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The Global Insight

Which is the No 1 novel in the world?

Author

Sarah Garza

Updated on April 02, 2026

Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling is the best-selling book series in history. The first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.

What is the most read novel in the world?

We’ve got a list of the most read books in the world of all time.

  • The Holy Bible.
  • The Holy Quran.
  • The Harry Potter Series: J.K. Rowling.
  • The Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
  • The Lord of the Rings.
  • The Alchemist.
  • The Diary of Anne Frank: Anne Frank.
  • The Twilight SagA: Stephenie Meyer.

What is so great about Anna Karenina?

Very few men write very well about women, but Tolstoy understood women just as well as men – that’s what makes the book so interesting. Anna is a wonderful character. At the end, she keeps trying to attract young men to make Vronsky jealous – Tolstoy’s very good on jealousy. And the characters are just so well-rounded.

Who is the greatest author of all time?

The 10 Greatest Authors of All Time

  1. Leo Tolstoy – 327.
  2. William Shakespeare – 293.
  3. James Joyce – 194.
  4. Vladimir Nabokov – 190.
  5. Fyodor Dostoevsky – 177.
  6. William Faulkner – 173.
  7. Charles Dickens – 168.
  8. Anton Checkhov – 165.

Who is the best writer of all time?

The 10 Greatest Authors of All Time

  • Leo Tolstoy – 327.
  • William Shakespeare – 293.
  • James Joyce – 194.
  • Vladimir Nabokov – 190.
  • Fyodor Dostoevsky – 177.
  • William Faulkner – 173.
  • Charles Dickens – 168.
  • Anton Checkhov – 165.

Who is the biggest selling author of all time?

Agatha Christie // Estimated 2 billion books sold According to Guinness World Records, Agatha Christie has the title of “world’s best-selling fiction writer,” with estimated sales of over 2 billion. UNESCO also lists Christie as the most translated author in history.

Why is Tolstoy so good?

What is extraordinary about Tolstoy is the way in which his imagination was never daunted. His world is large, and his characters have their own life, and are not his puppets – even the ones he set out to disapprove of, such as Anna Karenina.

Which is better Anna Karenina or War and Peace?

Anna Karenina is a better story but War and Peace is overall a better book, lots of characters have several names each depending on who is talking to them so it can get confusing. I liked Anna Karenina better mainly because it’s a bit more linear and easier to follow.

What are some of the best novels everyone should read?

1) ‘Moby-Dick’ 2) ‘Pride and Prejudice’ 3) ‘Ulysses’ 4) ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ 5) ‘The Big Sleep’

What are the top 100 novels of all time?

Brave New World. Now more than ever: Aldous Huxley’s enduring “masterpiece

  • Crime and Punishment. By Fyodor Dostoevsky|Rock-bottom Price:$0.01 Crime and Punishment is one of the most important novels of the nineteenth century.
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four.
  • War and Peace.
  • Waiting for the Barbarians.
  • Catch-22.
  • Darkness at Noon.
  • Slaughterhouse-Five.
  • Blindness.
  • What is the worst novel ever written?

    Irene Iddesleigh ( Amanda McKittrick Ros, 1897): published by the author’s husband as an anniversary present, Irene Iddesleigh is often described as the worst novel ever written, with purple prose that is circumlocutory to the point of incomprehensibility.

    What are the scariest books of all time?

    The 20 Scariest Books of All Time Do yourself a favor: Don’t read these scary books right before bed. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty The Ruins by Scott Smith Coraline by Neil Gaiman The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson It by Stephen King