Top 10 Best Selling Books Of All Time

Kanchi Jain August 11, 2020April 29, 2021 1 Comment

Ernest Hemingway said, “ There is no friend as loyal as a book.”; and we couldn’t agree more. One good book can change a person’s life to the extent we can’t even imagine. From the world of fiction to the non-fiction stories, every book is an amalgamation of so many emotions like love, hatred, joy, anger, fear, trust, surprise, and many more. There have been so many amazing books written by some great authors making it nearly impossible to choose one amongst them and name it the best. However, we can still rank them in the order of Top 10 Best Selling Books Of All Time.

Top 10 Best Selling books of all time:

10. She: A History of Adventure

Copies sold – 83 million (roughly)

At the 10th place, we have this novel written by the English writer H. Rider Haggard which was published in 1887.

Its genre is gothic, fantasy, adventure, and romance. The story of the book is a first-person narrative about the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior.

They run into a primordial race of natives and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who rules as the powerful “She” or “She-who-must-be-obeyed.” It is one of the most popular and influential novels in modern literature.

9. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Copies sold- 85 million (approx.)

This fantasy novel for children was written by C.S. Lewis and was published in 1950.

It is the first published and the best known of the seven novels of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Though it was originally the first of The Chronicles of Narnia, it is volume 2 in recent editions sequenced by the stories’ chronology. Most of the novel is set in Narnia, a fantasy world created by the author himself where animals can talk, mythical creatures exist and magic is common.

8. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Copies sold – 100 million (estimated)

Considered to be one of the most popular novels among children, Alice’s adventure in wonderland was published in 1865. It has never been out of print and it has been translated into at least 97 languages.

This English novel, also known as Alice in Wonderland, was written by Lewis Carroll. Its genre is fantasy and literary nonsense (a genre of literature which is a balance between multiple meanings as well as the absence of meaning.) It is a tale about a young girl named Alice, who falls into a fantasy world through a rabbit hole.

7. The Hobbit

Copies sold – 100 million (roughly)

The Hobbit is also a children’s fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien and was published on 21 September 1937.

The story is in the form of an episodic quest. It is about the home-loving Bilbo Baggins’ pursuit to win a share of the treasure that is guarded by Smaug who is a dragon.

The publisher was highly encouraged by the book’s financial as well as critical success and, therefore, requested for a sequel which came to be known as The Lord of the Rings.

6. And Then There Were None

Copies sold – 100 million (approx.)

At the 6th place, is the renowned mystery novel written by Agatha Christie. She describes it as the most difficult one of all the books she has written.

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It was first published in 1939, originally titled as Ten Little Niggers. It is the world’s best selling mystery novel.

The story follows 10 strangers who receive an unusual invitation to a secluded mansion based remotely off England’s Devon Coast.

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Copies Sold – 120 million (estimated)

With having an entirely large fanbase all over the world, it is hardly possible for anyone to not have heard about Harry Potter. It was first published in 1997 in the UK and in the year 1998 in the United States under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

This fantasy novel written by J.K. Rowling is her debut novel and the first novel in the Harry Potter series.

It follows the story of a young wizard, Harry Potter who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It has been translated into 73 other languages.

4. The Little Prince

Copies Sold – 140 million (roughly)

The Little Prince is a very famous novella (shorter than a full-length novel) by French writer, aristocrat and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English as well as French in the year 1943 in the United States.

Not only is it one of the best selling books of all time but also one of the most translated books with being translated into 301 languages and dialects.

It follows the story of a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth and talks about the essence of friendship, loss, love, and loneliness. Despite being a children’s book it makes meaningful observations about human nature and life.

3. The Lord of the Rings

Copies Sold – 150 million (approx.)

This epic book written by J. R. R. Tolkein began as a sequel to “The Hobbit” but ultimately developed into a much larger work.

It was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955 and they were titled as “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King”. The author denied it as being a novel and instead called it a heroic romance.

The title is named after the story’s main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who at an earlier stage created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the supreme weapon to conquer and rule Middle-earth.

2. A Tale of Two Cities

Copies Sold – 200 million (estimated)

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel by Charles Dickens published in 1859.

It is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel follows the story of French Doctor Manette who is imprisoned in the Bastille in Paris for 18 long years and is then released to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The novel has continued to have an influence on popular culture.

1. Don Quixote

Copies Sold – 500 million (roughly)

Don Quixote stands at the number 1 in the list of Best Selling Books Of All Time. It is an iconic Spanish novel written by Miguel de Cervantes and was published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615.

It is often termed as the ‘first modern novel’ and many authors consider it to be the best literary work ever written.

The novel’s structure is episodic in form and it stands in a unique position between medieval chivalric romance and the modern novel.

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