The Greatest Books of All Time on Abuse

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
157 The Color Purple Alice Walker 1982 American English
308 The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison 1970 American English
339 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British English
508 Black Beauty Anna Sewell 1877 British English
747 Blonde Joyce Carol Oates 2000 American English
889 The 120 Days of Sodom Marquis de Sade 1904 French French
901 Last Exit to Brooklyn Hubert Selby 1964 American English
1000 A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley 1991 American English
1103 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë 1848 British English
1145 The Bone People Keri Hulme 1984 New Zealand English
1146 Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens 1839 British English
1460 Never Mind Edward St Aubyn 1992 British English
1623 Corregidora Gayl Jones 1975 American English
1732 My Childhood Maxim Gorky 1913 Russian Russian
1765 A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara 2015 American English
1977 House with the Blind Glass Windows Herbjørg Wassmo 1981 Norwegian Norwegian
2003 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet Jacobs 1861 American English
2108 Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver 2022 American English
2190 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
2271 The Nun Denis Diderot 1796 French French
2284 Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981 British English
2345 Small Things Like These Claire Keegan 2021 Irish English
2358 The Butcher Boy Patrick McCabe 1992 Irish English
2363 Our Nig Harriet E. Wilson 1859 American English
2416 Educated Tara Westover 2018 American English
2474 Fall On Your Knees Ann-Marie MacDonald 1996 Canadian English
2608 Heavy Kiese Laymon 2018 American English
2647 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 2017 Mexican Spanish
2670 This Boy's Life Tobias Wolff 1989 American English
2951 Some Hope Edward St Aubyn 1994 British English
3227 Millennium Trilogy Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
3603 A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing Eimear McBride 2013 Irish English
3852 The Girl Next Door Jack Ketchum 1989 American English
3855 Closer Dennis Cooper 1989 American English
3909 Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 2006 American English
3945 In The Dream House Carmen Maria Machado 2019 American English
4057 Bad Behavior Mary Gaitskill 1988 American English
4139 The Liars' Club Mary Karr 1995 American English
4384 Flowers in the Attic V. C. Andrews 1979 American English
4395 We The Animals Justin Torres 2011 American English
4446 Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons 1987 American English
4539 Affliction Russell Banks 1989 American English
4589 The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead 2019 American English
5014 The Lesser Bohemians Eimear McBride 2016 Irish English
5281 At Last Edward St Aubyn 2011 British English
5318 Eleanor And Park Rainbow Rowell 2012 American English
5411 The Prince of Tides Pat Conroy 1986 American English
5458 Mercy Among The Children David Adams Richards 2000 Canadian English
5518 Dolores Claiborne Stephen King 1992 American English
5668 For Your Own Good Alice Miller 1980 Swiss French
5918 The Magic Toyshop Angela Carter 1967 British English
5971 Falling Leaves Adeline Yen Mah 1997 Chinese English
5988 Ham On Rye Charles Bukowski 1982 American English
6513 Incest Christine Angot 1999 French French
6622 Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2003 Nigerian English
6891 Bared To You Sylvia Day 2012 American English
7016 Original Bliss A. L. Kennedy 1997 British English
7096 Try Dennis Cooper 1994 American English
7757 Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart 2020 Scottish English
8107 The History Of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave Mary Prince 1831 British English
8144 Suspicious River Laura Kasischke 1999 American English
8163 The Girl Who Played With Fire Stieg Larsson 2006 Swedish Swedish
8402 Genie Russ Rymer 1993 American English
8473 The Patrick Melrose Novels Edward St Aubyn 1992 British English
8505 The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest Stieg Larsson 2007 Swedish Swedish
8510 The Broken Shore Peter Temple 2005 Australian English
8535 Tehanu Ursula K. Le Guin 1990 American English
8795 Viper In The Fist Hervé Bazin 1948 French French
9113 Cruddy Lynda Barry 1999 American English
9125 Beyond Black Hilary Mantel 2005 British English
9145 Boy, Snow, Bird Helen Oyeyemi 2014 British English
9711 Cake J. Bengtsson 2016 Unknown English
9894 Falling Is Like Flying Manon Uphoff 2019 Dutch Dutch
9964 Winner Of The National Book Award Jincy Willett 2003 American English
9988 I Know This Much Is True Wally Lamb 1998 American English
10100 The People In The Trees Hanya Yanagihara 2013 American English
10236 A Step From Heaven An Na 2001 American English
10240 The Apology Eve Ensler 2019 American English
10370 Still Can't See Nothin' Comin' Daniel Grey Marshall 2004 American English
10436 She's Come Undone Wally Lamb 1992 American English
10524 Montana 1948 Larry Watson 1993 American English
10717 Burn It Down Maureen Ryan 2023 Unknown English
10726 Seminary Boy John Cornwell 2006 British English
10993 Not Without My Daughter Betty Mahmoody 1987 American English
11112 Slow River Nicola Griffith 1995 British English
11357 The Girl In The Green Dress Jeni Haynes 2019 Unknown English
11662 In Pieces Sally Field 2018 American English
11812 My Father's House Sylvia Fraser 1987 Canadian English
11900 The Book Of Ruth Jane Hamilton 1988 American English
11937 Rule Of The Bone Russell Banks 1995 American English
12188 Allegedly Tiffany D. Jackson 2017 American English
12205 Lola Rose Jacqueline Wilson 2003 British English
12214 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman 2017 British English
12394 Little Lazarus Michael Bible 2025 American English
12834 Little Altars Everywhere Rebecca Wells 1992 American English
13513 Jesus Land Julia Scheeres 2005 American English
13564 Betty Tiffany McDaniel 2020 American English
13818 Darkness Dacia Maraini 1995 Italian Italian
14232 Doubt John Patrick Shanley 2004 American English
14345 The Woman Who Walked Into Doors Roddy Doyle 1996 Irish English
14899 Maggie Stephen Crane 1893 American English
14899 The Third Life Of Grange Copeland Alice Walker 1970 American English
14985 The Real Story Stephen R. Donaldson 1991 American English
14985 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf Ntozake Shange 1975 American English
14985 Tender Morsels Margo Lanagan 2008 Australian English
14985 Blasted Sarah Kane 1995 British English
14985 The Pillowman Martin McDonagh 2003 Irish English
14985 Lullabies For Little Criminals Heather O'Neill 2006 Canadian English
15914 The Prussian Officer D. H. Lawrence 1914 British English
17159 Theory of War Joan Brady 1993 American English
17159 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells 1996 American English
17159 What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? Alan Duff 1996 New Zealander English
17159 The Devil All The Time Donald Ray Pollock 2011 American English
17159 The War That Saved My Life Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 2015 American English
17159 The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog Bruce D. Perry, Danny Campbell, Maia Szalavita 2006 American English
17159 Eva's Man Gayl Jones 1976 American English
17159 Lamb Bernard MacLaverty 1980 Irish English
17159 That Bird Has My Wings Jarvis Jay Masters 2009 American English
17159 Somebody's Daughter Ashley C. Ford 2021 American English
17159 Finding Me Viola Davis 2022 American English