F. B. Perkins' List of 100 Best Fiction

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

LibraryThing (from The Book Lover by James Baldwin (1910)), 100 Books

A list compiled by Frederic Beecher Perkins, library sciences pioneer, editor, writer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Beecher_Perkins
He first published the list in an article titled 'The Best Hundred Novels' in the January 1877 edition of the Library Journal.
The list can also be found in the Book Lover (1910) where author James Baldwin lists it amongst others and states that "It has often been asked by lovers of good fiction, "What are the hundred best novels." The following list, prepared some years ago by Mr. F.B. Perkins for the "Library Journal,"... contains the titles of a considerable portion of all that is best in the department of prose fiction..." - p. 271.

This list was originally published in 1877 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
486 Adam Bede George Eliot 1859 British English
3301 The Amber Witch Wilhelm Meinhold 1838 German German
13327 Anastasius Thomas Hope 1819 British English
7199 The Antiquary Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
46 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
14296 The Bachelor Of The Albany M. W. Savage 1856 Unknown English
272 The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni 1827 Italian Italian
128 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1852 British English
4614 The Bride Of Lammermoor Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
14114 Charles Auchester Elizabeth Sara Sheppard 1853 British English
9033 Charles O'malley Charles Lever 1841 Irish English
13948 Coningsby Benjamin Disraeli 1844 British English
9072 Consuelo George Sand 1842 French French
7007 Corinne Madame de Staël 1807 French French
87 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
14146 Counterparts Elizabeth Sara Sheppard 1854 Unknown Unknown
11869 Cruise Of The Midge Michael Scott 1834 Scottish English
47 David Copperfield Charles Dickens 1849 British English
121 Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio 1353 Italian Italian
8 Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes 1605 Spanish Spanish
994 Dombey and Son Charles Dickens 1846 British English
10182 Elsie Venner Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 1861 American English
13550 Ettore Fieramosca Massimo D'Azeglio 1833 Italian Italian
510 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac 1833 French French
677 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker Tobias Smollett 1771 British English
13327 Die Fahrten Thiodolfs Des Isländers Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1815 German German
7557 The Fair Maid Of Perth Sir Walter Scott 1828 Scottish English
8986 Little Fadette George Sand 1849 French French
7104 The Fortunes Of Nigel Sir Walter Scott 1822 Scottish English
1230 The History Of Gil Blas Of Santillana Alain-René Lesage 1715 French French
65 Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift 1726 British English
6287 Guy Mannering Sir Walter Scott 1815 Scottish English
12370 Handy Andy Samuel Lover 1842 Irish English
12136 Harry Lorrequer Charles Lever 1839 Irish English
1359 The Heart Of Midlothian Sir Walter Scott 1818 Scottish English
977 The History Of Henry Esmond William Makepeace Thackeray 1852 British English
7971 The History Of Pendennis William Makepeace Thackeray 1849 British English
13694 Horse Shoe Robinson John P. Kennedy 1835 American English
601 The House of the Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne 1851 American English
14051 The Household Of Sir Thomas More Anne Manning 1851 British English
364 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
13755 Hyperion Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1839 American English
300 Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott 1819 British English
28 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 British English
13704 Japhet, In Search Of A Father Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
14019 Kavanagh Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1849 American English
6172 Kenilworth Sir Walter Scott 1821 British English
13327 A History Of New York Washington Irving 1809 American English
14445 Lady Lee's Widowhood Sir Edward Bruce Hamley 1863 British English
507 The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper 1826 American English
7104 A Legend Of Montrose Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
14343 Love Me Little, Love Me Long Charles Reade 1859 British English
9485 The Maiden And Married Life Of Mary Powell Anne Manning 1850 British English
1807 Martin Chuzzlewit Charles Dickens 1843 British English
30 Middlemarch George Eliot 1871 British English
411 The Mill on the Floss George Eliot 1860 British English
14343 The Minister's Wooing Harriet Beecher Stowe 1859 American English
40 Les Misérables Victor Hugo 1862 French French
8884 Midshipman Easy Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
14114 My Novel Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1853 British English
2667 The Mysteries Of Paris Eugène Sue 1842 French French
9567 The Newcomes William Makepeace Thackeray 1855 British English
1145 Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens 1839 British English
3261 Old Mortality Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
348 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British English
14521 On The Heights Berthold Auerbach 1865 German German
1334 Peter Schlemihl Adalbert von Chamisso 1814 German German
11869 Peter Simple Frederick Marryat 1834 British English
275 The Pickwick Papers Charles Dickens 1836 British English
549 Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan 1678 British English
13327 The Pilot James Fenimore Cooper 1823 American English
12 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 British English
7019 Quentin Durward Sir Walter Scott 1823 Scottish English
1775 Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott 1817 British English
69 Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe 1719 British English
2322 Romola George Eliot 1863 British English
73 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 American English
423 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen 1811 British English
13327 Sintram And His Companions Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1814 German German
13327 The Spy James Fenimore Cooper 1821 American English
1740 A Tale Of A Tub Jonathan Swift 1704 British English
192 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 British English
6928 The Talisman Sir Walter Scott 1825 Scottish English
119 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
14384 Tom Brown At Oxford Thomas Hughes 1861 British English
2321 Tom Brown's School Days Thomas Hughes 1857 British English
8691 Tom Cringle's Log Michael Scott 1829 British English
135 Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1749 British English
13538 Two Years Ago Charles Kingsley 1857 British English
184 Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe 1852 American English
3119 Undine Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1811 German German
104 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray 1847 British English
701 Vathek William Beckford 1786 British French
351 The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith 1766 British English
1429 The Wandering Jew Eugène Sue 1844 French French
720 Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1795 German German
138 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins 1860 British English
7019 Woodstock Sir Walter Scott 1826 British English
14051 Yeast Charles Kingsley 1851 British English
13529 The Young Duke Benjamin Disraeli 1831 British English