notes Source-documented editions Complete texts Original reader guides Spoiler-conscious notes Source-documented editions

The reading table

Find your next old favorite.

Golden Age puzzles, strange futures, uncanny tales, practical philosophy, and field notes from a livelier world.

Cover of The Chinese Parrot Published edition

Charlie Chan mystery

The Chinese Parrot

Earl Derr Biggers

A priceless string of pearls, a lonely desert ranch, and a talkative parrot reward patient attention.

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Cover of A Honeymoon in Space Published edition

Scientific romance

A Honeymoon in Space

George Griffith

An impossible vessel turns an Edwardian honeymoon into a tour of the solar system.

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Cover of The Conquest of Happiness Published edition

Practical philosophy

The Conquest of Happiness

Bertrand Russell

A humane argument for outward-looking attention, work, affection, and proportion.

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Cover of Visible and Invisible Published edition

Uncanny stories

Visible and Invisible

E. F. Benson

Ghostly dread and sharp social observation meet wherever ordinary perception slips.

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Cover of Behind That Curtain Published edition

Charlie Chan mystery

Behind That Curtain

Earl Derr Biggers

Old records and long journeys converge in a Golden Age puzzle where the quiet detective sees more.

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Cover of Pony Rider Boys in Alaska Published edition

Wilderness adventure

Pony Rider Boys in Alaska

Frank Gee Patchin

Mountain passes, pack animals, glaciers, and gold-rush rumors test the riders’ nerve.

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Cover of Into Thin Air Published edition

Impossible mystery

Into Thin Air

Horatio Winslow & Leslie Quirk

Vanished bodies, spiritualist claims, stage magic, and forensic pride collide.

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Cover of The String of Pearls Published edition

Victorian gothic

The String of Pearls

James Malcolm Rymer & Thomas Peckett Prest

The sensational serial that fixed Sweeney Todd in popular memory.

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Cover of The Patient in Room 18 Published edition

Hospital mystery

The Patient in Room 18

Mignon G. Eberhart

Missing radium, midnight alarms, and clashing alibis pull nurse Sarah Keate into the case.

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Cover of The Secret of High Eldersham Published edition

Village mystery

The Secret of High Eldersham

Miles Burton

A murdered landlord and an East Anglian village steeped in folklore and menace.

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Cover of The Green Mummy Published edition

Archaeological mystery

The Green Mummy

Fergus Hume

A coveted mummy and jeweled clues draw murder into a gothic archaeological tangle.

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Cover of The Dying Alderman Published edition

Procedural mystery

The Dying Alderman

Henry Wade

Civic rivalries, property schemes, and official records become a tightly built investigation.

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Cover of Birds Through an Opera-Glass Forthcoming

Natural history

Birds Through an Opera-Glass

Florence Merriam Bailey

The humane field guide that taught readers to know living birds outdoors.

Edition in progress
Cover of Half-Mast Murder Forthcoming

Fair-play mystery

Half-Mast Murder

Milward Kennedy

A locked summer house and a seaside estate where every movement matters.

Edition in progress
Cover of The Heads of Cerberus Forthcoming

Early science fantasy

The Heads of Cerberus

Francis Stevens

A vial of gray dust opens an uncanny gateway into a transformed future city.

Edition in progress
Cover of The Missing Partners Forthcoming

Golden Age mystery

The Missing Partners

Henry Wade

A period puzzle of hidden motives and clues worth tracking closely.

Edition in progress
Cover of The Odyssey Forthcoming

Classical epic

The Odyssey

Homer · Samuel Butler translation

A homecoming through gods, monsters, storms, memory, temptation, and violence.

Edition in progress

Showing all 17 editions

Our approach

Keep the book.
Add the welcome.

A public-domain classic deserves more than a fresh cover. We start with source evidence, preserve the text, and build just enough context to help a modern reader enter fully.

  1. 01

    Trace the text

    Every edition begins with documented public-domain sources and a deliberate textual basis.

  2. 02

    Read alongside

    Introductions, notes, maps, timelines, and character guides answer the questions the book raises.

  3. 03

    Design for use

    Readable interiors and restrained navigation keep the original work—not the apparatus—at center stage.

Why Clever Girl Press

“Old books don’t need to be simplified. They need to be introduced.”

We are an independent press for readers who like their books strange, intelligent, atmospheric, and alive. Our editions pair complete public-domain texts with original editorial material made for genuine reading—not shelf decoration.