BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World

1

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

80,567 members

1,443 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

84,020 members

1,288 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

83,086 members

1,381 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

15,775 members

304 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

55,076 members

780 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

51,297 members

461 reviews

½ 4.5

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

7

Rebecca

by Daphne Du Maurier

21,296 members

618 reviews

4.2

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

8

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

44,005 members

719 reviews

3.8

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

9

The Colour of Magic

by Terry Pratchett

22,528 members

448 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

50,857 members

744 reviews

½ 3.7

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

11

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

21,163 members

435 reviews

3.8

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

12

Regeneration

by Pat Barker

4,564 members

114 reviews

4

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

13

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler

10,519 members

286 reviews

4

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

14

Orlando: A Biography

by Virginia Woolf

10,880 members

172 reviews

3.9

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

15

Middlemarch

by George Eliot

18,191 members

331 reviews

4.2

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

16

The Chronicles of Narnia

by C. S. Lewis

36,818 members

313 reviews

½ 4.3

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

17

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

20,273 members

338 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

19,405 members

187 reviews

3.9

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

19

Harry Potter - The Complete Series

by J. K. Rowling

12,297 members

175 reviews

½ 4.6

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

20

The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman

11,983 members

279 reviews

4.2

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

21

His Dark Materials

by Philip Pullman

14,421 members

203 reviews

½ 4.3

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

22

Emily of New Moon

by L. M. Montgomery

4,181 members

75 reviews

4.1

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

23

Cold Comfort Farm

by Stella Gibbons

5,875 members

230 reviews

4

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

24

Cannery Row

by John Steinbeck

10,104 members

187 reviews

4

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

25

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath

28,850 members

508 reviews

4

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

26

The Shipping News

by E. Annie Proulx

13,569 members

250 reviews

3.9

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

27

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

21,762 members

479 reviews

3.9

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

28

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

16,737 members

474 reviews

4.2

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

29

Beloved

by Toni Morrison

23,433 members

408 reviews

3.9

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

30

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

by Anne Brontë

7,792 members

171 reviews

3.9

5 Members: jain, merrystar, gypsysmom, Lapsus_Linguae, ManWithAnAgenda

31

V for Vendetta

by Alan Moore

10,712 members

188 reviews

4.2

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

32

Disgrace

by J. M. Coetzee

11,022 members

275 reviews

3.8

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

33

I Capture the Castle

by Dodie Smith

9,383 members

296 reviews

4.1

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

34

The Quiet American

by Graham Greene

8,193 members

183 reviews

4

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

35

A House for Mr Biswas

by V. S. Naipaul

3,510 members

69 reviews

3.8

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

36

The Talented Mr. Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

6,375 members

201 reviews

3.9

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

37

The Witches

by Roald Dahl

15,568 members

198 reviews

4.1

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

38

Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

by Herman Melville

2,949 members

96 reviews

3.9

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

39

The Children of Men

by P. D. James

5,909 members

201 reviews

½ 3.6

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

40

Bridget Jones's Diary

by Helen Fielding

17,079 members

267 reviews

½ 3.6

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

41

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys

8,668 members

257 reviews

½ 3.5

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

42

Dune

by Frank Herbert

44,116 members

690 reviews

½ 4.3

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

43

Tales of the City

by Armistead Maupin

5,041 members

108 reviews

3.9

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

44

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

66,420 members

3,497 reviews

½ 4.3

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

45

Ballet Shoes

by Noel Streatfeild

3,612 members

73 reviews

4.2

4 Members: aprille, jain, merrystar, gypsysmom

46

Ivanhoe

by Sir Walter Scott

13,379 members

120 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: aprille, hipdeep, alex68, acousticmoose

47

The Far Pavilions

by M. M. Kaye

2,409 members

68 reviews

4.1

4 Members: aprille, sparhalke, merrystar, ahef1963

48

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

35,254 members

1,410 reviews

4.1

4 Members: timtom, rretzler, gypsysmom, kara.shamy

49

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

19,633 members

349 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, jain, ahef1963

50

Giovanni's Room

by James Baldwin

5,816 members

127 reviews

4.2

4 Members: hipdeep, jain, alex68, gypsysmom

51

The Earthsea Trilogy

by Ursula K. Le Guin

2,251 members

25 reviews

4.2

4 Members: jain, merrystar, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

52

A Suitable Boy

by Vikram Seth

5,822 members

107 reviews

4.2

4 Members: aprille, pamelad, timtom, alex68

53

Gilead

by Marilynne Robinson

11,038 members

365 reviews

3.9

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

54

A Game of Thrones

by George R. R. Martin

43,695 members

1,130 reviews

½ 4.4

4 Members: aprille, rretzler, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

55

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

by Muriel Spark

5,316 members

174 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: pamelad, alex68, rretzler, ahef1963

56

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

30,897 members

898 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: aprille, gypsysmom, ahef1963

57

The Outsiders

by S. E. Hinton

21,868 members

687 reviews

4

3 Members: jain, rretzler, ahef1963

58

Unless

by Carol Shields

3,080 members

94 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: sparhalke, pamelad, gypsysmom

59

American Tabloid

by James Ellroy

2,889 members

43 reviews

4.1

3 Members: aprille, alex68, acousticmoose

60

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

by Sue Townsend

3,636 members

64 reviews

3.8

3 Members: pamelad, Cynfelyn, ahef1963

61

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

59,384 members

2,269 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aprille, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

62

The God of Small Things

by Arundhati Roy

19,928 members

372 reviews

3.9

3 Members: pamelad, alex68, ahef1963

63

White Teeth

by Zadie Smith

13,875 members

248 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: alex68, rretzler, gypsysmom

64

Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie

1,816 members

78 reviews

4.1

3 Members: pamelad, gypsysmom, kara.shamy

65

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood

17,239 members

539 reviews

3.9

3 Members: rretzler, gypsysmom, ahef1963

66

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

7,051 members

298 reviews

4.2

3 Members: aprille, gypsysmom, ahef1963

67

Eye of the Needle

by Ken Follett

5,441 members

91 reviews

4

3 Members: aprille, rretzler, gypsysmom

68

Small Island

by Andrea Levy

4,039 members

142 reviews

3.9

3 Members: aprille, pamelad, ahef1963

69

Riders

by Jilly Cooper

576 members

15 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aprille, pamelad, ahef1963

70

Our Mutual Friend

by Charles Dickens

5,960 members

101 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aprille, alex68

71

Habibi

by Craig Thompson

2,011 members

114 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, timtom

72

Strumpet City

by James Plunkett

312 members

5 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, hipdeep

73

The Moor's Last Sigh

by Salman Rushdie

3,767 members

36 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, acousticmoose

74

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

5,295 members

247 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

75

American War

by Omar El Akkad

1,905 members

95 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

76

How to Be Both

by Ali Smith

1,655 members

52 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

77

Days without End

by Sebastian Barry

1,333 members

81 reviews

4

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

78

Fugitive Pieces

by Anne Michaels

3,089 members

73 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, gypsysmom

79

Golden Child

by Claire Adam

328 members

22 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: aprille, kara.shamy

80

Nights at the Circus

by Angela Carter

2,718 members

51 reviews

3.9

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

81

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

by Patrick O'Brian

25 members

½ 3.7

Member: Cynfelyn

82

Cloudstreet

by Tim Winton

2,700 members

60 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aprille, gypsysmom

83

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

by Alan Sillitoe

1,072 members

19 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

84

Psmith, Journalist

by P. G. Wodehouse

937 members

16 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

85

The Country Girls

by Edna O'Brien

789 members

28 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

86

Mr. Standfast

by John Buchan

665 members

13 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aprille, pamelad

87

Swami and Friends

by R. K. Narayan

483 members

6 reviews

4.2

2 Members: aprille, ahef1963

88

Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

5,848 members

282 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: gypsysmom

89

So Long, See You Tomorrow

by William Maxwell

1,753 members

69 reviews

3.9

Member: pamelad

90

The Passion

by Jeanette Winterson

3,684 members

56 reviews

4

Member: aprille

91

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

by Audre Lorde

1,936 members

23 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: aprille

92

The Forty Rules of Love

by Elif Shafak

1,494 members

77 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: aprille

93

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

by Brian Moore

829 members

27 reviews

4

Member: aprille

94

The Slaves of Solitude

by Patrick Hamilton

711 members

18 reviews

4.1

Member: aprille

95

Cracking India

by Bapsi Sidhwa

621 members

9 reviews

3.9

Member: aprille

96

City of Bohane

by Kevin Barry

523 members

27 reviews

3.8

Member: aprille

97

Astonishing the Gods

by Ben Okri

315 members

3 reviews

2.9

Member: aprille

98

Poor Cow

by Nell Dunn

149 members

6 reviews

3.8

Member: aprille

99

Forever . . .

by Judy Blume

3,383 members

135 reviews

½ 3.5

100

Noughts and Crosses

by Malorie Blackman

2,285 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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