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Have
you ever wondered which one of your favorite novels (fiction books, in this
case) has the highest number of sales ever? Just in case you ever wondered,
here are the books with messages which have resonated throughout history and
have delighted wo/men’s hearts with their treasured secrets. Here are the 10
best selling fiction in any language of the world. This list omits some books
like The Three Musketeers, The Adventures
of Pinocchio, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and any of the books considered
to have attained bestseller status but have unreliable
sales figures.
In
some cases, there are ties. I have placed books with similar sales figures in
the same position so other bestsellers (which include childhood favorites like Heidi which has sold over 50 million
copies to date, and Peter Rabbit, over 45 million) deserving
mention may be a part of the countdown.
Number
1.
Number
one is a tie.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Publication date: 1859 and
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
Pub. Date: 1943, have sold over 200 million copies each to date.
Number 2.
You
probably know The Lord of the Rings
as a fantasy trilogy (that is, three separate books) but since J.R.R. Tolkien originally published them
as one fantasy book; they are regarded as one volume for the sake of this
countdown. The book has sold over 150 million copies since its publication in 1954-55.
Number 3.
Selling
a little over 100 million copies these three books tie at number 3:
Hong lou meng (Dream of the
Red Chamber) by Cao Xequin. Pub. Date: 1751/1791 and;
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Pub. Date: 1939.
Number 4
The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Published in 1950 has sold over
85 million copies.
Number 5
At
number 5 and with 83 million copies sold worldwide is H. Rider Haggard’s She. This masterpiece
published in 1887 has come to be regarded as one of the bestselling books of
all time.
Number 6
The Da Vinci Code, some
really controversial novel written by Dan Brown in 2003 holds forth at number 6 going
over 80 million in sales.
Number 7
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951) ties with
Number 8
The
following have gone over 50 million each in sales:
Heidi by Johanna Spyri (1880);
Anna of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
(1908);
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955);
The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins (1975);
Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972)
Number 9
Two
children favorites draw a tie with an adult fiction at number 9. With over 45
million copies each sold, together these three rank as one of the bestsellers
in history:
The Gingerman by J.P Donleavy. Pub. Date: 1955
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Pub. Date: 1902
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams. Pub. Date: 1952
Number 10
The
literary phenomenon, J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter series brings up the rear
on this list of worldwide bestselling books.
Presently,
at a little over 44 million copies sold, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling stands at number 10 of the
all time fiction bestsellers.
Bonus:
It
would probably be a thrill for Nigerians and Africans all around the world to
know that the Nigerian sweetheart, Dr. Chinua Achebe wrote one of the
bestselling books of all time.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe has sold over 11 million
copies and has been translated into over 45 languages of the world and that makes
it the bestselling book written by an African residing in Africa!
If
you were in any way, touched by the outcome of this list, you can get the rest
of the bestselling books of all time on Wikipedia. That’s
where I borrowed this wonderful info
from. Of course, you don’t think I sell books, do you?
And
while you’re at it, remember to donate a little something ($5 isn’t small) to
keep Wikipedia running.
Read
with passion!
Akpan
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