What is the top novel of all times? It depends.
One way to look at it is to look at library collections from all over the world. Using OCLC's Worldcat we can aggregate data from more than 18,000 libraries representing about 447 million publications or other individually cataloged items (e-books, movies, maps, CDs, etc.).
Using data from Worldcat holding, OCLC generated The Library 100, a list of the top novels held by worldwide libraries. The list is heavy on classics but id does represent a screenshot of popular culture.
Some interesting insights from the list:
- The Little Prince (#35) is the most translated novel on the list, available in 78 languages. Moby Dick (#9) and Oliver Twist (#20) tie for second place with 54 translations each.
- The three most widely held authors in terms of number of books on the list are Dickens with six, Jane Austen with four and Mark Twain, also with four.
- More than half the authors—53—have only one book on the list.
- Some novels have different names based on region. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (#45) in the US is the equivalent of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK. The Library 100 synthesizes these title variations.
- The most widely held genre on this list is “domestic fiction” with 15 titles. These novels focus on home and family life and include examples like Pride and Prejudice (#6), Little Women (#16), and Sense and Sensibility (#41).
- Fantasy fiction (the Harry Potter series, #45 and #66) is the second most common genre with 13 titles. Historical fiction (The Three Musketeers, #26) and psychological fiction (Moby Dick, #9) tie for the third most common genre with 12 titles each.
- The most “storied location” on the list—the setting for the most novels—is clearly the United Kingdom. Combined, all the subsets of the UK—England, Scotland, London, etc.—account for more than a third of the novels on the list!
- One book on the list was originally published in the 1300s; two in the 1600s; three in the 1700s; 51 in the 1800s; 42 in the 1900s; and only one
- in the 21st century, The Da Vinci Code (#88).
The Frohring Library holds 77 novels from the 100 list. Not bad!