These are lists of bestselling novels in the United States, as determined by Publishers Weekly. Source: from Wikipedia.

1890s edit

1895 edit

 
Title page illustration for The Princess Aline (1895)
  1. Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian Maclaren
  2. Trilby by George du Maurier
  3. The Adventures of Captain Horn (1895) by Frank R. Stockton (transcription project)
  4. The Manxman by Hall Caine (transcription project)
  5. The Princess Aline by Richard Harding Davis (transcription project)
  6. The Days of Auld Lang Syne by Ian Maclaren (transcription project)
  7. The Master by Israel Zangwill
  8. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope   Done
  9. Degeneration by Max Nordau
  10. My Lady Nobody by Maarten Maartens

1896 edit

 
Scan of the 1895 cover.
  1. Tom Grogan by Francis Hopkinson Smith   Done
  2. A Lady of Quality by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  3. The Seats of the Mighty by Gilbert Parker
  4. A Singular Life by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward
  5. The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic
  6. A House-Boat on the Styx by John Kendrick Bangs
  7. Kate Carnegie by Ian Maclaren
  8. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane   Done
  9. Sentimental Tommy by J. M. Barrie
  10. Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian Maclaren

1897 edit

  1. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
  2. The Choir Invisible by James Lane Allen
  3. Soldiers of Fortune by Richard Harding Davis
  4. On the Face of the Waters by Flora Annie Steel
  5. Phroso by Anthony Hope
  6. The Christian by Hall Caine
  7. Margaret Ogilvy by J. M. Barrie -   Done with a version, but was this also novelized?
  8. Sentimental Tommy by J. M. Barrie
  9. Pursuit of the House-Boat by John Kendrick Bangs
  10. The Honorable Peter Stirling by Paul Leicester Ford

1898 edit

  1. Caleb West by Francis Hopkinson Smith
  2. Hugh Wynne by Silas Weir Mitchell
  3. Penelope's Progress by Kate Douglas Wiggin   Done
  4. Helbeck of Bannisdale by Mary Augusta Ward
  5. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
  6. The Pride of Jennico by Agnes and Egerton Castle
  7. The Day's Work by Rudyard Kipling   Done
  8. Shrewsbury by Stanley J. Weyman
  9. Simon Dale by Anthony Hope
  10. (tie) The Adventures of François by Silas Weir Mitchell and The Battle of the Strong by Gilbert Parker

1899 edit

  1. David Harum by Edward Noyes Westcott
  2. When Knighthood Was in Flower by Charles Major
  3. Richard Carvel by Winston Churchill
  4. The Day's Work by Rudyard Kipling   Done
  5. Red Rock by Thomas Nelson Page
  6. Aylwin by Theodore Watts-Dunton
  7. Janice Meredith by Paul Leicester Ford
  8. Mr. Dooley in Peace and War by Finley Peter Dunne
  9. No. 5 John Street by Richard Whiteing
  10. The Market Place by Harold Frederic

1900s edit

1900 edit

 
To Have and to Hold
  1. To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston
  2. Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley
  3. Unleavened Bread by Robert Grant
  4. The Reign of Law by James Lane Allen
  5. Eben Holden by Irving Bacheller
  6. Janice Meredith by Paul Leicester Ford
  7. The Redemption of David Corson by Charles Frederic Goss
  8. Richard Carvel by Winston Churchill
  9. When Knighthood Was in Flower by Charles Major
  10. Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson

1901 edit

  1. The Crisis by Winston Churchill
  2. Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson
  3. The Helmet of Navarre by Bertha Runkle
  4. The Right of Way by Gilbert Parker
  5. Eben Holden by Irving Bacheller
  6. The Visits of Elizabeth by Elinor Glyn
  7. The Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath
  8. The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay by Maurice Hewlett
  9. Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon
  10. D'ri and I by Irving Bacheller

1902 edit

 
The Virginian
  1. The Virginian by Owen Wister - needs disambiguation but   Done
  2. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan (Alice Hegan Rice)   Done
  3. Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall by Charles Major
  4. The Mississippi Bubble by Emerson Hough
  5. Audrey by Mary Johnston
  6. The Right of Way by Gilbert Parker
  7. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle   Done
  8. The Two Vanrevels by Booth Tarkington
  9. The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke
  10. Sir Richard Calmady by Lucas Malet

1903 edit

  1. Lady Rose's Daughter by Mary Augusta Ward
  2. Gordon Keith by Thomas Nelson Page
  3. The Pit by Frank Norris
  4. Lovey Mary by Alice Hegan Rice
  5. The Virginian by Owen Wister
  6. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Hegan Rice
  7. The Mettle of the Pasture by James Lane Allen
  8. Letters of a Self-Made Merchant to His Son by George Horace Lorimer
  9. The One Woman by Thomas Dixon   Done
  10. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox

1904 edit

  1. The Crossing by Winston Churchill
  2. The Deliverance by Ellen Glasgow
  3. The Masquerader by Katherine Cecil Thurston
  4. In the Bishop's Carriage by Miriam Michelson
  5. Sir Mortimer by Mary Johnston
  6. Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon
  7. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox, Jr.
  8. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin   Done
  9. My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland
  10. The Silent Places by Stewart Edward White

1905 edit

  1. The Marriage of William Ashe by Mary Augusta Ward
  2. Sandy by Alice Hegan Rice
  3. The Garden of Allah by Robert Hichens
  4. The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, Jr.   Done along with the two others in his Reconstruction trilogy for full context
  5. Nedra by George Barr McCutcheon
  6. The Gambler by Katherine Cecil Thurston
  7. The Masquerader by Katherine Cecil Thurston
  8. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton   Done
  9. The Princess Passes by C.N. Williamson and A.M. Williamson
  10. Rose o' the River by Kate Douglas Wiggin

1906 edit

 
Coniston
  1. Coniston by Winston Churchill
  2. Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister
  3. The Fighting Chance by Robert W. Chambers
  4. The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson
  5. Jane Cable by George Barr McCutcheon
  6. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
  7. The Awakening of Helena Richie by Margaret Deland
  8. The Spoilers by Rex Beach
  9. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton   Done
  10. The Wheel of Life by Ellen Glasgow

1907 edit

  1. The Lady of the Decoration by Frances Little
  2. The Weavers by Gilbert Parker
  3. The Port of Missing Men by Meredith Nicholson
  4. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  5. The Brass Bowl by Louis Joseph Vance   Done
  6. Satan Sanderson by Hallie Erminie Rives
  7. The Daughter of Anderson Crow by George Barr McCutcheon
  8. The Younger Set by Robert W. Chambers
  9. The Doctor by Ralph Connor
  10. Half a Rogue by Harold MacGrath

1908 edit

  1. Mr. Crewe's Career by Winston Churchill
  2. The Barrier by Rex Beach
  3. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox, Jr.
  4. The Lure of the Mask by Harold MacGrath
  5. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  6. Peter by F. Hopkinson Smith
  7. Lewis Rand by Mary Johnston
  8. The Black Bag by Louis Joseph Vance
  9. The Man from Brodney's by George Barr McCutcheon
  10. The Weavers by Gilbert Parker

1909 edit

  1. The Inner Shrine by Anonymous (Basil King)
  2. Katrine by Elinor Macartney Lane
  3. The Silver Horde by Rex Beach
  4. The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart   Done
  5. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox, Jr.
  6. Truxton King by George Barr McCutcheon
  7. 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough
  8. The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath
  9. Peter by F. Hopkinson Smith
  10. Septimus by William J. Locke

1910s edit

1910 edit

  1. The Rosary by Florence L. Barclay
  2. A Modern Chronicle by Winston Churchill
  3. The Wild Olive by Anonymous (Basil King)
  4. Max by Katherine Cecil Thurston
  5. The Kingdom of Slender Swords by Hallie Erminie Rives
  6. Simon the Jester by William J. Locke
  7. Lord Loveland Discovers America by C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
  8. The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  9. Molly Make-Believe by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
  10. When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart

1911 edit

  1. The Broad Highway by Jeffery Farnol
  2. The Prodigal Judge by Vaughan Kester
  3. The Winning of Barbara Worth by Harold Bell Wright
  4. Queed by Henry Sydnor Harrison
  5. The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter
  6. The Iron Woman by Margaret Deland
  7. The Long Roll by Mary Johnston
  8. Molly Make-Believe by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
  9. The Rosary by Florence L. Barclay
  10. The Common Law by Robert W. Chambers[1]

1912 edit

  1. The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter
  2. The Street Called Straight by Basil King
  3. Their Yesterdays by Harold Bell Wright
  4. The Melting of Molly by Maria Thompson Daviess
  5. A Hoosier Chronicle by Meredith Nicholson
  6. The Winning of Barbara Worth by Harold Bell Wright
  7. The Just and the Unjust by Vaughan Kester
  8. The Net by Rex Beach
  9. Tante by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
  10. Fran by J. Breckenridge Ellis[2]

1913 edit

  1. The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill
  2. V.V.'s Eyes by Henry Sydnor Harrison
  3. Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter
  4. The Judgment House by Gilbert Parker
  5. Heart of the Hills by John Fox, Jr.
  6. The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffery Farnol
  7. The Woman Thou Gavest Me by Hall Caine
  8. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter   Done
  9. The Valiants of Virginia by Hallie Erminie Rives
  10. T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett[3]

1914 edit

  1. The Eyes of the World by Harold Bell Wright
  2. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter   Done
  3. The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill
  4. The Salamander by Owen Johnson
  5. The Fortunate Youth by William J. Locke
  6. T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  7. Penrod by Booth Tarkington   Done
  8. Diane of the Green Van by Leona Dalrymple
  9. The Devil's Garden by W. B. Maxwell
  10. The Prince of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon

1915 edit

  1. The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington
  2. A Far Country by Winston Churchill
  3. Michael O'Halloran by Gene Stratton Porter
  4. Pollyanna Grows Up by Eleanor H. Porter
  5. K by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  6. Jaffery by William J. Locke
  7. Felix O'Day by F. Hopkinson Smith
  8. The Harbor by Ernest Poole
  9. The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey
  10. Angela's Business by Henry Sydnor Harrison

1916 edit

  1. Seventeen by Booth Tarkington
  2. When a Man's a Man by Harold Bell Wright
  3. Just David by Eleanor H. Porter
  4. Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells
  5. Life and Gabriella by Ellen Glasgow
  6. The Real Adventure by Henry Kitchell Webster
  7. Bars of Iron by Ethel M. Dell
  8. Nan of Music Mountain by Frank H. Spearman
  9. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  10. The Heart of Rachael by Kathleen Norris

1917 edit

  1. Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells
  2. The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller
  3. The Red Planet by William J. Locke
  4. The Road to Understanding by Eleanor H. Porter
  5. Wildfire by Zane Grey
  6. Christine by Alice Cholmondeley aka. Elizabeth von Arnim
  7. In the Wilderness by Robert S. Hichens
  8. His Family by Ernest Poole (P)
  9. The Definite Object by Jeffery Farnol
  10. The Hundredth Chance by Ethel M. Dell[4]

1918 edit

  1. The U.P. Trail by Zane Grey
  2. The Tree of Heaven by May Sinclair
  3. The Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  4. Dere Mable by Edward Streeter
  5. Oh, Money! Money! by Eleanor H. Porter
  6. Greatheart by Ethel M. Dell
  7. The Major by Ralph Connor
  8. The Pawns Count by E. Phillips Oppenheim
  9. A Daughter of the Land by Gene Stratton Porter
  10. Sonia by Stephen McKenna

1919 edit

  1. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
  2. The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad
  3. The Desert of Wheat by Zane Grey
  4. Dangerous Days by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  5. The Sky Pilot in No Man's Land by Ralph Connor
  6. The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Harold Bell Wright
  7. Dawn by Eleanor H. Porter
  8. The Tin Soldier by Temple Bailey
  9. Christopher and Columbus by Elizabeth von Arnim
  10. In Secret by Robert W. Chambers


1920s edit

1920 edit

  1. The Man of the Forest by Zane Grey
  2. Kindred of the Dust by Peter B. Kyne
  3. The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Harold Bell Wright
  4. The River's End by James Oliver Curwood
  5. A Man for the Ages by Irving Bacheller
  6. Mary-Marie by Eleanor H. Porter
  7. The Portygee by Joseph C. Lincoln
  8. The Great Impersonation by E. Phillips Oppenheim
  9. The Lamp in the Desert by Ethel M. Dell
  10. Harriet and the Piper by Kathleen Norris

1921 edit

  1. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
  2. The Brimming Cup by Dorothy Canfield
  3. The Mysterious Rider by Zane Grey
  4. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (P)   Done
  5. The Valley of Silent Men by James Oliver Curwood
  6. The Sheik by Edith M. Hull
  7. A Poor Wise Man by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  8. Her Father's Daughter by Gene Stratton-Porter
  9. The Sisters-in-Law by Gertrude Atherton
  10. The Kingdom Round the Corner by Coningsby Dawson

1922 edit

  1. If Winter Comes by A. S. M. Hutchinson
  2. The Sheik by Edith M. Hull
  3. Gentle Julia by Booth Tarkington
  4. The Head of the House of Coombe by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  5. Simon Called Peter by Robert Keable
  6. The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  7. This Freedom by A. S. M. Hutchinson
  8. Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon
  9. To the Last Man by Zane Grey
  10. Tie: Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis and Helen of the Old House by Harold Bell Wright

1923 edit

  1. Black Oxen by Gertrude Atherton
  2. His Children's Children by Arthur Train
  3. The Enchanted April by "Elizabeth"
  4. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
  5. The Dim Lantern by Temple Bailey
  6. This Freedom by A. S. M. Hutchinson
  7. The Mine with the Iron Door by Harold Bell Wright
  8. Wanderer of the Wasteland by Zane Grey
  9. The Sea Hawk (1915) by Rafael Sabatini
  10. The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart

1924 edit

  1. So Big by Edna Ferber (P)   Done
  2. The Plastic Age by Percy Marks (transcription project)
  3. The Little French Girl by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
  4. The Heirs Apparent by Philip Gibbs
  5. A Gentleman of Courage by James Oliver Curwood
  6. The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey (transcription project)
  7. The Midlander by Booth Tarkington
  8. The Coast of Folly by Coningsby Dawson
  9. Mistress Wilding (1910) by Rafael Sabatini
  10. The Homemaker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

1925 edit

  1. Soundings by A. Hamilton Gibbs (transcription project)
  2. The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy (transcription project)
  3. The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter (transcription project)
  4. Glorious Apollo by E. Barrington (transcription project)
  5. The Green Hat by Michael Arlen (transcription project)
  6. The Little French Girl by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
  7. Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (P)   Done
  8. The Perennial Bachelor by Anne Parrish (transcription project)
  9. The Carolinian by Rafael Sabatini
  10. One Increasing Purpose by A. S. M. Hutchinson (transcription project)

1926 edit

  1. The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine (transcription project)
  2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos   Done
  3. Sorrell and Son by Warwick Deeping   Done
  4. The Hounds of Spring by Sylvia Thompson
  5. Beau Sabreur by P. C. Wren
  6. The Silver Spoons by John Galsworthy
  7. Beau Geste by P. C. Wren
  8. Show Boat by Edna Ferber (transcription project)
  9. After Noon by Susan Ertz (transcription project)
  10. The Blue Window by Temple Bailey

1927 edit

  1. Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis   Done
  2. The Plutocrat by Booth Tarkington   Done
  3. Doomsday by Warwick Deeping
  4. Sorrell and Son by Warwick Deeping   Done
  5. Jalna by Mazo de la Roche   Done
  6. Lost Ecstasy by Mary Roberts Rinehart   Done
  7. Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton   Done
  8. To-morrow Morning by Anne Parrish   Done
  9. The Old Countess by Anne Douglas Sedgwick   Done
  10. A Good Woman by Louis Bromfield   Done along with the previous three novels in the same series, see Portal:Escape series

1928 edit

  1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder   Done
  2. Wintersmoon by Hugh Walpole - part of a series
  3. Swan Song by John Galsworthy - part of a series
  4. The Greene Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine   Done along with the two preceding novels in the series for full context, see Portal:Philo Vance
  5. Bad Girl by Viña Delmar   Done
  6. Claire Ambler by Booth Tarkington   Done
  7. Old Pybus by Warwick Deeping
    • This one has been extremely annoying to work on, not the least of which is because of its length. (only 400 pages but has enough content to fill 800 pages in most novels!) I'll finish it later. SnowyCinema (talk) 00:03, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
  8. All Kneeling by Anne Parrish   Done
  9. Jalna by Mazo de la Roche   Done
  10. The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg by Louis Bromfield   Done

1929 edit

  1. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
  2. Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis
  3. Dark Hester by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
  4. The Bishop Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine
  5. Roper's Row by Warwick Deeping
  6. Peder Victorious by O. E. Rolvaag
  7. Mamba's Daughters by DuBose Heyward
  8. The Galaxy by Susan Ertz
  9. Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin   Done
  10. Joseph and His Brethren by H. W. Freeman

Refs edit

  1. The Publishers' Weekly's Consensus, American Library Annual 1911-1912, pp. 123-24 (1912)
  2. A Consensus of the Twenty "Best Sellers" In Each of the Three Classes, American Library Annual 1913 (1913) (list of top twenty fiction, non-fiction, and juvenile bestsellers for 1912. Top 10 fiction matches this list)
  3. The Publishers' Weekly Consensus, American Library Annual 1913-1914, pp 193-94 (1914) (source includes top fifty adult fiction list, which matches top 10 listed herein for 1913, as well as the top 20 adult non-fiction list and top 20 juvenile titles)
  4. The Best-Sellers of 1917: The "Publishers Weekly's" Consensus, American Library Annual 1917-1918, pp. 100-01 (1918) (includes list of top 47 selling fiction books for 1917 as judged by Publishers' Weekly statistics, as well as the Bookman monthly reports for each month of 1917, and the Bookman top six for the year, which does not match PW's top six)