In this post you will be aware of a list of top 10 best-selling books of all time. These books are ranked by number of copies sold, not by my personal rating.
Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as The Bible and Quran are believed to have more than a billion copies each in existence. However, sales numbers for these books are nearly impossible to track because many are given away by churches or governments. Additionally, these books have often been printed by a wide range of publishers over centuries, many of them unreported. For these reasons, major religious and political texts are not listed here, but we can all agree that they are among the top selling books of all-time.
#1 – Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
(500 million copies sold)
Don Quixote, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. A founding work of Western literature, it is often labeled "the first modern novel" and many authors consider it to be the best literary work ever written.
It was published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615.
Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language, and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists.
#2 – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
(200 million copies sold)
A Tale of Two Cities is an historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
Dickens' best-known work of historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities is regularly cited as the best-selling novel of all time. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC's The Big Read poll.
Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.
#3 – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
(150 million copies sold)
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949
The Lord of the Rings has a film series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003).
#4 – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(142 million copies sold)
The Little Prince is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the US in April 1943. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, The Little Prince makes observations about life and human nature.
Saint-Exupery became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the United States National Book Award. The Little Prince became Saint-Exupéry's most successful work, selling an estimated 142 million copies worldwide, which makes it one of the best-selling and most translated books ever published. It has been translated into 361 languages and dialects.
#5 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
(107 million copies sold)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling.
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Warner Bros bought the film rights to the book in 1999 for a reported $1.65 million. And got 974 million dollars as a movie global office box revenue.
#6 – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
(100 million copies sold)
And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 6 November 1939.
In the Uk it published under the title Ten Little Niggers and in the US it was published under the title And Then There Were None.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, was an English writer known for her sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short story collections.
#7 – The Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
(100 million copies sold)
Dream of the Red Chamber, also called The Story of the Stone, composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was written some time in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing dynasty. Long considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature, the novel is generally acknowledged to be one of the pinnacles of Chinese fiction. The novel circulated in manuscript copies with various titles until its print publication, in 1791.
#8 – The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
(100 million copies sold)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.
The Hobbit film series consists of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
#9 – She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard
(100 million copies sold)
She is one of the foundational works of fantasy literature. She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print. It is marked by a strong element of "the marvelous" in the figure of Ayesha, a two-thousand-year-old sorceress, and the 'Spirit of the World', an undying fire that confers immortality.
#10 – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
(85 million copies sold)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries.
C.S. Lewis, in full Clive Staples Lewis, Irish-born novelist, and author of about 40 books, many of them on Christian apologetics, including The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. His works of greatest lasting fame may be the Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven children’s books that have become classics of fantasy literature.
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