The Greatest Western Books of All Time

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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
5117 North Toward Home Willie Morris 1967 American English
5119 Baudolino Umberto Eco 2000 Italian Italian
5121 Creation Gore Vidal 1981 American English
5120 In The Night Of Time Antonio Muñoz Molina 2012 Spanish Spanish
5122 Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns 1984 American English
5123 Thus Was Adonis Murdered Sarah Caudwell 1981 British English
5124 Killing The Black Body Dorothy E. Roberts 1997 American English
5125 Maria Nephele Odysseas Elytis 1979 Greek Greek
5125 Αντιποίησις Αρχής Alexandros Kotzias 1979 Greek Greek
5125 Ο Εχθρός του Ποιητή Giorgos Heimonas 1979 Greek Greek
5129 The Influence Ramsey Campbell 1988 British English
5130 All But My Life Gerda Weissmann Klein 1957 American English
5131 The Snows Of Yesteryear Gregor von Rezzori 1989 Austrian German
5131 Hitler Joachim Fest 1973 German German
5131 Das Boot Lothar-Günther Buchheim 1973 German German
5131 Die Vollidioten Eckhard Henscheid 1973 German German
5131 Triptych Claude Simon 1973 French English
5142 Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert 2006 American English
5143 The Nine Mile Walk Harry Kemelman 1967 American English
5136 Before The Law Franz Kafka 1915 Czech German
5136 The Story Of The Rainbow Serpent Unknown -2000 Australian Unknown
5144 Southern Seas Manuel Vázquez Montalbán 1979 Spanish Spanish
5147 Before We Were Free Julia Alvarez 2002 American English
5148 Clouds Of Witness Dorothy L. Sayers 1926 British English
5150 The Copenhagen Trilogy Tiina Nunnally, Michael Favala Goldman, Tove Ditlevsen 1967 Danish Danish
5151 Midnight In Peking Paul French 2012 British English
5152 Quarantine Jim Crace 1997 British English
5155 The Gadfly Ethel Lilian Voynich 1897 British English
5154 Where The Crawdads Sing Delia Owens 2018 American English
5156 Coleridge Richard Holmes 1989 British English
5158 The Triumph Of Death Gabriele D'Annunzio 1894 Italian Italian
5160 Die Söhne Der Großen Bärin Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich 1951 German German
5161 The Blue Star Fletcher Pratt 1952 American English
5162 House Of Hate Percy Janes 1970 Canadian English
5164 Jirel of Joiry C. L. Moore 1934 American English
5163 Forgotten Kingdom Peter Goullart 1955 Russian English
5165 Northwest Smith C. L. Moore 1933 American English
5165 Mistress Masham's Repose T. H. White 1946 British English
5167 Bad Feminist Roxane Gay 2014 American English
5169 Anecdotes of Destiny Isak Dinesen 1958 Danish Danish
5168 Edith's Diary Patricia Highsmith 1977 American English
5171 Ghost Stories H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
5171 The Citadel Of Fear Francis Stevens 1918 American English
5171 Mosses From An Old Manse Nathaniel Hawthorne 1846 American English
5171 The Land Of Unreason L. Sprague de Camp 1942 American English
5171 Slaves Of Sleep L. Ron Hubbard 1939 American English
5171 Adept's Gambit Fritz Leiber 1947 American English
5171 Humour And Fantasy F. Anstey 1931 British Unknown
5171 Land Under England Joseph O'Neill 1935 British English
5171 The Third Omnibus Of Crime Dorothy L. Sayers 1934 British English
5171 The Second Omnibus Of Crime Dorothy L. Sayers 1932 British English
5171 Best Tales E. T. A. Hoffmann 1814 German German
5171 The Omnibus Of Crime Dorothy L. Sayers 1929 British English
5171 War In Heaven Charles Williams 1930 British English
5185 The World's Religions Huston Smith 1958 American English
5188 Washington Irving's Tales Of The Supernatural Washington Irving 1824 American English
5188 The Wind In The Rose Bush Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 1903 American English
5188 Mistress Of Mistresses E. R. Eddison 1935 British English
5188 Gods, Men And Ghosts Lord Dunsany 1912 British English
5188 They Went Norman Douglas 1920 British English
5188 Hauntings Vernon Lee 1890 British English
5188 Witch Wood John Buchan 1927 British English
5188 Phantasmion Sara Coleridge 1837 British English
5188 To Walk The Night William M. Sloane 1937 American English
5188 Xelucha And Others M. P. Shiel 1896 British English
5188 The Snow Image And Uncollected Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne 1852 American English
5188 The Smoking Leg John Metcalfe 1925 British English
5188 German Romance Thomas Carlyle 1827 British English
5188 Armadale Wilkie Collins 1866 British English
5188 The Ghostly Tales Of Henry James Henry James 1898 American English
5188 The Lock And Key Library Julian Hawthorne 1909 American English
5188 Some Ghost Stories A. M. Burrage 1934 British English
5188 The Professor Challenger Stories Arthur Conan Doyle 1912 British English
5188 A Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1934 British English
5188 Collected Ghost Stories Mrs. Joseph H. Riddell 1882 British English
5188 The Lady, Or The Tiger? Frank R. Stockton 1882 American English
5188 The Lost Traveller Ruthven Todd 1943 British English
5188 Caravan For China Frank Stanley Stuart 1941 British English
5188 The Night Life Of The Gods Thorne Smith 1931 American English
5188 Pause To Wonder Marjorie Fischer 1944 American Unknown
5188 The Valley Of The Flame Henry Kuttner 1946 American English
5188 The Dark World Henry Kuttner 1946 American English
5188 A Man In The Zoo David Garnett 1924 British English
5188 The Eternal Moment E. M. Forster 1928 British English
5188 A Fish Dinner In Memison E. R. Eddison 1941 British English
5188 The Marquis De Bolibar Leo Perutz 1920 Austrian German
5188 From Nine To Nine Leo Perutz 1918 Austrian German
5188 The Bell In The Fog Gertrude Atherton 1905 American English
5188 Tales Of The Alhambra Washington Irving 1832 American English
5188 A Strange Story Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1862 British English
5223 Riders Jilly Cooper 1985 British English
5224 The Children Of Green Knowe L. M. Boston 1954 British English
5225 A Place Of Execution Val McDermid 1999 British English
5226 The Green Face Gustav Meyrink 1916 German German
5227 The Ringstones And Other Curious Tales Sarban 1951 British English
5228 The Howling Man Charles Beaumont 1960 American English
5229 Whispers Stuart David Schiff 1977 American English
5230 Holes Louis Sachar 1998 American English
5231 Dark Feasts Ramsey Campbell 1987 British English
5234 Intensity Dean R. Koontz 1995 American English
5235 Memories And Commentaries Igor Stravinsky 1960 Russian English
5238 Travels With Myself And Another Martha Gellhorn 1978 American English
5239 Sorcerer's Son Phyllis Eisenstein 1979 American English
5240 The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty James Thurber 1983 American English
5241 La Saga/ Fuga de J. B./ The Saga/ Escape of J.B. Gonzalo Torrente Ballester 1972 Spanish Spanish
5241 My Father And Myself J. R. Ackerley 1968 British English
5241 Cavaliers And Roundheads Christopher Hibbert 1968 British English
5241 Abschied Johannes R. Becher 1974 German German
5241 The Life And Adventures Of Trobadora Beatrice Irmtraud Morgner 1974 German German
5247 Jews Without Money Michael Gold 1930 American English
5249 The Art of Fielding Chad Harbach 2011 American English
5250 The Strange Career of Jim Crow C. Vann Woodward 1955 American English
5251 The War Hound And The World's Pain Michael Moorcock 1981 British English
5252 The Boats Of The "Glen Carrig" William Hope Hodgson 1907 British English
5252 Carnacki The Ghost Finder William Hope Hodgson 1913 British English
5254 Geur der droefenis Alfred Kossmann 1980 Dutch Dutch
5254 The Harpole Report J. L. Carr 1972 British English
5256 The Collected Stories Grace Paley 1994 American English
5257 Tiny Beautiful Things Cheryl Strayed 2012 American English
5258 Solomon Gursky Was Here Mordecai Richler 1989 Canadian English