The 50 All-time Best Selling Works of Fiction

(in rank order based on current statistics)

  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes 1605
  2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 1859
  3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 1814
  4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 1954
  5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling 1997
  6. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 1939
  7. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 1937
  8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 1950
  9. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1943
  10. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown 2003
  11. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 1951
  12. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 1988
  13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 2005
  14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 1998
  15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling 2000
  16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 2003
  17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 1999
  18. Heidi by Johanna Spyri 1880
  19. Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace 1880
  20. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery 1908
  21. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell 1877
  22. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco 1980
  23. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley 1919
  24. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 1952
  25. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 1902
  26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 2007
  27. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach 1970
  28. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 2000
  29. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 1869
  30. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi 1881
  31. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer 1979
  32. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 1960
  33. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann 1966
  34. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 1936
  35. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough 1977
  36. The Revolt of Mamie Stover by William Bradford Huie 1951
  37. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 2005
  38. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 1969
  39. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 1908
  40. 1984 by George Orwell 1949
  41. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield 1993
  42. The Godfather by Mario Puzo 1969
  43. Love Story by Erich Segal 1970
  44. Jaws by Peter Benchley 1974
  45. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch 1986
  46. The Women’s Room by Marilyn French 1977
  47. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 1963
  48. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong 1973
  49. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 1947
  50. Shogun by James Clavell 1975

As is the case with any cumulative list, this rank order may be subject to change and argument. It should also be noted that sales statistics might not always be 100% accurate. However, this list was compiled through research of currently available information and is presented in good faith. 8/10