Why do authors put Clockwork in title, ex. Clockwork Orange, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess?

For the more recent novels, Clockwork in the title is most commonly used to indicate that the novel is in the Steampunk genre - containing robots, androids and other mechanically created beings, typically during the post-Vernes/Victorian era. There was a huge fascination with mechanicals and machines at this time and many of the great techonological advances in industrial production and production lines occurred during this time.

As for A Clockwork Orange, the author states that the title partly derives from

the expression “as queer as a clockwork orange” in a London pub before the Second World War. It’s an old Cockney slang phrase, implying a queerness or madness so extreme as to subvert nature.

I think that the other titles you mentioned (Prince, Princess and other recent titles) have little to nothing to do with A Clockwork Orange other than the word in the title.

There's probably no super specific meaning behind it, other than it just sounds sophisticated. Put the word 'Clockwork' in front of any title and it will automatically sound like it's something bigger than it actually is.

Clockwork in general may refer to how something functions, or is wired to process, whether it's a human or a situation. But that word alone can apply to virtually any book, as reading is a way to dive into a person's mind, or an environment surrounding many people. All books contain a sense of 'clockwork', therefore using the word in a title seems cheap to me.

It depends on the book.

For example, Clockwork Angel (by Cassandra Clare) was so called because the girl had an Angel necklace that was always ticking, like Clockwork.

But, yeah, as with all book titles, it generally reflects the book contents in some way.

Hope that helps.

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