BBC list of 100 most inspiring novels

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On 5 November 2019, the BBC published a list of novels selected by a panel of six writers and critics, who had been asked to choose 100 English language novels "that have had an impact on their lives". [1] The resulting list of "100 novels that shaped our world", [1] called the "100 'most inspiring' novels" by BBC News, [2] was published by the BBC to kick off a year of celebrating literature. [2] [3]

The list triggered comments from critics and other news agencies. News agencies from outside the United Kingdom, like Canadian broadcaster CBC News and Nigerian news website Legit.ng, profiled authors with works included in the list who were nationals of their countries. [4] [5] The Guardian noted surprising titles missing from the list, like Moby-Dick (1851), [6] and writing in The Daily Telegraph , Jake Kerridge called it "a short-sighted list that will please nobody." [7]

The BBC relied on six experts: Stig Abell, Mariella Frostrup, Juno Dawson, Kit de Waal, Alexander McCall Smith and Syima Aslam. [4] [6] The CBC characterized the panel as composed of "writers, curators and critics". [4] According to The Guardian, the list commemorated the publication of Robinson Crusoe (1719), 300 years earlier – "widely seen as the progenitor of the English-language novel". [6]

The panel broke their list into ten categories of ten items each and includes a few comic books among them. [1]

On 5 November 2019 the BBC published a list of the 100 'most inspiring' novels [2]
TitleAuthorFirst
published [8]
BBC
category
Author's
nationality
Beloved Toni Morrison 1987IdentityAmerican
Days Without End Sebastian Barry 2016IdentityIrish
Fugitive Pieces Anne Michaels 1996IdentityCanadian
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2006IdentityNigerian
Homegoing Yaa Gyasi 2016IdentityGhanaian-American
Small Island Andrea Levy 2004IdentityBritish
The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath 1963IdentityAmerican
The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy 1997IdentityIndian
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe 1958IdentityNigerian
White Teeth Zadie Smith 2000IdentityBritish
Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding 1996Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
Forever... Judy Blume 1975Love, Sex & RomanceAmerican
Giovanni's Room James Baldwin 1956Love, Sex & RomanceAmerican
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
Riders Jilly Cooper 1985Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston 1937Love, Sex & RomanceAmerican
The Far Pavilions M. M. Kaye 1978Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
The Forty Rules of Love Elif Shafak 2009Love, Sex & RomanceTurkish
The Passion Jeanette Winterson 1987Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
The Slaves of Solitude Patrick Hamilton 1947Love, Sex & RomanceBritish
City of Bohane Kevin Barry 2011AdventureIrish
Eye of the Needle Ken Follett 1978AdventureBritish
For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 1940AdventureAmerican
His Dark Materials (trilogy) Philip Pullman 1995AdventureBritish
Ivanhoe Walter Scott 1819AdventureBritish
Mr Standfast John Buchan 1919AdventureBritish
The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler 1939AdventureAmerican
The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins 2008AdventureAmerican
The Jack Aubrey Novels (series) Patrick O’Brian 1969AdventureBritish
The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1954AdventureBritish
A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 1996Life, Death & Other WorldsAmerican
Astonishing the Gods Ben Okri 1995Life, Death & Other WorldsNigerian
Dune Frank Herbert 1966Life, Death & Other WorldsAmerican
Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818Life, Death & Other WorldsBritish
Gilead Marilynne Robinson 2004Life, Death & Other WorldsAmerican
The Chronicles of Narnia (series) C. S. Lewis 1950Life, Death & Other WorldsBritish
Discworld (series) Terry Pratchett 1983Life, Death & Other WorldsBritish
Earthsea (trilogy) Ursula K. Le Guin 1968Life, Death & Other WorldsAmerican
The Sandman series (comic book) Neil Gaiman 1989Life, Death & Other WorldsBritish
The Road Cormac McCarthy 2006Life, Death & Other WorldsAmerican
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini 2007Politics, Power & ProtestAfghan-American
Brave New World Aldous Huxley 1932Politics, Power & ProtestBritish
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie 2017Politics, Power & ProtestBritish
Lord of the Flies William Golding 1954Politics, Power & ProtestBritish
Noughts & Crosses Malorie Blackman 2001Politics, Power & ProtestBritish
Strumpet City James Plunkett 1979Politics, Power & ProtestIrish
The Color Purple Alice Walker 1982Politics, Power & ProtestAmerican
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 1960Politics, Power & ProtestAmerican
V for Vendetta (comic book) Alan Moore 1982Politics, Power & ProtestBritish
Unless Carol Shields 2002Politics, Power & ProtestCanadian
A House for Mr Biswas V. S. Naipaul 1961Class & SocietyTrinidadian
Cannery Row John Steinbeck 1945Class & SocietyAmerican
Disgrace J.M. Coetzee 1999Class & SocietySouth-African
Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens 1864Class & SocietyBritish
Poor Cow Nell Dunn 1967Class & SocietyBritish
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Alan Sillitoe 1958Class & SocietyBritish
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne Brian Moore 1955Class & SocietyBritish-Canadian
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark 1961Class & SocietyBritish
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro 1989Class & SocietyBritish
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys 1966Class & SocietyBritish
Emily of New Moon L. M. Montgomery 1923Coming of AgeCanadian
Golden Child Claire Adam 2019Coming of AgeTrinidadian
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood 2003Coming of AgeCanadian
So Long, See You Tomorrow William Maxwell 1979Coming of AgeAmerican
Swami and Friends R. K. Narayan 1935Coming of AgeIndian
The Country Girls Edna O’Brien 1960Coming of AgeIrish
Harry Potter (series) J. K. Rowling 1997Coming of AgeBritish
The Outsiders S. E. Hinton 1967Coming of AgeAmerican
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ Sue Townsend 1982Coming of AgeBritish
Twilight (series) Stephenie Meyer 2005Coming of AgeAmerican
A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth 1993Family & FriendshipIndian
Ballet Shoes Noel Streatfeild 1935Family & FriendshipBritish
Cloudstreet Tim Winton 1991Family & FriendshipAustralian
Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons 1932Family & FriendshipBritish
I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith 1948Family & FriendshipBritish
Middlemarch George Eliot 1871Family & FriendshipBritish
Tales of the City Armistead Maupin 1978Family & FriendshipAmerican
The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx 1993Family & FriendshipAmerican
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë 1848Family & FriendshipBritish
The Witches Roald Dahl 1983Family & FriendshipBritish
American Tabloid James Ellroy 1995Crime & ConflictAmerican
American War Omar El Akkad 2017Crime & ConflictEgyptian-Canadian
Ice Candy Man Bapsi Sidhwa 1988Crime & ConflictBritish
Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938Crime & ConflictBritish
Regeneration Pat Barker 1991Crime & ConflictBritish
The Children of Men P.D. James 1992Crime & ConflictBritish
The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1901Crime & ConflictBritish
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid 2007Crime & ConflictPakistani
The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1955Crime & ConflictAmerican
The Quiet American Graham Greene 1955Crime & ConflictBritish
A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole 1980Rule BreakersAmerican
Bartleby, the Scrivener Herman Melville 1853Rule BreakersAmerican
Habibi (comic book) Craig Thompson 2011Rule BreakersAmerican
How to Be Both Ali Smith 2014Rule BreakersBritish
Orlando Virginia Woolf 1928Rule BreakersBritish
Nights at the Circus Angela Carter 1984Rule BreakersBritish
Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell 1949Rule BreakersBritish
Psmith, Journalist P. G. Wodehouse 1909Rule BreakersBritish
The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie 1995Rule BreakersBritish
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name Audre Lorde 1982Rule BreakersAmerican

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Explore the list of 100 Novels That Shaped Our World". BBC Arts. BBC. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News . 5 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019. The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
  3. Sarakshi Rai (7 November 2019). "These are the 100 novels that have shaped our world, according to the BBC: How many of these books have you read?". Esquire magazine . Retrieved 10 November 2019. These novels have all sparked "debate about the novels that have had a big impact on us all personally and culturally".
  4. 1 2 3 "Margaret Atwood, L.M. Montgomery, Carol Shields featured on BBC's list of 100 novels that shaped the world". CBC News . 8 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019. Five Canadian books are on the list: Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, Unless by Carol Shields, Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and American War by Omar El Akkad.
  5. Sola Budunrin (10 November 2019). "Things Fall Apart, Half of A Yellow Sun named in the list of 100 novels that shaped the world". Legit.ng . Retrieved 10 November 2019. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chinua Achebe and Ben Okri's novels made the list of 100 novels that shaped the world.
  6. 1 2 3 Alison Flood (5 November 2019). "Discworld dishes Moby-Dick: BBC unveils 100 'novels that shaped our world'". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 November 2019. There's no Wuthering Heights, no Moby-Dick, no Ulysses, but there is Half of a Yellow Sun, Bridget Jones's Diary and Discworld: so announced the panel of experts assembled by the BBC to draw up a list of 100 novels that shaped their world.
  7. Kerridge, Jake (5 November 2019). "The BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World is a short-sighted list that will please nobody". The Telegraph via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  8. When the BBC listed a series, the date is the publication of the first novel.