About

‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’
WILLIAM MORRIS

Renard considers design and production values to be fundamental in independent publishing, and we don’t believe anyone should have to read books – from classic theatre to contemporary fiction – in yellowing, crumbling editions with cramped typesetting and poor legibility. If we consider a book to be an artefact, rather than a mode of inhaling words, it’s important to think about the papers used, as well as the colours, typefaces, pictures – all the little details which make us treasure the books on our shelves. After all, no two books are the same – why should they be published as though they were?

‘A poet can survive everything but a misprint.’
OSCAR WILDE

A damning indictment from dear Oscar, but it’s certainly true. Renard always aims to produce the best version of a text – our classics are always based on the authoritative edition, rather than following the traditional route of basing the text on that of the first edition and making selected amendments from other editions, thus creating a hybrid between the first edition and various others.

Where we think they will enrich the text, we add explanatory notes and an extra-material section with information about the author and their works.

‘If a thing’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing well.’
EVELYN WAUGH

We don’t want to  ‘change how people read’, but we are passionate about good writing, and want to facilitate reading in all the ways people read – so we produce ebooks in all mainstream formats, and produce audiobooks where we can too – and we also want to stimulate conversation about reading itself, and provide a platform for the promotion of it.

‘Variety is the soul of pleasure.’
APHRA BEHN

Perhaps most importantly, Renard places a premium on being accessible – we don’t want our editions to be overly scholarly, or our site hidden behind paywalls – and we aim to make our platform and editions as accessible and inclusive as we can. Our list seeks to bring together a multitude of voices from across the globe. After all, diets are best enjoyed when they’re varied – and the same is true of our reading.