BBC's "The Big Read - Books 1-100"

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The Big Read series was broadcast on BBC Two from 18 October to 13 December 2003.

Web, SMS, phone and interactive voting ended on 11 December and only the phone vote was opened briefly for the duration of the final programme on 13 December.

Here is the final ranking 1-100. See also "BBC The Next 100" list for 101-200.

DEARREADER: Please do not change this list in any way. If you do not agree with any of the entries on this list feel free to create your own, but please bear in mind that others are also working on this list. Thank you for your consideration and happy reading.

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  1. 1.
    The Lord of the Rings
    by J.R.R. Tolkien

  2. 2.
    Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics)
    by Jane Austen

  3. 4.
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    by Douglas Adams

  4. 5.
    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    by J. K. Rowling

  5. 6.
    To Kill a Mockingbird
    by Harper Lee

  6. 7.
    Winnie-the-Pooh
    by A. A. Milne

  7. 8.
    Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Modern Classics)
    by George Orwell

  8. 10.
    Jane Eyre (Signet Classics)
    by Charlotte Brontë

  9. 11.
    Catch-22
    by Joseph Heller

  10. 12.
    Wuthering Heights (Norton Critical Editions)
    by Emily Brontë

  11. 13.
    Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War
    by Sebastian Faulks

  12. 14.
    Rebecca (Longman Fiction Series)
    by Daphne du Maurier

  13. 15.
    The Catcher in the Rye
    by J. D. Salinger

  14. 16.
    The Wind in the Willows
    by Kenneth Grahame

  15. 17.
    Great Expectations (Penguin Classics)
    by Charles Dickens

  16. 18.
    Little Women (Signet Classics)
    by Louisa May Alcott

  17. 19.
    Captain Corelli's Mandolin
    by Louis de Bernieres

  18. 20.
    War and Peace (Modern Library)
    by Leo Tolstoy

  19. 21.
    Gone with the Wind
    by Margaret Mitchell

  20. 22.
    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
    by J.K. Rowling

  21. 23.
    Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
    by J. K. Rowling

  22. 24.
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
    by J.K. Rowling

  23. 25.
    The Hobbit
    by J.R.R. Tolkien

  24. 26.
    Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Dover Thrift Editions)
    by Thomas Hardy

  25. 27.
    Middlemarch (Penguin Classics)
    by George Eliot

  26. 28.
    A Prayer for Owen Meany
    by John Irving

  27. 29.
    The Grapes of Wrath (20th Century Classics)
    by John Steinbeck

  28. 31.
    The Story of Tracy Beaker
    by Jacqueline Wilson

  29. 32.
    One Hundred Years of Solitude
    by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

  30. 33.
    The Pillars of the Earth
    by Ken Follett

  31. 34.
    David Copperfield (Penguin Classics)
    by Charles Dickens

  32. 35.
    Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    by Roald Dahl

  33. 36.
    Treasure Island (Scholastic Classics)
    by Robert Louis Stevenson

  34. 37.
    A Town Like Alice
    by Nevil Shute

  35. 38.
    Persuasion (Cover to Cover Classics)
    by Jane Austen

  36. 39.
    Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)
    by Frank Herbert

  37. 40.
    Emma
    by JANE AUSTEN

  38. 41.
    Anne of Green Gables (Signet Classics)
    by L. M. Montgomery

  39. 42.
    Watership Down: A Novel
    by Richard Adams

  40. 43.
    The Great Gatsby (Scribner Classics)
    by F. Scott Fitzgerald

  41. 44.
    Brideshead Revisited (Everyman's Library)
    by Evelyn Waugh

  42. 45.
    The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
    by Alexandre Dumas pere

  43. 46.
    Animal Farm
    by George Orwell

  44. 47.
    Christmas Carol (Penguin Popular Classics)
    by Charles Dickens

  45. 48.
    Far From the Madding Crowd (Everyman's Library)
    by Thomas Hardy

  46. 49.
    Goodnight Mr Tom (New Century Readers)
    by Michelle Magorian

  47. 50.
    The Shell Seekers
    by Rosamunde Pilcher

Pages: 1

This is a community list. You can contribute, edit, or help maintain it by adding it to your lists.
Created by Robot Co-op on Nov 30, 2005.
 

Comments

Pages: Pages: 1 3 4 5

Untitled — 1 year ago

I replaced the audio version of A Christmas Carol that was on here with a book version.


105 books — 1 year ago

Once again someone has added books to this DEFINITIVE list, but they’ve chosen to add books which are already on the list. The title of the list should be a hint.


Seem to be down to 99 — 2 years ago

Where’s 100 gone in this list. Seems that whilst this is a list of books, some people are still having trouble grasping the concept of this being a definitive list.


Untitled — 3 years ago

I can’t believe neither Paper Towns or Looking For Alaska is on here. I guess they aren’t that well known.


Magician — 3 years ago

I updated this entry (#89), it should be Magician, the British version that includes both Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master.


Please don't add to the list either! — 3 years ago

Removed “Cold Comfort Farm.” Nothing wrong with the book except that it is NOT part of this list.


Stop removing books! — 3 years ago

I’ve just added Lord of the Rings back at number one again. Please stop changing it; I’m trying to complete this list.


Hmph! — 3 years ago

Someone has altered the list again!!! Grrr! There are 4 books missing. I can’t be bothered trying to fix the list again, so I’m just going to make my own version and be done with it.

[Edit:] Actually, someone else seems to have done it already! http://www.listsofbests.com/list/37177 It’s a personal list so others can’t go around changing it. I’m switching to that one!


Added # 31 back in — 3 years ago

The Story of Tracy Beaker was missing. I put it back in, at #31 where the original list has it.


Gone with the Wind — 4 years ago

I’ve replaced the ‘home-made’ entry for Gone with the Wind with an ‘official’ one, the one most people had selected (I’m pretty sure it used to be on here too, must have gotten altered along the way).



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