The Greatest Books of All Time on Orphans

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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
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
2029 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
2088 Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1939 Austrian English
2097 The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver 1988 American English
2106 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
2107 Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver 2022 American English
2283 Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981 British English
2361 Our Nig Harriet E. Wilson 1859 American English
2482 The Cider House Rules John Irving 1985 American English
2591 Emily of New Moon L. M. Montgomery 1923 Canadian English
2705 Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli 2019 Mexican English
2816 The Great Fire Shirley Hazzard 2003 Australian English
2855 A Mercy Toni Morrison 2008 American English
2909 Ruth Elizabeth Gaskell 1853 British English
2947 Eva Trout Elizabeth Bowen 1968 Irish English
2955 Fugitive Pieces Anne Michaels 1996 Canadian English
2956 The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai 2006 Indian English
3014 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
3133 Daddy Long Legs Jean Webster 1912 American English
3150 A Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Lemony Snicket 1999 American English
3296 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
3546 Daphnis and Chloe Longus -200 Greek Ancient greek
3613 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
4667 Allah Is Not Obliged Ahmadou Kourouma 2000 French French
5185 Kincskereső Kisködmön Ferenc Móra 1918 Hungarian Hungarian
5247 Orphalina Zsigmond Móricz 1937 Hungarian Hungarian
5352 Motherless Brooklyn Jonathan Lethem 1999 American English
5405 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Anthony Marra 2013 American English
5915 The Magic Toyshop Angela Carter 1967 British English
6000 Kate Vaiden Reynolds Price 1986 American English
6080 The Lamplighter Maria Susanna Cummins 1854 American English
6130 The Story of Tracy Beaker Jacqueline Wilson 1991 British English
6294 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs 2011 American English
6295 Stone Junction Jim Dodge 1990 American English
6491 The Hidden Hand Or, Capitola The Madcap E. D. E. N. Southworth 1859 American English
6520 Crow Lake Mary Lawson 2002 Canadian English
6766 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
7168 Two Captains Veniamin Kaverin 1940 Russian Russian
7215 Ursule Mirouet Honoré de Balzac 1842 French French
7215 Children Of Darkness Edwin Justus Mayer 1929 American Unknown
7649 Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr 2021 American English
7670 Shadow And Bone Leigh Bardugo 2012 American English
7902 The House in the Cerulean Sea Tj Klune 2020 American English
8251 The Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens 1841 British English
8317 The Mysterious Benedict Society Trenton Lee Stewart 2007 American English
8331 The Brotherhood Of The Rose David Morrell 1984 American English
8384 The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson 2012 American English
8592 Homecoming Cynthia Voigt 1981 American English
9027 Citizen Of The Galaxy Robert A. Heinlein 1957 American English
9040 A Simple Path Mother Teresa 1995 Unknown English
9063 Stormbreaker Anthony Horowitz 2000 British English
9087 Consuelo George Sand 1842 French French
9219 Slan A. E. van Vogt 1940 Canadian English
9279 News Of The World Paulette Jiles 2016 American English
9543 The Man Who Laughs Victor Hugo 1869 French French
10035 The Kulla Gulla Series Martha Sandwall-Bergström 1945 Swedish Swedish
10075 Habibi Craig Thompson 2011 American English
10084 Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb 1995 American English
10239 Moonfleet J. Meade Faulkner 1898 British English
10291 The Jumbies Tracey Baptiste 2015 Trinidadian English
10863 Mr. Splitfoot Samantha Hunt 2016 American English
10959 Rotters Daniel Kraus 2011 American English
11053 Coin Locker Babies Ryū Murakami 1980 Japanese Japanese
11209 Ship Breaker Paolo Bacigalupi 2010 American English
11439 Fiela's Child Dalene Matthee 1985 South African Afrikaans
11541 Humiliated And Insulted Fyodor Dostoevsky 1861 Russian Russian
11843 Dustbin Baby Jacqueline Wilson 2001 British English
11936 Rule Of The Bone Russell Banks 1995 American English
12324 A Star Called Henry Roddy Doyle 1999 Irish English
13527 More Than Human Theodore Sturgeon 1953 American English
13737 Song Never to End Nelson I. Wu 1959 Unknown Unknown
13752 Japhet, In Search Of A Father Frederick Marryat 1836 British English
13771 Every Heart A Doorway Seanan McGuire 2016 American English
13817 Stabat Mater Tiziano Scarpa 2008 Italian Italian