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Some books sell millions and vanish from conversation within a decade. Others sell hundreds of millions and still shape how we think, talk, love, and fear. The difference between a bestseller and a truly great novel is enormous, and yet some rare books manage to be both at once. The titles on this list have done exactly that. They have outlived their authors, survived censorship, crossed language barriers, and kept finding new readers in every generation. What makes them so enduring? That is what this gallery-style journey is here to explore. Let’s dive in.
1. Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes (1605 / 1615)
Don Quixote is the best-selling individual fiction novel ever written, with approximately 500 million sales worldwide. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, Cervantes’ novel tells the story of a man who becomes so infatuated with tales of knights that he decides to become one. Widely considered the founding text of the modern novel, it remains the best-selling individual fiction novel in history. Honestly, the idea that a 400-year-old Spanish satire still outsells everything else is almost impossible to wrap your head around.
2. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (1859)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has sold an estimated 200 million copies, placing it among the most purchased novels ever put to print. A historical novel first published in 1859, it is set in London and Paris during the French Revolution. Because the book is in the public domain and has been published in numerous editions by hundreds of publishers over the last 150 years, it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of copies sold. What is certain, though, is that Dickens wrote something that generations of readers simply could not stop returning to.
3. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien (1954–1955)
While often sold as a trilogy, Tolkien’s epic was written as a single volume, and its 150 million-plus sales figure cements its place as the gold standard for the high-fantasy genre. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II, it was originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. The success of the books was significantly amplified by their film adaptations, which introduced the stories to new audiences and often prompted them to read the original novels. For a book about hobbits and dark lords, it has done remarkably serious cultural work.
4. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)
As of early 2026, The Little Prince continues to be the most translated non-religious book in the world. It has sold an estimated 142 million copies, placing it just behind the great fantasy epics in the all-time rankings. The Little Prince is available in over 300 languages, making it one of the most globally accessible novels ever published. It is marketed as a children’s book, yet most adults who read it will tell you it hit them harder than almost anything else on this list.
5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling (1997)
Having sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, the Harry Potter series is the best-selling book series in history, with the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, selling in excess of 120 million copies alone. As of 2017, the series had been translated into 85 languages, and the last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books . The books attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers and are often considered cornerstones of modern young adult literature. There is perhaps no other series in modern publishing history that so completely captured an entire generation.
6. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie (1939)
Agatha Christie’s suspenseful thriller And Then There Were None has sold 100 million copies, a testament to her unparalleled talent for mystery. First published in 1939, it is set on an island where ten people are invited to stay by a mysterious host, only to find themselves being killed one by one. It is a classic whodunit that has been adapted into several films and television shows, and it remains a suspenseful and thrilling novel that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Christie is often called the Queen of Crime, and this particular novel is the crown jewel.
7. Dream of the Red Chamber – Cao Xueqin (c. 1791)
Considered by millions to be the best novel ever written in China, Dream of the Red Chamber is more than 230 years old and still revered as a pinnacle of literature, exploring romance and the vivid depiction of a great civilization. The novel is revered for its depiction of classic Chinese culture and remains popular even today, and it is widely considered one of the first novels to offer a window into women’s lives within Chinese society in the 18th century. Its lifetime sales are estimated at 100 million, a figure considered by many to be on the low side, given the book’s sustained place in the literary canon. It is hard to say for sure how many readers across Chinese history have encountered this story, but the number is almost certainly staggering.
8. The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit introduces readers to the fantastical world of Middle-earth, and with 100 million copies sold, it serves as a beloved prelude to his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. The tale of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures to the Lonely Mountain has been loved by millions across the world, and with themes of friendship, bravery, and loyalty, The Hobbit will most likely continue to have an avid fanbase for many years to come. Originally written as a children’s book, it became something far bigger. Few authors have created two separate 100-million-copy sellers from the same fictional universe.
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis (1950)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis has sold an estimated 85 million copies, placing it firmly among the most read novels of the 20th century. Most readers are familiar with the tale of four children who discover the secret land of Narnia through a wardrobe. The book works on multiple levels simultaneously. Children read it as pure adventure; adults often revisit it as allegory. That rare quality of meaning different things to different readers at different ages is a big part of why this novel never really goes out of print.
10. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown (2003)
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown has sold an estimated 80 million copies, making it one of the fastest-climbing novels in the all-time sales rankings. Published in 2003, it triggered a global wave of interest in religious history, conspiracy theories, and European art history that no one fully anticipated. After The Da Vinci Code, museum attendance at the Louvre in Paris reportedly skyrocketed, as art history suddenly gained a massive new audience. Love it or hate it as literature, its cultural footprint is simply undeniable.
11. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (1960)
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, To Kill a Mockingbird has been revered as a masterful commentary on human behaviour, and in its lifetime it has totalled around 40 million sales. It is a powerful novel that explores themes of racism, courage, and the importance of standing up for what is right, and it is considered a classic of American literature. It remains required reading in schools across multiple generations, which has ensured sustained sales far beyond what typical literary fiction achieves. Very few novels have done more to shape how Americans understand justice and moral courage.
12. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho (1988)
Paulo Coelho’s philosophical novel The Alchemist has struck a chord with readers worldwide, selling 65 million copies, and it weaves a tale of dreams, destiny, and personal legend. Originally self-published in Brazil and initially met with indifference, it eventually became one of the most translated books in history. This modern classic has climbed the ranks rapidly, and its themes of self-realization have found a massive audience in the digital age, making it a staple on every most-sold-books-of-all-time list. It is the kind of book people press into the hands of friends going through difficult transitions.
13. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger (1951)
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is a classic of American literature that continues to explore the complex journey of teenage rebellion, with approximately 60 million copies sold. The novel is set around the 1950s and is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfield, who makes clear that he is undergoing treatment in a mental health facility while telling his story. The novel has become a fundamental part of western curriculum, as its themes of angst, alienation, and critique of superficiality remain important for adolescents, and it also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, loss, and depression. It is, perhaps, the most argued-about novel in American school curricula.
14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling (1998)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets stands with approximately 60 million copies sold, a testament to the enduring popularity of J.K. Rowling’s beloved series. The last four books in the series consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books , showing just how deeply readers were invested in Harry’s ongoing story. The second installment introduced darker themes while somehow remaining accessible to young readers, a balancing act that is far harder to pull off than it looks. It also introduced Tom Riddle in a way that reframed the entire mythology of the series.
15. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell (1936)
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell has sold an estimated 30 million copies, securing its place in the upper tier of the most read novels in the English language. Published in 1936 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937, Mitchell’s sweeping Civil War epic became one of the fastest-selling novels in American publishing history upon release. Its film adaptation in 1939 became one of the highest-grossing movies when adjusted for inflation, which fed even further demand for the book. Mitchell never wrote another novel, which makes this single achievement all the more remarkable.
16. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
It wasn’t until F. Scott Fitzgerald passed away that his work really began to gain interest, and eventually The Great Gatsby became a core part of most high school curricula in western cultures, particularly in the United States. The novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway’s interactions with mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his obsession to reunite with his former lover, and generations of readers have imagined, speculated, debated, and thoroughly enjoyed it as a true classic of 20th-century literature. Numerous stage and film adaptations followed in subsequent decades. Fitzgerald sold poorly in his lifetime. Today, millions of students read this book every single year. That arc is one of the most striking in all of literary history.
17. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (1813)
Pride and Prejudice has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold in tracked editions alone. Written by Jane Austen in 1813, the book follows Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters through questions of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain, exploring a time when marrying for love rather than for money or social prestige was not necessarily valued. That number of 20 million almost certainly undercounts the total reach of a book that has been in print continuously for over 200 years and is now freely available in digital format worldwide.
18. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy (1869)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy has recorded an estimated 36 million copies sold in tracked publishing history. It is the kind of novel that people often say they intend to read, which is itself a form of cultural reverence. Published in 1869, it follows dozens of characters across Russian aristocracy during the Napoleonic Wars and is widely considered one of the greatest literary achievements in any language. According to Nielsen BookData, the rise of digital audiobooks in 2025 and 2026 has given a second life to many of these 19th-century classics, allowing them to reach a new generation of readers who prefer listening on the go.
19. The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank (1947)
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank has sold an estimated 35 million copies, placing it among the most widely read personal accounts in modern literary history. Written while Anne Frank was in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1944, it was published posthumously by her father after the war. Anne Frank’s book is an excellent example of one which became a bestseller unintentionally, and like so many authors Frank sadly never lived to see her diary grow to global success. There are few books in existence that carry this kind of moral and emotional weight on every single page.
20. The Women – Kristin Hannah (2024)
The Women by Kristin Hannah sold 1.5 million copies in 2024 according to Publishers Weekly data provided by Circana, making it the single bestselling novel of that year in the United States. It was among the most checked-out books in U.S. public libraries in 2025, topping lists in library systems across multiple states, and it was also the year’s most-borrowed ebook on the public library app Libby. The bestselling novel follows a U.S. Army nurse from the front lines of the Vietnam War to a family deeply divided about the war and her service. The Women topped numerous most-borrowed lists in 2025 and was included in NPR’s Books We Love, showing the kind of sustained cultural traction that very few recent novels achieve.
A Final Word on What Makes a Novel Last
Looking at these twenty novels together, the pattern is hard to ignore. They cross every genre, every era, and nearly every major language on earth. The story of publishing is one of both change and continuity. Algorithms, social media trends, and collector culture have reshaped the landscape, yet the foundation remains the same: readers want stories that move them, surprise them, and stay with them long after the final page.
Sales figures tell only part of the story. A book that sells 500 million copies over four centuries and a book that sells 1.5 million copies in a single year are doing entirely different things, and both matter enormously. Print books had a relatively good year in 2024, with sales rising for the first time in three years, according to Publishers Weekly. Reading is not dying. It is evolving.
The question worth sitting with is this: which of today’s most-read novels will still be on a list like this in the year 2200? What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
Christian Wiedeck, all the way from Germany, loves music festivals, especially in the USA. His articles bring the excitement of these events to readers worldwide.
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