BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World

1

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

78,629 members

1,433 reviews

½ 4.4

13 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, jain, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, rretzler, gypsysmom, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, kara.shamy, Lapsus_Linguae, ManWithAnAgenda

2

1984

by George Orwell

82,124 members

1,274 reviews

4.2

13 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, jain, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

3

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

80,812 members

1,370 reviews

½ 4.4

11 Members: sparhalke, jain, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

4

The Hound of the Baskervilles

by Arthur Conan Doyle

15,374 members

301 reviews

3.9

12 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, rretzler, gypsysmom, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, Lapsus_Linguae, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

5

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

53,998 members

773 reviews

3.9

12 Members: jain, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, kara.shamy, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

6

The Lord of the Rings

by J. R. R. Tolkien

50,478 members

451 reviews

½ 4.5

10 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, jain, timtom, merrystar, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

7

Rebecca

by Daphne Du Maurier

20,784 members

612 reviews

4.2

10 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, pamelad, merrystar, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda

8

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

42,756 members

714 reviews

3.8

10 Members: hipdeep, jain, pamelad, timtom, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

9

The Colour of Magic

by Terry Pratchett

22,081 members

447 reviews

3.8

8 Members: hipdeep, timtom, merrystar, rretzler, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: timtom: The list includes the entire Discworld Series.

10

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

49,703 members

745 reviews

½ 3.7

9 Members: sparhalke, jain, pamelad, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy, acousticmoose

11

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

20,699 members

432 reviews

3.8

8 Members: sparhalke, jain, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

12

Regeneration

by Pat Barker

4,503 members

113 reviews

4

7 Members: aprille, sparhalke, jain, pamelad, gypsysmom, kara.shamy, acousticmoose

13

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler

10,307 members

284 reviews

4

8 Members: hipdeep, pamelad, timtom, merrystar, alex68, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

14

Orlando: A Biography

by Virginia Woolf

10,641 members

174 reviews

3.9

7 Members: hipdeep, sparhalke, jain, pamelad, alex68, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

15

Middlemarch

by George Eliot

17,747 members

331 reviews

4.2

7 Members: sparhalke, jain, pamelad, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

16

The Chronicles of Narnia

by C. S. Lewis

35,894 members

321 reviews

½ 4.3

8 Members: hipdeep, jain, merrystar, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

17

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

19,775 members

335 reviews

4.1

8 Members: sparhalke, jain, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda, Isidina,Lapsus_Linguae

18

For Whom the Bell Tolls

by Ernest Hemingway

19,004 members

186 reviews

3.9

6 Members: aprille, sparhalke, pamelad, timtom, alex68, ahef1963

19

Harry Potter (Books 1-7)

by J. K. Rowling

12,402 members

171 reviews

½ 4.6

8 Members: hipdeep, jain, timtom, merrystar, rretzler, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, kara.shamy,ManWithAnAgenda

20

The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman

11,846 members

283 reviews

4.2

7 Members: aprille, hipdeep, jain, timtom, merrystar, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: timtom: The list includes the entire Sandman Series

21

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

by Anne Brontë

7,516 members

169 reviews

3.9

6 Members: aprille, jain, merrystar, gypsysmom, Lapsus_Linguae, ManWithAnAgenda

22

His Dark Materials

by Philip Pullman

14,248 members

202 reviews

½ 4.3

7 Members: jain, merrystar, rretzler, gypsysmom, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

23

Emily of New Moon

by L. M. Montgomery

4,095 members

74 reviews

4.1

6 Members: aprille, sparhalke, merrystar, gypsysmom, ahef1963, Isidina

24

Cold Comfort Farm

by Stella Gibbons

5,787 members

223 reviews

4

7 Members: pamelad, merrystar, alex68, rretzler, Cynfelyn, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

25

Cannery Row

by John Steinbeck

9,915 members

186 reviews

4

6 Members: aprille, hipdeep, pamelad, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

26

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath

28,147 members

503 reviews

4

7 Members: hipdeep, pamelad, alex68, rretzler, ahef1963, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda

27

The Shipping News

by E. Annie Proulx

13,440 members

250 reviews

3.9

6 Members: pamelad, timtom, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

28

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

21,409 members

476 reviews

3.9

6 Members: hipdeep, pamelad, gypsysmom, kara.shamy, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

29

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

16,413 members

477 reviews

4.2

7 Members: pamelad, alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda

30

Beloved

by Toni Morrison

22,886 members

408 reviews

3.9

6 Members: hipdeep, jain, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

31

V for Vendetta

by Alan Moore

10,537 members

190 reviews

4.2

6 Members: hipdeep, timtom, rretzler, Cynfelyn, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

32

Disgrace

by J. M. Coetzee

10,873 members

275 reviews

3.8

6 Members: aprille, pamelad, alex68, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy

33

I Capture the Castle

by Dodie Smith

9,218 members

294 reviews

4.1

5 Members: jain, merrystar, rretzler, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

34

The Quiet American

by Graham Greene

8,052 members

181 reviews

4

6 Members: aprille, pamelad, alex68, ahef1963, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

35

A House for Mr Biswas

by V. S. Naipaul

3,452 members

69 reviews

3.8

5 Members: aprille, pamelad, timtom, alex68, ahef1963

36

The Talented Mr. Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

6,232 members

199 reviews

3.9

6 Members: aprille, pamelad, alex68, ahef1963, kara.shamy, acousticmoose

37

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

34,488 members

1,407 reviews

4.1

5 Members: aprille, timtom, rretzler, gypsysmom, kara.shamy

38

The Witches

by Roald Dahl

14,986 members

198 reviews

4.1

5 Members: aprille, jain, timtom, Cynfelyn, ManWithAnAgenda

39

Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

by Herman Melville

2,872 members

99 reviews

3.9

5 Members: aprille, jain, alex68, ahef1963, acousticmoose

40

Bridget Jones's Diary

by Helen Fielding

16,917 members

264 reviews

½ 3.6

5 Members: pamelad, timtom, rretzler, Cynfelyn, ahef1963

41

The Children of Men

by P. D. James

5,810 members

200 reviews

½ 3.6

5 Members: aprille, sparhalke, rretzler, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

42

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys

8,479 members

254 reviews

½ 3.5

5 Members: jain, pamelad, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

43

Dune

by Frank Herbert

42,681 members

693 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: hipdeep, rretzler, gypsysmom, acousticmoose, ManWithAnAgenda

44

Tales of the City

by Armistead Maupin

4,987 members

108 reviews

3.9

5 Members: hipdeep, jain, pamelad, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

45

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

64,660 members

3,486 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: jain, rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

46

Ballet Shoes

by Noel Streatfeild

3,514 members

72 reviews

4.2

4 Members: aprille, jain, merrystar, gypsysmom

47

Ivanhoe

by Sir Walter Scott

13,043 members

121 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: aprille, hipdeep, alex68, acousticmoose

48

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

19,173 members

346 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, jain, ahef1963

49

The Far Pavilions

by M. M. Kaye

2,389 members

68 reviews

4.1

4 Members: aprille, sparhalke, merrystar, ahef1963

50

Giovanni's Room

by James Baldwin

5,544 members

126 reviews

4.2

4 Members: hipdeep, jain, alex68, gypsysmom

51

The Earthsea Trilogy

by Ursula K. Le Guin

2,211 members

27 reviews

4.2

4 Members: jain, merrystar, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

52

Gilead

by Marilynne Robinson

10,830 members

363 reviews

3.9

4 Members: sparhalke, gypsysmom, ahef1963, kara.shamy

53

A Suitable Boy

by Vikram Seth

5,746 members

108 reviews

4.2

4 Members: aprille, pamelad, timtom, alex68

54

A Game of Thrones

by George R. R. Martin

42,731 members

1,122 reviews

½ 4.4

4 Members: aprille, rretzler, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

55

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

by Muriel Spark

5,211 members

171 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: pamelad, alex68, rretzler, ahef1963

56

The Outsiders

by S. E. Hinton

21,092 members

679 reviews

4

3 Members: jain, rretzler, ahef1963

57

Unless

by Carol Shields

3,044 members

94 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: sparhalke, pamelad, gypsysmom

58

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

30,368 members

895 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: aprille, gypsysmom, ahef1963

59

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

by Sue Townsend

3,581 members

65 reviews

3.8

3 Members: pamelad, Cynfelyn, ahef1963

60

American Tabloid

by James Ellroy

2,841 members

44 reviews

4.1

3 Members: aprille, alex68, acousticmoose

61

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

58,403 members

2,265 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aprille, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

62

The God of Small Things

by Arundhati Roy

19,670 members

372 reviews

3.9

3 Members: pamelad, alex68, ahef1963

63

White Teeth

by Zadie Smith

13,667 members

248 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom

64

Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie

1,744 members

81 reviews

4.1

3 Members: pamelad, gypsysmom, kara.shamy

65

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood

16,982 members

536 reviews

3.9

3 Members: rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963

66

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

6,921 members

297 reviews

4.2

3 Members: aprille, gypsysmom, ahef1963

67

Eye of the Needle

by Ken Follett

5,351 members

93 reviews

4

3 Members: aprille, rretzler, gypsysmom

68

Small Island

by Andrea Levy

3,998 members

140 reviews

3.9

3 Members: aprille, pamelad, ahef1963

69

Riders

by Jilly Cooper

567 members

15 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aprille, pamelad, ahef1963

70

Our Mutual Friend

by Charles Dickens

5,846 members

100 reviews

4.2

2 Members: aprille, alex68

71

Habibi

by Craig Thompson

1,966 members

112 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, timtom

72

Strumpet City

by James Plunkett

310 members

5 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, hipdeep

73

The Moor's Last Sigh

by Salman Rushdie

3,713 members

35 reviews

3.9

2 Members: aprille, acousticmoose

74

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

5,220 members

251 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

75

American War

by Omar El Akkad

1,837 members

96 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

76

How to Be Both

by Ali Smith

1,581 members

52 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

77

Days without End

by Sebastian Barry

1,291 members

80 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

78

Fugitive Pieces

by Anne Michaels

3,035 members

73 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, gypsysmom

79

Golden Child

by Claire Adam

313 members

21 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

80

The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels, Volume 1, Books 1-4

by Patrick O'Brian

25 members

½ 3.7

Member: Cynfelyn

81

Nights at the Circus

by Angela Carter

2,670 members

52 reviews

3.9

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

82

Cloudstreet

by Tim Winton

2,666 members

61 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aprille, gypsysmom

83

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

by Alan Sillitoe

1,058 members

17 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

84

Psmith, Journalist

by P. G. Wodehouse

910 members

15 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

85

The Country Girls

by Edna O'Brien

773 members

31 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

86

Mr. Standfast

by John Buchan

651 members

13 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

87

Swami and Friends

by R. K. Narayan

470 members

6 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aprille, ahef1963

88

Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

5,602 members

280 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: gypsysmom

89

So Long, See You Tomorrow

by William Maxwell

1,706 members

68 reviews

3.9

Member: pamelad

90

The Passion

by Jeanette Winterson

3,628 members

55 reviews

4

Member: aprille

91

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

by Audre Lorde

1,873 members

22 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: aprille

92

The Forty Rules of Love

by Elif Shafak

1,417 members

75 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: aprille

93

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

by Brian Moore

817 members

27 reviews

4

Member: aprille

94

The Slaves of Solitude

by Patrick Hamilton

706 members

18 reviews

4.1

Member: aprille

95

Cracking India

by Bapsi Sidhwa

611 members

9 reviews

3.9

Member: aprille

96

City of Bohane

by Kevin Barry

511 members

27 reviews

3.8

Member: aprille

97

Astonishing the Gods

by Ben Okri

310 members

3 reviews

2.9

Member: aprille

98

Poor Cow

by Nell Dunn

149 members

5 reviews

3.8

Member: aprille

99

Forever . . .

by Judy Blume

3,336 members

134 reviews

½ 3.5

100

Noughts and Crosses

by Malorie Blackman

2,223 members

69 reviews

3.8

Member: aprille,jain
Explanations: jain: I don't disagree about how influential it is, but it's just SO badly written.

BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World

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BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World

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