Section III · Coming soon

Help me to Understand

Some books feel like locked rooms. Help me to Understand hands you the key: the complete original text, with friendly explanations right where you need them.

The idea

A guide inside the great books

Every reader has opened a classic, met an unfamiliar name, a strange word or a world that no longer exists, and quietly put it back on the shelf. Help me to Understand exists for that moment.

Each volume prints the original text unchanged and stops at the hard moments to explain them in plain English, in clearly marked panels set apart from the original. It never replaces the book. It walks through it with you.

  1. Plain-English VersionThe passage restated simply, so you always know what is happening.
  2. Modern ExampleComparisons from films, books and everyday life that make old ideas feel familiar.
  3. Definitions & Fun FactsUnfamiliar words explained, plus sourced stories behind the book, with no spoilers before you reach them.

The first three volumes

Coming soon

Cover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Volume 1
Cover of A Doll’s House

A Doll’s House

Volume 2
Cover of The Death of Ivan Ilyich

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Volume 3

Prefer notes at the foot of the page? Explore the annotated editions in The Classics Selections.

Coming soon

The series

Cover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Annotated)Coming soon

Volume 1

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Annotated)

The Original Text with Plain-English Explanations and Modern Examples
Robert Louis Stevenson
  • 23 plain-English explanations in shaded panels, set apart from the original
  • Each with a Plain-English Version, a Modern Example and Definitions
  • 5 sourced Fun Facts on the book’s origins, first readers, stage and film
  • A new preface, a glossary and two full-book discussions
  • Six original diagrams and a note comparing the text with the 1886 edition
  • The complete original text, unchanged; spoiler-safe early notes

Everyone knows what “Jekyll and Hyde” has come to mean. Far fewer readers have met the story Robert Louis Stevenson actually wrote in 1886: a reserved London lawyer who keeps his friends’ secrets, a door in a back street, a will that makes no sense, and documents that reveal the truth only when they are read in the right order.

Read more

This Help me to Understand edition prints the complete novella unchanged and stops at the hard moments to explain them in plain English. What does Utterson actually know? Why does everyone struggle to describe Hyde? What is Stevenson saying about respectability and the hidden self? Each explanation sits in its own clearly marked panel, with a plain-English version of the passage, modern comparisons from films, books and daily life, and definitions of difficult words. Fun Facts tell the story behind the book, from the dream that inspired it to its famous stage and screen versions, and nothing gives away the ending before you reach it.

Ideal for students, book clubs and anyone who has always meant to read the original.

Coming soon from EL Publishing. Follow along for the release.

Cover of A Doll’s House (Annotated)Coming soon

Volume 2

A Doll’s House (Annotated)

The Original Text with Plain-English Explanations and Modern Examples
Henrik Ibsen
  • 24 plain-English explanations in shaded panels, set apart from the original
  • Each with a Plain-English Version, a Modern Example and Definitions
  • 6 sourced Fun Facts on Ibsen, the first audiences and later adaptations
  • Clear notes on the law, money and stage directions of 1879
  • A new preface, a glossary, full-book discussions and six diagrams
  • The complete play in Sharp’s translation, unchanged; spoiler-safe notes

Nora Helmer has a devoted husband, three children and a secret. Years ago she borrowed money in a way the law did not allow. When the man who holds her signature returns at Christmas, the cheerful household of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play begins to show its cracks.

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This Help me to Understand edition prints R. Farquharson Sharp’s classic English translation unchanged and adds plain-English explanations between the scenes. What could a married woman legally do with money in nineteenth-century Norway? What do the stage directions show that the dialogue hides? And why does the final scene still start arguments today? Each explanation sits in its own clearly marked panel, with a plain-English version of the scene, comparisons from films and everyday life, and definitions of unfamiliar words. Fun Facts cover the real-life case behind the play, its first audiences and the ending Ibsen was pressed to change, and nothing gives away later scenes before you reach them.

Ideal for students, theatergoers, book clubs and anyone meeting the play for the first time.

Coming soon from EL Publishing. Follow along for the release.

Cover of The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Annotated)Coming soon

Volume 3

The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Annotated)

The Original Text with Plain-English Explanations and Modern Examples
Leo Tolstoy
  • 28 plain-English explanations in shaded panels, set apart from the original
  • Each with a Plain-English Version, a Modern Example and Definitions
  • 6 sourced Fun Facts on Tolstoy, his translator and the films it inspired
  • Garnett’s 1902 translation, rebuilt from three copies of the first printing
  • A new preface, a glossary, full-book discussions and six diagrams
  • The complete original text, unchanged; spoiler-safe early notes

Ivan Ilyitch did everything right. He rose through the courts, married suitably, furnished his home in the best taste and played cards with the right people. Then a small accident leads to an illness no doctor will name, and he is forced to ask whether the life everyone admired was ever truly lived.

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This Help me to Understand edition prints Constance Garnett’s 1902 translation of Leo Tolstoy’s novella unchanged and adds plain-English explanations along the way. Why do his colleagues think first about promotions? What do Russian names and ranks tell us? Why does the servant Gerasim matter so much? Each explanation sits in its own clearly marked panel, with a plain-English version of the passage, definitions of unfamiliar words and modern comparisons, from a colleague’s death announced in a work group chat to the film Living (2022). Fun Facts cover the real judge behind the story, Constance Garnett and the films the book inspired, and the notes never give away the ending before you reach it.

Ideal for students, book clubs and anyone drawn to one of the great short books about how to live.

Coming soon from EL Publishing. Follow along for the release.

Why it matters

Curiosity is the best way into a classic

I.

Lower the barrier

Plain language and helpful context take the intimidation out of old books, so anyone can start.

II.

Spark the interest

The stories behind the stories, from strange origins to famous adaptations, give you a reason to care before chapter one.

III.

Keep the original

The author’s words are always printed complete and unchanged, because the real reward is reading the classic itself.

Start with a classic today

While the first volumes are in the works, The Classics Selections are ready to read, each with its own preface, notes and glossary. Follow along for new releases.

The Classics Selections