In the list of best-selling books in the history of mankind, you will find literary works for which readers actually voted using their wallet. It is well known that the Bible is the leader in circulation; over the course of the whole period, about 6 trillion copies of this book have been published, but this does not mean at all that it is able to get on the list of the best-selling literature. So, here are the top 10 best-selling books in the world.
"Over Abyss in the Rye"
In the list of best-selling books in 10th place is the novel by David Salinger "Over the Catcher in the Rye." It was first published in 1951.
The work of the American author was written on behalf of the 17-year-old Holden Caulfield, who is undergoing treatment at the clinic. He tells in detail about everything that happened to him last winter and led to the disease. The main events unfold in the December days of 1949. It all starts with the fact that Holden expelled for poor performance from a private school Pansy.
This novel is no coincidence has become one of the best-selling books in history. In it, the main character, according to readers, as openly describes the perception of American reality, the rejection of the moral of modern society. The book is still extremely popular among young people and adults. Regularly included in the list of the best novels of the century.
"The Da Vinci Code"
In the list of best-selling books was a novel by popular contemporary author Dan Brown. It was published in 2003, was a continuation of his other famous book "Angels and Demons".
Brown's Niche is an intellectual detective. Its main character is a professor of religious symbolism Robert Langdon, who teaches at Harvard University. In his investigations, he regularly encounters world riddles and masterpieces of the art world.
In the novel The Da Vinci Code, he has to unravel the murder case of the Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere. His body was discovered naked inside the museum in the pose of the Vitruvian man, and encrypted inscriptions were placed on the body. The key to the solution lies in them.
The professor and his assistants have to analyze the works of Leonardo da Vinci to understand who is behind the mysterious crime.
"A little prince"
On the 8th place in the list of best-selling books in Russia is the allegorical tale of the French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince". The book was written in the midst of World War II, was first published in New York in 1943.
At the same time, it is one of the kindest and most humanistic works in world literature. The hero of the tale is a pilot who makes an emergency landing in the Sahara. There he meets an extraordinary child, who calls himself the Little Prince and claims to have arrived on Earth from another planet.
The boy tells the pilot about his amazing adventures - the rose that he left on his planet, life on the asteroid. During his travels in outer space, he meets a king, a drunkard, an ambitious, a lamplighter, a business man, a geographer, but does not want to stay anywhere for long. Only on Earth does he meet friends from whom he learns many important things.
"She"
What are the best-selling books in the world? The novel of the English writer Henry Ryder Haggard "She: The Story of Adventure" takes 7th place in sales in the world. He first saw the light in 1887.
It tells about the journey of Horace Holly and his friend Leo Vinci to the little-studied areas of East Africa. There they seek a lost kingdom, and instead discover a tribe of savages and the mysterious queen Aesha, who has mystical abilities and, according to the locals, is immortal.
The book received positive reviews from critics and readers, but caused a lot of controversy about Victorian ideas about racial distinction, female power.
"Lion, the witch and the wardrobe"
On the 6th place among the best-selling books in the world is the first book from the series “The Chronicles of Narnia” - a novel called “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. Clive Staples Lewis's novel was released in 1950.
The events of the book unfold during the bombing of London during the Second World War. Four children from the Pavensi family go to hide with Professor Digor Kirk.
In his big house they play hide and seek, Lucy hides in the Wardrobe, through which he gets into the fabulous country of Narnia. There, a girl meets Faun Tumnus, who tells her the story of a mysterious kingdom. It fell under the rule of the White Witch, who declared herself queen. Because of it, eternal winter has come in Narnia and now there is no Christmas. Four children go for adventures in a fabulous country.
"Ten Little Indians"
On the 5th place in the list of best-selling books is the detective novel of the English writer Agatha Christie. "Ten Little Indians" is perhaps her most famous work, repeatedly filmed in the West and in Russia.
Readers were captivated by a mysterious plot in which until the very last moment it is impossible to determine who is a cold-blooded killer who has gathered ten completely unfamiliar people on the so-called Negro island. Everyone arrived there at the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Owen, but the hosts themselves are not on the island, soon the guests begin to doubt whether they really exist.
But in the living room there is a tray with ten porcelain figurines, they are not indigent, and in the room of each of the guests there is a children's reading room. When everyone gathers together, the gramophone turns on, the voice on which accuses each of those gathered in the murder. And for this crime they have not been punished.
The guests are outraged, but it turns out that in the coming days they cannot leave the island.
"Dream in the red tower"
4th place in the list of 10 best-selling books went to the not very well-known in Russia classical novel by the Chinese writer Cao Seiucin, entitled "A Dream in a Red Tower". The work was written in the XVIII century, the date of the first publication is supposedly between 1763 and 1791.
The novel is written in the genre of family chronicle. It talks about two branches of the Jia family that are declining. Before the reader is a large number of characters, relatives and households of the main characters.
In this classic Chinese novel, unlike most of the earlier works, there is a clear storyline and a harmonious composition, the author tells in detail about the sufferings and experiences of his heroes. Seiqin mixes the facts of his own biography with fictional episodes and even supernatural incidents. In prim China, the novel has been banned more than once because of the large number of obscene scenes in it, but this seems to have only spurred its popularity.
"The Hobbit, or There and Back"
The top three best-selling books are opened by John Tolkien's fantasy novel "The Hobbit, or There and Back." This book was first published in 1937.
At the heart of her story is a hobbit wandering named Bilbo Baggins and the wizard Gandalf. They head to the Lonely Mountain, where the treasures of the gnomes that were captured by the evil dragon Smaug are stored.
When writing this novel, the popularity of which does not end even today, the author turned to Scandinavian mythology, as well as the Old English poem "Beowulf". According to literary critics, the novel reflected the author’s personal experience during his participation in the First World War. This book actually marked the beginning of the birth of the fantasy genre. Its feature was the opposition of modern and ancient standards of behavior, for example, this can be observed in the speech of the characters.
The main character of Bilbo has many characteristics of a modern person, therefore he stands out from the ancient world. Thus, the novel raises an important question about the relationship of a person who relates himself to modern culture with the ancient heroes who surround him. During the conflict over treasures, the writer addresses the problem of greed and its overcoming.
"Lord of the Rings"
Tolkien can certainly be called the most successful writer of the XX century. After all, two of his novels were immediately at the top of the ranking of best-selling books. The Lord of the Rings is an entire epic that came out in 1954 and 1955.
In fact, this is a continuation of the novel "The Hobbit, or There and Back." The epic consists of three parts, which are called the "Brotherhood of the Ring", "Two Fortresses" and "The Return of the King." The main character of the previous book, Bilbo, retires, in the foreground is his nephew Frodo. It is he, together with his comrades, who goes in search of the ring of omnipotence, which is able to make its owner invisible, as well as subjugate all other magic rings.
"The Tale of Two Cities"
Probably, few will guess about the leader in the ranking of the best-selling novels. This is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, dedicated to the events of the French Revolution. It was first published in 1859. This is a textbook in the history of English literature, sold out in a circulation of 200 million copies.
The events of the novel begin to develop in London in 1775. Lorry's bank clerk, who is dying, tells 17-year-old Lucy that her father, whom she had long considered dead, is actually alive. The fact is that since her birth he was kept in the Bastille on a false denunciation, and recently released.
Lucy and Lorry go to Paris to find the unjustly convicted. This is the plot of this best-selling novel in the world.