The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List

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

About this list

The Observer, 100 Books

The list of essential fiction from the past 300 years from Robert McCrum of The Observer.

This list was originally published in 2003 and was added to this site over 12 years ago.

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Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'Pilgrim's Progress' by John Bunyan
Pilgrim's Progress

John Bunyan

Cover of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Cover of 'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathan Swift
Gulliver's Travels

Jonathan Swift

Cover of 'Tom Jones' by Henry Fielding
Tom Jones

Henry Fielding

Cover of 'Clarissa' by Samuel Richardson
Clarissa

Samuel Richardson

Cover of 'The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy' by Laurence Sterne
The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy

Laurence Sterne

Cover of 'Dangerous Liaison' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Dangerous Liaison

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Cover of 'Emma' by Jane Austen
Emma

Jane Austen

Cover of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Cover of 'Nightmare Abbey' by Thomas Love Peacock
Nightmare Abbey

Thomas Love Peacock

Cover of 'Black Sheep' by Georgette Heyer
Black Sheep

Georgette Heyer

Cover of 'The Charterhouse of Parma' by Stendhal
The Charterhouse of Parma

Stendhal

Cover of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Cover of 'Sybil' by Flora Rheta Schreiber
Sybil

Flora Rheta Schreiber

Cover of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens
David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Cover of 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Cover of 'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray
Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray

Cover of 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cover of 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

Cover of 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White

Wilkie Collins

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Cover of 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

Cover of 'The Way We Live Now' by Anthony Trollope
The Way We Live Now

Anthony Trollope

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'Daniel Deronda' by George Eliot
Daniel Deronda

George Eliot

Cover of 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'The Portrait of a Lady' by Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady

Henry James

Cover of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Cover of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson

Cover of 'Three Men in a Boat' by Jerome K. Jerome
Three Men in a Boat

Jerome K. Jerome

Cover of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Cover of 'The Diary of a Nobody' by George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith
The Diary of a Nobody

George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith

Cover of 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure

Thomas Hardy

Cover of 'Riddle of the Sands' by Erskine Childers
Riddle of the Sands

Erskine Childers

Cover of 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London
The Call of the Wild

Jack London

Cover of 'Nostromo' by Joseph Conrad
Nostromo

Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame
The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame

Cover of 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust
In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust

Cover of 'Rainbow' by D.H. Lawrence
Rainbow

D.H. Lawrence

Cover of 'The Good Soldier' by Ford Madox Ford
The Good Soldier

Ford Madox Ford

Cover of 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' by John Buchan
The Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce
Ulysses

James Joyce

Cover of 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

Cover of 'A Passage to India' by E. M. Forster
A Passage to India

E. M. Forster

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Trial' by Franz Kafka
The Trial

Franz Kafka

Cover of 'Men Without Women' by Ernest Hemingway
Men Without Women

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner

Cover of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Cover of 'Scoop' by Evelyn Waugh
Scoop

Evelyn Waugh

Cover of 'U.S.A. Trilogy' by John Dos Passos
U.S.A. Trilogy

John Dos Passos

Cover of 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Pursuit Of Love' by Nancy Mitford
The Pursuit Of Love

Nancy Mitford

Cover of 'The Plague' by Albert Camus
The Plague

Albert Camus

Cover of 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty Four

George Orwell

Cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye

J. D. Salinger

Cover of 'Wise Blood' by Flannery O'Connor
Wise Blood

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'Charlotte's Web' by E. B. White
Charlotte's Web

E. B. White

Cover of 'The Lord Of The Rings' by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord Of The Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

Cover of 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis
Lucky Jim

Kingsley Amis

Cover of 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding
Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Cover of 'The Quiet American' by Graham Greene
The Quiet American

Graham Greene

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac
On the Road

Jack Kerouac

Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'The Tin Drum' by Günter Grass
The Tin Drum

Günter Grass

Cover of 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

Cover of 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Muriel Spark
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Muriel Spark

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller
Catch-22

Joseph Heller

Cover of 'Herzog' by Saul Bellow
Herzog

Saul Bellow

Cover of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont' by Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

Elizabeth Taylor

Cover of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' by John le Carré
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

John le Carré

Cover of 'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison

Cover of 'The Bottle Factory Outing' by Beryl Bainbridge
The Bottle Factory Outing

Beryl Bainbridge

Cover of 'The Executioner's Song' by Norman Mailer
The Executioner's Song

Norman Mailer

Cover of 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller' by Italo Calvino
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller

Italo Calvino

Cover of 'A Bend in the River' by V. S. Naipaul
A Bend in the River

V. S. Naipaul

Cover of 'Waiting for the Barbarians' by J. M. Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians

J. M. Coetzee

Cover of 'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping

Marilynne Robinson

Cover of 'Lanark' by Alasdair Gray
Lanark

Alasdair Gray

Cover of 'The BFG' by Roald Dahl
The BFG

Roald Dahl

Cover of 'The Periodic Table' by Primo Levi
The Periodic Table

Primo Levi

Cover of 'Money' by Martin Amis
Money

Martin Amis

Cover of 'An Artist of the Floating World' by Kazuo Ishiguro
An Artist of the Floating World

Kazuo Ishiguro

Cover of 'Oscar and Lucinda' by Peter Carey
Oscar and Lucinda

Peter Carey

Cover of 'The Book of Laughter and Forgetting' by Milan Kundera
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Milan Kundera

Cover of 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories' by Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Salman Rushdie

Cover of 'L.A. Confidential' by James Ellroy
L.A. Confidential

James Ellroy

Cover of 'Wise Children' by Angela Carter
Wise Children

Angela Carter

Cover of 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan
Atonement

Ian McEwan

Cover of 'The Golden Compass' by Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass

Philip Pullman

Cover of 'American Pastoral' by Philip Roth
American Pastoral

Philip Roth

Cover of 'Austerlitz' by W. G. Sebald
Austerlitz

W. G. Sebald

Cover of 'Journey to the End of The Night' by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Journey to the End of The Night

Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Cover of 'Malone Dies' by Samuel Beckett
Malone Dies

Samuel Beckett

Cover of 'The New York Trilogy' by Paul Auster
The New York Trilogy

Paul Auster