Late 19th / Early 20th Century Bestsellers

So. Here are the ten bestselling fiction books in America for the years 1900-1923. This list is adapted from Project Gutenberg’s American Bestsellers bookshelf, Wikipedia’s 1890s Bestsellers article, Michael Korda’s Making the List: a cutural history of the American bestseller, 1900-1999 (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2001), a book I kind of hated. I hope eventually to expand this list back to 1895, when The Bookman first began to gather sales data for books in the United States.

I also hope to eventually write a post on every book on this list, as crazy as that sounds. There are a lot of books here that I’m really not looking forward to reading, like George Barr McCutcheon’s half dozen or so Graustark sequels, but, if I manage it, I expect that the very last book I’ll post on will be The House of Mirth.

Anyway, here’s how it works: If I’ve posted on a book, the link leads you to my review. If I haven’t, it leads you to Project Gutenberg, or, if PG hasn’t got it, to Google Books. Links in the author’s names go to the Redeeming Qualities tag for that author. This heart (♥) means I particularly love something. This flower (❀) is an easier way to see at a glance whether I’ve written a post on a particular book. This little radioactive sign (☢) means I found something actively unpleasant.

1895

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

1896

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

1897

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

1898

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

1899

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

1900

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

1901

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

1902

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

1903

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

1904

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

1905

1. The Marriage of William Ashe. Mary Augusta Ward
2. Sandy. Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice
3. The Garden of Allah. Robert Hichens
4. The Clansman. Thomas Dixon Jr.
5. Nedra. George Barr McCutcheon
6. The Gambler. Katherine Cecil Thurston
7. The Masquerader. Anonymous (Katherine Cecil Thurston)
8. The House of Mirth. Edith Wharton ☢
9. The Princess Passes. C. N. and A. M. Williamson ♥
10. Rose o’ the River. Kate Douglas Wiggin

1906

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

1907

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

1908

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

1909

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

1910

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

1911

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

1912

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

1913

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

1914

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

1915

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

1916

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

1917

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

1918

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

1919

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

1920

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

1921

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

1922

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