The Greatest Books of All Time on Orphans

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 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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
29 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 British English
47 David Copperfield Charles Dickens 1849 British English
121 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1852 British English
134 Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1749 British English
236 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling 1997 British English
247 Kim Rudyard Kipling 1901 British English
250 Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery 1908 Canadian English
262 Austerlitz W. G. Sebald 2001 German German
267 Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren 1945 Swedish Swedish
309 Tarzan of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
329 History Elsa Morante 1974 Italian Italian
339 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British English
542 Uncle Silas Sheridan Le Fanu 1864 Irish English
569 The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen 1938 British, Irish English
762 Ballet Shoes Noel Streatfeild 1936 British English
779 The Outsiders S. E. Hinton 1967 American English
814 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett 1911 British English
867 Heidi Johanna Spyri 1881 Swiss German
1010 Fingersmith Sarah Waters 2002 British English
1142 Life of Pi Yann Martel 2001 Canadian English
1146 Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens 1839 British English
1201 Kafka On The Shore Haruki Murakami 2002 Japanese Japanese
1203 Nine Coaches Waiting Mary Stewart 1958 British English
1241 The Life Before Us Romain Gary 1975 French French
1243 Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
1329 Exodus Leon Uris 1958 American English
1397 The BFG Roald Dahl 1982 British English
1418 The Path to the Nest of Spiders Italo Calvino 1947 Italian Italian
1444 James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl 1961 British English
1783 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers 2000 American English
1792 The Adventures Of Roderick Random Tobias Smollett 1748 British English
1902 The Physician Noah Gordon 1986 American English
2030 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
2089 Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1939 Austrian English
2098 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
2099 The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988 American English
2108 Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver 2022 American English
2284 Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981 British English
2363 Our Nig Harriet E. Wilson 1859 American English
2484 The Cider House Rules John Irving 1985 American English
2592 Emily of New Moon L. M. Montgomery 1923 Canadian English
2706 Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli 2019 Mexican English
2819 The Great Fire Shirley Hazzard 2003 Australian English
2858 A Mercy Toni Morrison 2008 American English
2911 Ruth Elizabeth Gaskell 1853 British English
2949 Eva Trout Elizabeth Bowen 1968 Irish English
2957 Fugitive Pieces Anne Michaels 1996 Canadian English
2958 The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai 2006 Indian English
3017 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
3134 Daddy Long Legs Jean Webster 1912 American English
3151 A Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Lemony Snicket 1999 American English
3297 Maps Nuruddin Farah 1986 Somali English
3398 The Name Of The Wind Patrick Rothfuss 2007 American English
3426 The Violent Bear It Away Flannery O'Connor 1960 American English
3444 Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids Kenzaburō Ōe 1958 Japanese Japanese
3545 Daphnis and Chloe Longus -200 Greek Ancient greek
3612 The Life Of Marianne Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1731 French French
4111 Brat Farrar Josephine Tey 1949 British English
4193 The Three Robbers Tomi Ungerer 1961 French English
4207 The Case Worker György Konrád 1969 Hungarian Hungarian
4219 Ion Euripides -413 Greek Ancient greek
4309 The Reluctant Orphan Sara Seale 1947 British English
4309 The Children Of The New Forest Frederick Marryat 1847 British English
4446 Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons 1987 American English
4459 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman 2008 British English
4668 Allah Is Not Obliged Ahmadou Kourouma 2000 French French
5188 Kincskereső Kisködmön Ferenc Móra 1918 Hungarian Hungarian
5249 Orphalina Zsigmond Móricz 1937 Hungarian Hungarian
5354 Motherless Brooklyn Jonathan Lethem 1999 American English
5408 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Anthony Marra 2013 American English
5918 The Magic Toyshop Angela Carter 1967 British English
6003 Kate Vaiden Reynolds Price 1986 American English
6083 The Lamplighter Maria Susanna Cummins 1854 American English
6133 The Story of Tracy Beaker Jacqueline Wilson 1991 British English
6297 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs 2011 American English
6298 Stone Junction Jim Dodge 1990 American English
6493 The Hidden Hand Or, Capitola The Madcap E. D. E. N. Southworth 1859 American English
6522 Crow Lake Mary Lawson 2002 Canadian English
6767 Mark, The Match Boy Horatio Alger Jr. 1869 American English
6812 Scorched Wajdi Mouawad 2003 French French
6929 Jayber Crow Wendell Berry 2000 American English
7074 The Silver Sword Ian Serraillier 1956 British English
7136 Chronicler Of The Winds Henning Mankell 1995 Swedish Swedish
7169 Two Captains Veniamin Kaverin 1940 Russian Russian
7216 Ursule Mirouet Honoré de Balzac 1842 French French
7216 Children Of Darkness Edwin Justus Mayer 1929 American Unknown
7650 Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr 2021 American English
7672 Shadow And Bone Leigh Bardugo 2012 American English
7903 The House in the Cerulean Sea Tj Klune 2020 American English
8253 The Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens 1841 British English
8319 The Mysterious Benedict Society Trenton Lee Stewart 2007 American English
8333 The Brotherhood Of The Rose David Morrell 1984 American English
8387 The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson 2012 American English
8596 Homecoming Cynthia Voigt 1981 American English
9030 Citizen Of The Galaxy Robert A. Heinlein 1957 American English
9043 A Simple Path Mother Teresa 1995 Unknown English
9067 Stormbreaker Anthony Horowitz 2000 British English
9091 Consuelo George Sand 1842 French French
9222 Slan A. E. van Vogt 1940 Canadian English
9283 News Of The World Paulette Jiles 2016 American English
9547 The Man Who Laughs Victor Hugo 1869 French French
10039 The Kulla Gulla Series Martha Sandwall-Bergström 1945 Swedish Swedish
10079 Habibi Craig Thompson 2011 American English
10088 Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb 1995 American English
10244 Moonfleet J. Meade Faulkner 1898 British English
10296 The Jumbies Tracey Baptiste 2015 Trinidadian English
10869 Mr. Splitfoot Samantha Hunt 2016 American English
10965 Rotters Daniel Kraus 2011 American English
11059 Coin Locker Babies Ryū Murakami 1980 Japanese Japanese
11215 Ship Breaker Paolo Bacigalupi 2010 American English
11444 Fiela's Child Dalene Matthee 1985 South African Afrikaans
11543 Humiliated And Insulted Fyodor Dostoevsky 1861 Russian Russian
11844 Dustbin Baby Jacqueline Wilson 2001 British English
11937 Rule Of The Bone Russell Banks 1995 American English
12326 A Star Called Henry Roddy Doyle 1999 Irish English
12923 More Than Human Theodore Sturgeon 1953 American English
13738 Song Never to End Nelson I. Wu 1959 Unknown Unknown
13753 Japhet, In Search Of A Father Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
13772 Every Heart A Doorway Seanan McGuire 2016 American English
13818 Stabat Mater Tiziano Scarpa 2008 Italian Italian