Entertainment
The 10 Best-Selling Fiction Books of All Time, Ranked
Throughout history, many fiction books have sold a remarkable number of copies; but only a few have been so commercially popular that they’ve gone down in history as the best-selling works of literature in history. There is nothing quite like sitting down with a good fictional story to read through and quickly grow addicted to, and the ten highest-selling fiction books of all time have clearly been so popular that millions upon millions of people were dying to get their hands on a copy.
From foundational fantasy masterpieces like The Hobbit to ancient texts like Dream of the Red Chamber, the best-selling fiction books ever published are proof that the joy of reading is a truly timeless thing. Even to this day, they continue selling millions of copies around the world, so that they will very likely never cease to be remembered as essential classics of the art form.
10
‘She: A History of Adventure’ (1887)
H. Rider Haggard‘s Gothic British novel She: A History of Adventure was originally serialized in The Graphic magazine between 1886 and 1887, until finally being published in book form that same year. The book, a massively influential pioneer of the lost world genre, was so immensely popular upon publication that it has never been out of print. A whopping 139 years after its publication in book form, it’s still just as enjoyable and admirable today as it was back then.
She has been able to sell around 83 million copies around the world.
Over the course of that nearly one-and-a-half century, She has been able to sell around 83 million copies around the world. It set a wholly new blueprint for fantasy fiction, and its influences can still be felt across adventure classics as foundational as Tarzan or as modern as Indiana Jones. But on top of being so iconic that everyone should read it at least once in their lives, even if only to be able to appreciate how influential it truly has been, it’s also just as fast-paced and fun to read today as it surely was back in the 19th century.
9
‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ (1865)
Nowadays, Lewis Carroll‘s Alice is one of the most iconic characters in all of English-language pop culture, and Wonderland is easily one of the best-known fictional worlds in the history of literature. It all had to start somewhere, though, and that “somewhere” was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This paragon of Victorian literature and pioneer of the literary nonsense genre helped usher in a new era of children’s literature, where books became less didactic and more focused on entertaining kids and helping their imaginations flourish.
It’s no wonder why Alice is far and way one of the best-selling fantasy books of all time, with its having sold around 100 million copies worldwide to date. Fum, whimsical, and wonderfully (pun not intended) imaginative, it’s such a fresh and creative novel that anyone—regardless of their age—should still be able to thoroughly enjoy it today. Many a fantasy book from the 19th century feels a bit dated by modern standards, but not Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which is still one of the most important pillars of fantasy pop culture.
8
‘The Hobbit’ (1937)
It would be a later fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien that would revolutionize the fantasy genre in a way that it had never seen before, but that isn’t to discredit the value and importance of the world’s introduction to Middle-earth, the magical children’s novel The Hobbit. The book was an immediate critical and commercial success, and that’s hardly surprising. This is, after all, the sort of book you know will be a masterpiece just from reading the first 10 pages.
The Hobbit has sold around 100 million copies worldwide, and even that still isn’t enough considering just how delightfully timeless, entertaining, and influential it has proven to be over the years. Whether as a bedtime story, as a breezy weekend read for a fantasy fan, or as a re-read for anyone who loves Middle-earth, it’s an absolutely perfect whose commercial success shouldn’t be surprising in the slightest.
7
‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ (1791)
Also known as The Story of the Stone, Dream of the Red Chamber is an ancient family saga penned by Cao Xueqin, considered one of the Four Great Classic Novels of Chinese literature—and thus, a must-read for anyone interested in the history of world literature. Surprisingly deep in its psychological scope and wonderfully intricate in its plotting, it follows the rise and tragic fall of a wealthy aristocratic family.
Since its publication over two centuries ago, Dream of the Red Chamber has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, a continued commercial success that’s nothing short of impressive for a text so old. Through its depth, thematic layeredness, and profoundly humanist and emotional tone, the novel has transcended cultural and language barriers over the centuries. It offers social commentary on themes like wealth and social decline that’s still shockingly timely in 2026.
6
‘And Then There Were None’ (1939)
British writer Dame Agatha Christie is one of the most legendary writers in the history of literature not only because she authored several of the most iconic thriller and mystery novels ever, but also because she’s the most translated author in history and the best-selling fiction writer of all time. A staggering number of those sales come from what’s both her highest-selling book ever and the highest-selling mystery book ever by an admirable margin: And Then There Were None, one of those essential thriller books everyone should read at least once.
To date, And Then There Were None has sold around 100 million copies around the world—over 20 million more than the next best-selling mystery thriller ever, Dan Brown‘s The Da Vinci Code. All of that commercial hype is perfectly warranted. And Then There Were None is a brilliant subversion of the whodunnit formula which has aged like fine wine, creating an atmosphere of psychological dread that’s still just as effective today as it surely was back in 1939.
5
‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (1997)
Setting J. K. Rowling‘s condemnable personal views aside is always necessary when talking about the best-selling books in history, because there’s no conversation about the topic than can elude the highest-selling book series in history: Harry Potter. The most commercially successful novel of the bunch is the one that started it all, a children’s fantasy novel which revolutionized the publishing industry as a whole: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States.
A landmark in the genre’s history whose nearly-unprecedented pop-cultural importance and level of influence simply can’t be overstated.
It’s one of the best fantasy books of the last 100 years, a landmark in the genre’s history whose nearly-unprecedented pop-cultural importance and level of influence simply can’t be overstated. Having sold around 120 million copies around the world to date, Sorcerer’s Stone continues to further enshrine itself as one of the most timeless pieces of children’s literature the world has ever seen.
4
‘The Alchemist’ (1988)
When it comes to world literature, few regions have had an output more historically important than Latin America. Case in point: the great Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, whose The Alchemist sold quite poorly when originally published in Portuguese. It was after finding a larger publisher and landing an English translation that slow-burning word-of-mouth (and even Coelho’s embracing of Internet piracy) would eventually transform what was originally a flop into one of the most widely-read novels in history.
This wonderful fantasy adventure has historically received some criticism for presenting ideas and themes that are at times deemed too simplistic, but it’s precisely the universal accessibility of its philosophical messages and musings that has allowed it to sell around 150 million copies worldwide. That’s without even counting the people who have read The Alchemist through the piracy that Coelho himself supported in an effort to get his book even further out there.
3
‘The Lord of the Rings’ (1954–1955)
As incredible as The Hobbit is and as massively influential as it was back in the ’30s, it wouldn’t be until the ’50s that Tolkien would publish an epic novel which would completely change the course of fantasy literature’s history: The Lord of the Rings, far and away one of the most ambitious books of all time. Published in three volumes, this fantasy epic is widely regarded as the greatest and most foundational of the entire 20th century.
Due to its often being sold in three separate volumes, the book’s sales numbers aren’t the clearest, but it’s generally accepted that it has sold a little over 150 million copies worldwide to date. Indeed, over the years, The Lord of the Rings has never ceased to be a pillar of modern fantasy, Tolkien’s writing having completely redefined the way several future generations of fantasy authors would approach the genre going forward.
2
‘The Little Prince’ (1943)
French author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry‘s The Little Prince was written and illustrated by him at the suggestion of a publisher, who said that he should write a children’s book to calm himself during his self-imposed exile in New York during World War II. What Saint-Exupéry ended up writing is one of the most important novellas in history, the second most translated literary work ever published, right behind only the Bible.
It’s one of the most perfect fantasy books ever published, making the fact that it has sold around 200 million copies worldwide all the less surprising. Saint-Exupéry’s deceptively simple and charming prose is a great way to get children to enjoy The Little Prince, but the book hides such beautifully complex and profound truths about the human condition and being an adult that anyone, regardless of their age, should consider it essential reading.
1
‘A Tale of Two Cities’ (1859)
Calling Charles Dickens one of the greatest and most influential authors in the history of the English language could be considered an understatement, seeing as he’s almost universally hailed as the most prominent novelist of the Victorian era. For proof of why, one needn’t look any further than his best-selling work, the historical novel A Tale of Two Cities.
The book is an absolute masterpiece, but that doesn’t make it any less surprising or admirable that it has sold more than 200 million copies around the world since its publication, making it the best-selling fiction book in history. Dickens’ writing can feel a bit slow or overly dense at times, but A Tale of Two Cities is nevertheless a pretty-much-perfect must-read. It’s a truly timeless story about love, sacrifice, and revolution which will likely only continue to be a commercial juggernaut as the years continue to pass.
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