Difference between Penguin and Signet classics?
 

I realize they're both part of the Penguin group, but each releases their own version of some of the same books.Is there a difference in the books?Thanks for the help.

It took a little bit of digging. I haven't worked in a bookstore for almost 15 years, and I thought that they were different companies.

Signet is an imprint New American Library. They started as an American subsidiary of Viking in the 40s. They went independent in 1948, renamed themselves NAL, and were a successful publisher for several decades. Then they were acquired by the Penguin Group in 1986. The Penguin Group seems to have bought up a lot of companies during the publishing industry consolidation of the 80s and 90s.

http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/...s/history.html

So Signet Books and Penguin Classics are the remains of what once were separate publishers. They both published some of the same public domain titles.

The PenCl are, at this point, largely trade paperbacks (larger format), which the SigCl are largely mass market paperbacks (pocket book format). Generally, the PenCl are a bit more scholarly (introductions, biblio info, but not usually too substantial) than the SigCl, and there's much pleasure to be had from a shelf of well-read Penguins. Many of the 'standard' translations are the Penguin editions (Proust, Homer), but you'll be fine with either.

As far as paperback classics go, I'm pretty fond of the Everyman Classics paperback series. And the hardcovers, for that matter.