The Greatest Australian Fiction Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 '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
399 The Man Who Loved Children Christina Stead 1940 Australian English
585 The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough 1977 Australian English
642 Voss Patrick White 1957 Australian English
864 Schindler's List Thomas Keneally 1982 Australian English
902 True History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey 2000 Australian English
1194 My Brilliant Career Miles Franklin 1901 Australian English
1419 The Tree of Man Patrick White 1955 Australian English
1556 Cloudstreet Tim Winton 1991 Australian English
1599 The Getting Of Wisdom Henry Handel Richardson 1910 Australian English
1698 The Living and the Dead Patrick White 1941 Australian English
1855 A Fringe Of Leaves Patrick White 1976 Australian English
1890 The Fortunes Of Richard Mahony Henry Handel Richardson 1917 Australian English
1931 The Power of One Bryce Courtenay 1989 Australian English
1997 Beat Not The Bones Charlotte Jay 1952 Australian English
2079 Oscar and Lucinda Peter Carey 1988 Australian English
2235 For The Term Of His Natural Life Marcus Clarke 1874 Australian English
2235 The Harp In The South Ruth Park 1948 Australian English
2607 The Transit of Venus Shirley Hazzard 1980 Australian English
2659 The Commandant Jessica Anderson 1975 Australian English
2829 The Story Of The Rainbow Serpent Unknown -2000 Australian Unknown
2870 Johnno David Malouf 1975 Australian English
2891 Carpentaria Alexis Wright 2006 Australian English
2956 Death of a Lake Arthur William Upfield 1954 Australian English
2956 The Bone is Pointed Arthur William Upfield 1938 Australian English
3096 Remembering Babylon David Malouf 1993 Australian English
3126 Monkey Grip Helen Garner 1977 Australian English
3386 The Children's Bach Helen Garner 1984 Australian English
3493 Coonardoo Katherine Susannah Prichard 1929 Australian English
3566 The Secret River Kate Grenville 2005 Australian English
3575 Inland Gerald Murnane 1988 Australian English
3583 Maurice Guest Henry Handel Richardson 1908 Australian English
3620 The Great Fire Shirley Hazzard 2003 Australian English
3689 On The Beach Nevil Shute 1957 Australian English
3716 Rules Of Summer Shaun Tan 2013 Australian English
4012 Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty 2014 Australian English
4136 The Arrival Shaun Tan 2006 Australian English
4318 The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay 1918 Australian English
4542 Night Letters Robert Dessaix 1996 Australian English
4563 Shantaram Gregory David Roberts 2003 Australian English
4879 Eucalyptus Murray Bail 1998 Australian English
4909 Moral Hazard Kate Jennings 2002 Australian English
5179 The Swan Book Alexis Wright 2013 Australian English
5299 That Deadman Dance Kim Scott 2010 Australian English
5434 Landscape Of Farewell Alex Miller 2007 Australian English
5438 The Hating Game Sally Thorne 2016 Australian English
5465 Stradbroke Dreamtime Oodgeroo Noonuccal 1972 Australian English
5549 A Fraction Of The Whole Steve Toltz 2008 Australian English
5585 The Little Hotel Christina Stead 1973 Australian English
5627 Questions Of Travel Michelle de Kretser 2012 Australian English
5730 To Catch A Bride Anne Gracie 2009 Australian English
5761 Sourdough And Other Stories Angela Slatter 2010 Australian English
5845 The 13 Storey Treehouse Andy Griffiths 2011 Australian English
5950 Tirra Lirra By The River Jessica Anderson 1978 Australian English
5964 Lick Kylie Scott 2013 Australian English
6004 Praiseworthy Alexis Wright 2024 Australian English
6006 The Eye Of The Storm Patrick White 1973 Australian English
6249 The Night Guest Fiona McFarlane 2013 Australian English
6364 The Tribe Michael Mohammed Ahmad 2014 Australian English
6364 A Million Windows Gerald Murnane 2014 Australian English
6504 Panthers And The Museum Of Fire Jen Craig 2015 Australian English
6504 The Natural Way Of Things Charlotte Wood 2015 Australian English
6559 Carry Me Down M. J. Hyland 2006 Australian English
6536 Picnic At Hanging Rock Joan Lindsay 1967 Australian English
6572 The Tattooist Of Auschwitz Heather Morris 2018 Australian English
6650 The Slap Christos Tsiolkas 2008 Australian English
6658 Their Brilliant Careers Ryan O’Neill 2016 Australian English
6716 The Ice Is Coming Patricia Wrightson 1977 Australian English
6825 Obsidio Amie Kaufman 2018 Australian English
6872 Bird Courtney Collins 2012 Australian English
6915 The Animals In That Country Laura Jean McKay 2020 Australian English
6959 The Shepherd's Hut Tim Winton 2018 Australian English
7090 Riders In The Chariot Patrick White 1961 Australian English
7759 Tiger Daughter Rebecca Lim 2021 Australian English
7925 The Sun Walks Down Fiona McFarlane 2022 Australian English
8178 The House Tibet Georgia Savage 1991 Australian English
8263 Ordinary Matter Laura Elvery 2020 Australian English
8403 The Lost Man Jane Harper 2018 Australian English
8489 Confederates Thomas Keneally 1979 Australian English
8557 New Animal Ella Baxter 2021 Australian English
8734 Dirrayawadha Anita Heiss 2024 Australian English
8755 The Fatal Shore Robert Hughes 1987 Australian English
8813 Stone Yard Devotional Charlotte Wood 2024 Australian English
8898 The Sea And Summer George Turner 1987 Australian English
9019 Tomorrow, When The War Began John Marsden 1993 Australian English
9061 Looking For Alibrandi Melina Marchetta 1992 Australian English
9135 Illywhacker Peter Carey 1985 Australian English
9126 It’s Been A Pleasure, Noni Blake Claire Christian 2020 Australian English
9157 Restless Dolly Maunder Kate Grenville 2023 Australian English
9220 Coming Rain Stephen Daisley 2015 Australian English
9483 The Riders Tim Winton 1994 Australian English
9575 Cherrywood Jock Serong 2024 Australian English
9639 Rapture Emily Maguire 2024 Australian English
9729 The Ancient Future Trilogy Traci Harding 1996 Australian English
9802 Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret Benjamin Stevenson 2024 Australian English
9809 Juice Tim Winton 2024 Australian English
10502 The Boat Nam Le 2008 Australian English
10593 Ice Station Matthew Reilly 1998 Australian English
10590 The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion 2013 Australian English
10628 Jessica Bryce Courtenay 1998 Australian English
10675 The Rosie Effect Graeme Simsion 2014 Australian English
10746 Deltora Quest Series Emily Rodda 2000 Australian English
10767 Dirt Music Tim Winton 2001 Australian English
10853 Sabriel Garth Nix 1995 Australian English
10861 The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction And Fantasy, Vol. I Donald H. Tuck 1974 Australian English
10914 Cafe Scheherazade Arnold Zable 2001 Australian English
11307 Boyz Rule Phil Kettle 2003 Australian English
11308 Scarecrow Matthew Reilly 2003 Australian English
11346 Sixty Lights Gail Jones 2004 Australian English
11686 The Devil's Advocate Morris West 1959 Australian English
11796 Rage Steve Gerlach 2006 Australian English
11901 The White Girl Tony Birch 2019 Australian English
12338 She Who Became The Sun Shelley Parker-Chan 2021 Australian English
12431 Border Districts Gerald Murnane 2017 Australian English
12599 Permutation City Greg Egan 1994 Australian English
12608 Tender Morsels Margo Lanagan 2008 Australian English
12647 Robbery Under Arms Rolf Boldrewood 1882 Australian English
12795 Frogkisser Garth Nix 2017 Australian English
12752 The Narrow Road To The Deep North Richard Flanagan 2013 Australian English
12952 Faith Singer Rosie Scott 2000 Australian English
13891 Power Without Glory Frank Hardy 1950 Australian English