1. Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes The story of the gentle knight and his servant Sancho Panza has fascinated readers for centuries. harold bloom on don quixote – the first modern novel
2. Pilgrim’s Progress john bunyan of gloom and vanity fair. the 100 best novels of robert mccrum: the pilgrim’s progress
3. robinson crusoe daniel defoe the first english novel. the 100 best novels by robert mccrum: robinson crusoe
You are reading: Best 100 books of all time
4. gulliver’s travels jonathan swift a wonderful satire that still works for all ages, despite the savagery of swift’s vision. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: gulliver’s travels
5. tom jones henry fielding the adventures of a high-spirited orphan boy: an unbeatable plot and lots of sex that end in a happy marriage. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: tom jones 6. clarissa samuel richardson one of the longest novels in the english language, but second to none. 100 best novels by robert mccrum: clarissa
7. tristram shandy laurence sterne one of the first bestsellers, discarded by dr. johnson as too fashionable for his own good. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the life and opinions of tristram shandy, gentleman
8. dangerous relationships pierre choderlos de laclos epistolary novel and manual for seducers: vain, French and fierce. jason cowley on the many incarnations of dangerous relationships
9. emma jane austenear impossible choice between this and pride and prejudice. but emma never ceases to fascinate and annoy. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: emma
10. frankenstein mary shelley inspired by spending too much time with shelley and byron. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: frankenstein
11. Nightmare Abbey thomas love peacocka classic miniature: a brilliant satire on the romance novel. 100 best novels by robert mccrum: nightmare abbey
12. the black sheep honoré de balzac two rivals fight for the love of a femme fatale. badly overlooked. balzac drank 50 cups of coffee a day: daily rituals of creative minds jason bourke on france’s artistic tradition imitating life nick lezard on a translated collection of short stories and balzac’s influence on other literary greats
13. the charterhouse of parma stendhal is a penetrating and compelling chronicle of life at an Italian court in post-napoleonic france. the charterhouse of parma – review
14. the count of monte cristo alexandre dumas a revenge thriller also set in france after bonaparte: a masterpiece of adventure literature. the five best dumas novels
15. sybil benjamin disraeli other than churchill, no other british political figure displays literary genius. 100 best novels by robert mccrum: sybil
16. david copperfield charles dickensThis highly autobiographical novel is the one that its author liked best. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: david copperfield
17. wuthering heights emily brontë catherine earshaw and heathcliff have passed into language. impossible to ignore. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: wuthering heights
18. jane eyre charlotte brontë obsessive emotional grip and disturbing narrative. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: jane eyre
19. vanity fair william makepeace thackeray the improved story of becky sharp. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: vanity fair
20. the scarlet letter nathaniel hawthorne a classic investigation of the american mind. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the scarlet letter
21. moby-dick herman melville ‘call me ismael’ is one of the most famous opening sentences of any novel. 100 best novels by robert mccrum: moby-dick
22. madame bovary gustave flaubert you could sum this up as a story of adultery in the province of france, and miss the point entirely. julian barnes rewrites the ending of madame bovary the everest of translation, by adam thorpe 23. the woman in white wilkie collins gripping mystery novel of hidden identity, kidnapping, fraud and mental cruelty. the 150 years of sensation of the woman in white
24. alice’s adventures in wonderland lewis carroll a story written for the nine-year-old daughter of an oxford professor who still baffles the most children. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: alice’s adventures in wonderland
25. little women louisa m. alcott’s victorian bestseller about a family of new england girls. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: little women
26. the way we live now anthony trollope a majestic assault on the corruption of late victorian england. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the way we live now
27. anna karenina leo tolstoy the supreme novel of the passion of a woman married to a younger man. rereading anna karenina, by james meek
28. daniel deronda george eliot a passion and an exotic grandeur that is strange and disturbing. a new novel by george eliot: the first review of the guardian by daniel deronda, 1876
29. the brothers karamazov fyodor dostoevsky mystical tragedy by the author of crime and punishment. stuart jeffries on the wrong title in images: readers suggest the 10 best instant long reads by author: fyodor dostoevky
30. the portrait of a lady henry james the story of isabel archer shows james at his witty and refined best. deep and flawed: claire messud on rereading the portrait of a lady hermione reads about the biography of a novel that changed literature
31. huckleberry finn mark twain twain was a humorist, but this image of life in mississippi is deeply moral and still incredibly influential. the 100 best novels by robert mccrum – huckleberry finn
32. the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde robert louis stevenson a brilliantly suggestive and resonant study of human duality by a natural storyteller. ian rankin on the strange story of dr jekyll and mr hyde
33. three men in a boat jerome k. jerome one of the funniest english books ever written. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels – three men in a boat
34. the image of dorian gray oscar wildea coded and epigrammatic melodrama inspired by his own tortured homosexuality. fiona maccarthy on the inspiration behind the portrait of dorian gray robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the portrait of dorian gray 35. nobody’s diary george grossmith this classic of the victorian suburbs will always be recognized by the character of mr pooter. buy a nobody’s diary at the guardian bookstore
36. jude the dark thomas hardy its wild desolation makes it one of the first novels of the 20th century. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: jude the dark
37. the enigma of the sands erskine childers a pre-war espionage thriller about an invasion written by a writer later killed for his part in the Irish republican uprising. corner of the classics – the enigma of the sands
38. the call of nature jack londonthe story of a dog who joins a pack of wolves after the death of his master. the 100 best novels of robert mccrum: the call of the wild
39. nostromo the masterpiece of joseph conrad conrad: a story of money, love and revolutionary politics. chinua achebe and caryl phillips discuss the case against conrad
See Also: The Best Books on Palaeontology – Five Books Expert Recommendations
40. the wind in the willows kenneth grahame this children’s classic was inspired by the son of grahame’s bedtime stories. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the wind in the willows
41. in search of lost time marcel proust an unforgettable portrait of paris in the belle époque. probably the longest novel on this list. melvyn bragg rereads in search of lost time
42. the rainbow d. h. Lawrence novels seized by the police, like this one, have a special afterlife. rachel cusk rereads the rainbow adam thorpe in the rainbow
43. the good soldier ford madox ford this account of the adulterous lives of two Edwardian couples is a classic of unreliable storytelling. jane smiley on the good soldier, stylistic perfection robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the good soldier
44. the thirty-nine steps john buchan a classic adventure story for children, full of action, violence and suspense. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the thirty-nine steps
45. Ulysses james joyce also persecuted by the British police, this is a novel more discussed than read. the 100 best novels of robert mccrum: ulysses
46. mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf secures Woolf’s position as one of the great English novelists of the 20th century. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: mrs dalloway
47. a passage to india in forsterforster’s great love song to india. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: a passage to india damon galgut on unrequited love at the heart of a passage to india
48. the great gatsby f. scott fitzgerald the quintessential novel of the jazz age robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the great gatsby what makes gatsby great? by sarah churchwell
49. the trial franz kafka the enigmatic story of joseph k. john banville on the story behind kafka’s great novel of trial and retribution
50. men without women ernest hemingway is remembered for his novels, but it was the stories that first attracted attention. this power salutes some of the greatest tales ever written
51. journey at the end of the night louis-ferdinand celine the experiences of an unattractive slum doctor during the great war: a masterpiece of linguistic innovation . tibor fischer on celine’s journey to the forefront of literature celine: great author and absolute bastard
52. as i die william faulkner a strange black comedy from an american master. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: as i die alison flood in the sound and the fury anniversary edition in colored ink
53. branger new world aldous huxley dystopian fantasy about the world of the seventh century bf (after ford). robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: brave new world read the original guardian review from 1932
54. scoop evelyn waugh the street novel of the supreme fleet. ann pasternak slater on the journalistic experiences that shaped waugh’s novel robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: scoop
55. uses john dos passos an extraordinary trilogy that uses a variety of narrative devices to express the history of america. charlotte jones about new york in books robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: nineteen nineteen (the second book in the trilogy)
56. the big dream raymond chandler introduces philip marlowe: cool, smart, handsome and bitterly lonely. john dugdale on chandler’s crime writing revolution robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: the big dream
57. the search for love nancy mitford an exquisite comedy of manners with countless fans. olivia laing on mitford’s witty wicked humor
58. the plague albert camus a mysterious plague devastates the Algerian city of oran. marina warner’s plague review tony judt on the man behind ed vulliamy’s plague novel, 55 years later
59. 1984 George Orwell This story of one man’s struggle against totalitarianism has been appropriated around the world. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: 1984 sam jordison reviews 1984’s self-criticism from the archives: the original 1949 review
60. malone dies samuel beckett part of a trilogy of jaw-dropping monologues in the black comic voice of the author of waiting for godot. robert mccrum’s 100 best novels: murphy (part 1 of the trilogy) keith ridgway rereads his favorite beckett peter conrad and philip hensher review the collected letters vols 1 and 2
61. Catcher in the Rye j.d. salinger a week in the life of holden caulfield. a cult novel that still hypnotizes. ten things you need to know about the catcher in the rye stephen bates on the possible sequel to the catcher in the rye david barnett offers his take on the controversy anne roiphen rereads salinger’s novel
62. wise blood flannery o’connor a disturbing novel of religious extremism set in the deep south. book group takes o’connor debut peter wild check out o’connor cartoons is flannery o’connor a catholic writer?
63. charlotte’s web eb white how wilbur the pig was saved by literary genius from a friendly spider. john updike on eb white stephen amidon is still in love with charlotte’s web 50 years after he published alison flood on the spider that inspired charlotte’s web
64. the lord of the rings j. r. r. tolkien enough saying! Claire Armitstead Remembers Reading The Lord Of The Rings In Lake Pictures: The Lord Of The Rings Family Tree And Demographic Chart Sarah Crown’s Guide To The Lord Of The Rings
65. lucky jim kingsley amis an amazing debut: the painfully funny English novel of the fifties. olivia laing on not reading friends on the bus john mullan discusses lucky jim for the guardian book club john crane “digests” lucky jim for the guardian podcast
66. lord of the flies william golding schoolboys turned into savages: a bleak vision of human nature. writers’ desks: william golding’s former home in pictures steven morris on the composition story of lord of the flies
67. the quiet american prophetic novel by graham greene set in 1950s vietnam. zadie smith on the genius of graham greene terry eagleton reviews the collected letters of graham greene
68 on the road jack kerouac the bible of the beat generation. read more about kerouac and his clique in the beat week special david mills’ answer to beat week
69. lolita vladimir nabokov humbert humbert the obsession with lolita is a tour de force of style and storytelling. from the archives: lolita and her critics david lodge on nabokov’s sexual style bad guys in books: humbert humbert
70. the tin drum günter grass rabelaisian novel of great influence in hitlerian germany. the tin drum summed up the 20th century in three words jonathan steele on the influence of grass on german consciousness a written life: günter grass by maya jaggi
71. things fall apart chinua achebe nigeria at the beginning of colonialism. a classic of African literature. read the first page of achebe’s great novel here nadine gordimer remembers achebe chinua achebe in images
72. Miss Jean Brodie’s Flower Muriel Spark A writer who made her debut in The Observer – and her prose is like cut glass. james wood on muriel spark muriel spark didn’t just write novels. adam mars-jones reviews the stories of spark that martin stannard writes about the influence of spark’s life on her fiction
73. Kill a Mockingbird Harper Leescout, a six-year-old girl, tells a gripping story of racial prejudice in the Deep South. to kill a mockingbird has been in and out of classrooms for decades. read john sutherland on lee and other american classics
74. catch-22 joseph heller’d be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly to them. if he blew them up he was crazy and didn’t have to; if he didn’t want to, he was sane and had to do it. stephen bates on surprises in heller letters chris cox lee catch-22 fifty years after publication
75. herzog saul bellows adultery and nervous breakdown in chicago. alex clark reviews bellow short stories john crace ‘digests’ herzog james wood on saul bellow
76. one hundred years of solitude gabriel garcía márquez a postmodern masterpiece. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – 5 Must-Reads Gabriel Garcia Marquez – A Life in Archive Images: The 1970 Revision of One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude Tops World Literature Polls
See Also: Barbara Ross – Book Series In Order
77. mrs. palfrey at claremont elizabeth taylor a disturbing and discreet study on old age. charlotte mendelssohn celebrates liz taylor’s other short stories read natasha tripney’s review of one of her early novels here
78. tinker tailor soldier spy john le carré a moving elegy of post-imperial britain. william boyd at the a-z of tinker, tailors’s reading group discusses tinker, tailors, and the spy novel genre
79. song of solomon toni morrison the definitive novelist of the black experience. take toni morrison’s quiz morrison on america, by rachel cooke read interviews with morrison here and here
80. the exit to the bottle factory beryl bainbridge macabre comedy of provincial life. laura potter interviews beryl bainbridge in 74 kate kellaway on bainbridge’s art beyond writing alex clark asks, what is bainbridge’s best novel? beryl bainbridge wins a booker at last
81. the hangman’s song norman mailer this quasi-documentary account of the life and death of gary gilmore is possibly his masterpiece. calm down: gordon burn rereads the hangman’s song alpha mailer: mccrum meets mailerjay parini weighs mailer’s journalistic and novelistic qualities
82. If on a winter night an Italian traveler Calvino a strange and captivating story about the pleasures of reading. john sutherland (and quite a few watchdog readers) just can’t get to the end of the novel david mitchell thinks about calvin’s novel on writing chris power writes about calvin’s short fiction ian thomson reviews calvin’s new collection of letters
83. a bend in the river vs naipaul the greatest living writer of english prose. this is his masterpiece: an avant-garde reminiscence of the heart of darkness. robert mccrum’s book world column on naipaul naipaul as the 2008 summer read shadow of empire: dj taylor’s look at recent post-colonial novels
84. waiting for the barbarians jm coetzee somber but unsettling allegory of apartheid from the nobel prize winner. james meek writes about coetzee’s alter egos rory carroll on the south african novelist who doesn’t read at home the voice of africa: robert mccrum on coetzee
85. cleaning marilynne robinson disturbing poetic story, drowned in water and light, about three generations of women. personal notes: robinson and others remember her work read emma brockes interviews here marilynne robinson talks with robert mccrum john mullan on cleaning
86. lanark alasdair boiling gray vision of glasgow. a Scottish classic. janice galloway rereads lanark william boyd in lanark at 25 john mullan considers lanark’s cover for the guardian book club to be an interview with ‘clydeside michaelangelo’
87. the new york trilogy paul auster dazzling metaphysical thriller set in the manhattan of the seventies. hadley freedman interviews paul auster on new york alison flood in conversation with paul auster charlotte jones on new york in literature
88. the bfg roald dahl a bestseller of the most popular post-war writer for children of all ages. listen to roald dahl read about the bfg read about chae strathie’s favorite nonsense words in children’s books read alison flood’s article on the planned film adaptation of the bfg
89. the periodic table primo levi a prose poem about the delights of chemistry. from the archive: michael joseph review ian thomson considers levi’s influence on our moral history the periodic table found its way into the hands of a watchdog science journalist…and topped the science book favorites list
90. money martin amis the novel that takes the place of amis on any list. buy money at the guardian bookstore
91. A Floating World Artist Kazuo Ishiguro, a collaborator from pre-war Japan, reluctantly reveals his betrayal to friends and family. buy a floating world artist from the guardian bookstore
92. oscar and lucinda peter carey a great contemporary love story set in 19th century australia by the winner of the double booker prize. read angela carter’s review of oscar and lucinda here… …and find out what sam jordison thinks the second time here in pictures: watch carey’s annotations on her novel emma brockes interviews booker winner
93. the book of laughter and forgetfulness milan kundera inspired by the soviet invasion of czechoslovakia in 1968, this is a magical fusion of history, autobiography and ideas . buy the book of laughter and oblivion in the guardian bookstore
94. haroun and the sea of stories salman rushdie in this fascinating story, rushdie plays with the very idea of narrative. buy haroun and the sea of tales at the guardian bookstore
95. the confidential james ellroy three police department detectives come face to face with the secrets of their corrupt and violent careers. Listen to Ellroy talk about the Quartet’s first novel on the Guardian Books podcast. read a short interview with ellroy here
96. wise children angela carter a theatrical extravaganza of a brilliant exponent of magical realism. read an excerpt from susannah clapp’s memoir from carter kit buchan’s article on wise children for families in the literature series
97. atonement ian mcewan, the acclaimed short story writer, achieves a contemporary classic of compelling narrative conviction. read the first chapter online john mullan writes about the weather in atonement for the guardians book club john sutherland’s interview with the author can be found here geoff dyer is convinced of the atonement while nick lezard is less sure p>
98. aurora borealis philip pullman’s quest for lyra weaves together fantasy, horror, and idea play into a really great contemporary children’s book. bad guys in the books: mrs coulter could be the mother of all evil northern lights called ‘carnegie of carnegies’ read kate kellaway’s interview with philip pullman
99. american ministry philip roth for years, roth was famous for the portnoy complaint. recently, he has enjoyed an extraordinary renaissance. american pastoral’s tim adams review of our my hero series: james wood on philip roth
100. austerlitz w. gram. sebald posthumously published a volume in a sequence of dream fictions spun from memory, photographs, and the german past. read the 2001 review of austerlitz here the last word: maya jaggi interviews sebald robert mccrum on sebald’s legacy
who do we miss?
So, are you congratulating yourself on reading everything on our list, or are you crumpling up the newspaper and pointing it at the nearest trash can?
Wondering what happened to all those American writers, from Bret Easton Ellis to Jeffrey Eugenides, from Jonathan Franzen to Cormac McCarthy?
Have women been let down? Should we have included Pat Barker, Elizabeth Bowen, A.S. byatt, penelope fitzgerald, doris lessing and iris murdoch?
what has happened to translated novels like bulgakov’s master and margarita, hesse’s siddhartha, mishima’s sea of fertility, süskind’s perfume and zola’s germinal?
Writers like JG Ballard, Julian Barnes, Anthony Burgess, Bruce Chatwin, Robertson Davies, John Fowles, Nick Hornby, Russell Hoban, Somerset Maugham, and VS Pritchett narrowly missed out on the final hundred. Were we wrong to lose them?
let us know what you think. post your own suggestions for the top 100 books on the observer’s blog.
See Also: The 4 Best Books About Blogging to Read in 2022 – Erin Gobler