Waterstone's Books of the Century

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

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  • I, Claudius by Robert Graves

    From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Emperor of the Romans, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54
    Cover of 'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves

    This historical novel is a first-person narrative told from the perspective of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who was considered an unlikely ruler due to his physical ailments and perceived lack of intelligence. The story covers the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula before Claudius unexpectedly becomes emperor. The narrative provides a critical look at the corruption, violence, and political machinations of the Roman Empire, offering a unique perspective on history.

    The 453rd Greatest Book of All Time
    Purchase from Bookshop.org or Amazon

  • The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

    Cover of 'The Horse Whisperer' by Nicholas Evans

    A devastating horse riding accident leaves a young girl, Grace, and her horse, Pilgrim, physically and emotionally traumatized. In a desperate attempt to heal them both, Grace's mother seeks out a man with a unique gift for communicating with horses. As he works to heal Pilgrim, the horse whisperer also helps Grace and her mother confront their own pain and begin to rebuild their shattered lives.

    The 5391st Greatest Book of All Time
    Purchase from Bookshop.org or Amazon
About this list

LibraryThing, 102 Books

Waterstones is a bookstore chain with more than 200 stores in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Europe. In January 1997, Waterstones announced the results of its Books of the Century poll to find out what the public considered to be the hundred greatest books of the twentieth century. Over 25, 000 people took part in the poll and the Book of the Century was revealed as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

This list was originally published in 1997 and was added to this site about 8 years ago.

How Good is this List?

This list has a weight of 20%. To learn more about what this means please visit the Rankings page.

Here is a list of what is decreasing the importance of this list:

  • Voters: not critics, authors, or experts
  • List: only covers mostly "Western Canon" books
  • Voters: are mostly from a single country/location
  • List: only covers 100 years

If you think this is incorrect please contact us.

List Information

Number of Voters:
25000
Voter Count Unknown:
No
Voter Names Unknown:
No
High Quality Source:
No
Location Specific:
No
Category Specific:
No