F. B. Perkins' List of 100 Best Fiction

This is one of the 759 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
485 Adam Bede George Eliot 1859 British English
3306 The Amber Witch Wilhelm Meinhold 1838 German German
13362 Anastasius Thomas Hope 1819 British English
7216 The Antiquary Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
46 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
14363 The Bachelor Of The Albany M. W. Savage 1856 Unknown English
273 The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni 1827 Italian Italian
121 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1852 British English
4623 The Bride Of Lammermoor Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
14180 Charles Auchester Elizabeth Sara Sheppard 1853 British English
9053 Charles O'malley Charles Lever 1841 Irish English
14001 Coningsby Benjamin Disraeli 1844 British English
9094 Consuelo George Sand 1842 French French
7019 Corinne Madame de Staël 1807 French French
87 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
14212 Counterparts Elizabeth Sara Sheppard 1854 Unknown Unknown
11897 Cruise Of The Midge Michael Scott 1834 Scottish English
47 David Copperfield Charles Dickens 1849 British English
122 Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio 1353 Italian Italian
8 Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes 1605 Spanish Spanish
995 Dombey and Son Charles Dickens 1846 British English
10207 Elsie Venner Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 1861 American English
13597 Ettore Fieramosca Massimo D'Azeglio 1833 Italian Italian
510 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac 1833 French French
679 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker Tobias Smollett 1771 British English
13362 Die Fahrten Thiodolfs Des Isländers Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1815 German German
7574 The Fair Maid Of Perth Sir Walter Scott 1828 Scottish English
9004 Little Fadette George Sand 1849 French French
7117 The Fortunes Of Nigel Sir Walter Scott 1822 Scottish English
1226 The History Of Gil Blas Of Santillana Alain-René Lesage 1715 French French
65 Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift 1726 British English
6299 Guy Mannering Sir Walter Scott 1815 Scottish English
12400 Handy Andy Samuel Lover 1842 Irish English
12163 Harry Lorrequer Charles Lever 1839 Irish English
1362 The Heart Of Midlothian Sir Walter Scott 1818 Scottish English
978 The History Of Henry Esmond William Makepeace Thackeray 1852 British English
7986 The History Of Pendennis William Makepeace Thackeray 1849 British English
13743 Horse Shoe Robinson John P. Kennedy 1835 American English
601 The House of the Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne 1851 American English
14113 The Household Of Sir Thomas More Anne Manning 1851 British English
366 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
13806 Hyperion Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1839 American English
297 Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott 1819 British English
29 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 British English
13753 Japhet, In Search Of A Father Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
14077 Kavanagh Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1849 American English
6183 Kenilworth Sir Walter Scott 1821 British English
13362 A History Of New York Washington Irving 1809 American English
14520 Lady Lee's Widowhood Sir Edward Bruce Hamley 1863 British English
507 The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper 1826 American English
7117 A Legend Of Montrose Sir Walter Scott 1819 Scottish English
14411 Love Me Little, Love Me Long Charles Reade 1859 British English
9507 The Maiden And Married Life Of Mary Powell Anne Manning 1850 British English
1808 Martin Chuzzlewit Charles Dickens 1843 British English
28 Middlemarch George Eliot 1871 British English
414 The Mill on the Floss George Eliot 1860 British English
14411 The Minister's Wooing Harriet Beecher Stowe 1859 American English
40 Les Misérables Victor Hugo 1862 French French
8903 Midshipman Easy Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
14180 My Novel Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1853 British English
2672 The Mysteries Of Paris Eugène Sue 1842 French French
9590 The Newcomes William Makepeace Thackeray 1855 British English
1146 Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens 1839 British English
3265 Old Mortality Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
339 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British English
14599 On The Heights Berthold Auerbach 1865 German German
1336 Peter Schlemihl Adalbert von Chamisso 1814 German German
11897 Peter Simple Frederick Marryat 1834 British English
277 The Pickwick Papers Charles Dickens 1836 British English
551 Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan 1678 British English
13362 The Pilot James Fenimore Cooper 1823 American English
13 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 British English
7031 Quentin Durward Sir Walter Scott 1823 Scottish English
1779 Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott 1817 British English
69 Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe 1719 British English
2330 Romola George Eliot 1863 British English
74 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 American English
425 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen 1811 British English
13362 Sintram And His Companions Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1814 German German
13362 The Spy James Fenimore Cooper 1821 American English
1742 A Tale Of A Tub Jonathan Swift 1704 British English
188 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 British English
6939 The Talisman Sir Walter Scott 1825 Scottish English
119 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
14458 Tom Brown At Oxford Thomas Hughes 1861 British English
2329 Tom Brown's School Days Thomas Hughes 1857 British English
8710 Tom Cringle's Log Michael Scott 1829 British English
134 Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1749 British English
13584 Two Years Ago Charles Kingsley 1857 British English
184 Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe 1852 American English
3124 Undine Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1811 German German
105 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray 1847 British English
702 Vathek William Beckford 1786 British French
352 The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith 1766 British English
1430 The Wandering Jew Eugène Sue 1844 French French
721 Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1795 German German
139 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins 1860 British English
7031 Woodstock Sir Walter Scott 1826 British English
14113 Yeast Charles Kingsley 1851 British English
13575 The Young Duke Benjamin Disraeli 1831 British English