The full ranking
Ranked by copies sold, with religious and political texts set aside because their print figures cannot be reliably verified. From a Dickens novel that has moved more than 200 million copies to Dan Brown at 80 million, these are the single titles that found the most readers in history.
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
Dickens' 1859 epic of London and Paris during the French Revolution is the best-selling single novel ever recorded, with estimates above 200 million copies. Its opening line and its closing sacrifice are among the most quoted passages in English literature.
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
A French aviator's 1943 fable about a boy from a tiny asteroid has sold roughly 200 million copies and been translated into more than 500 languages, one of the most translated books in the world. Its watercolor illustrations and gentle philosophy have made it a touchstone for children and adults alike.
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Paulo Coelho's 1988 parable of an Andalusian shepherd chasing his 'Personal Legend' to the Egyptian pyramids has sold about 150 million copies. A slow word-of-mouth phenomenon, it became the best-selling book in Brazilian history and a global self-discovery staple.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling)
The 1997 debut that launched the best-selling book series in history has sold more than 120 million copies on its own. Rowling's tale of an orphan discovering he is a wizard reset the scale of children's publishing and turned reluctant readers into lifelong fans.
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
Agatha Christie's 1939 mystery, in which ten strangers are lured to an island and killed one by one, is the best-selling crime novel ever written at around 100 million copies. It is the signature work of the best-selling novelist of all time.
Dream of the Red Chamber (Cao Xueqin)
Cao Xueqin's sprawling 18th-century saga of the declining Jia family is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, with an estimated 100 million copies sold. Its psychological depth spawned an entire field of scholarship known as Redology.
The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Tolkien's 1937 tale of Bilbo Baggins and a dragon's hoard introduced Middle-earth and has sold roughly 100 million copies. Written for his children, it set the stage for The Lord of the Rings and modern fantasy itself.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Lewis Carroll's 1865 plunge down the rabbit hole has never gone out of print and has sold around 100 million copies. Its nonsense logic and indelible characters, from the Cheshire Cat to the Queen of Hearts, reshaped children's literature.
She: A History of Adventure (H. Rider Haggard)
H. Rider Haggard's 1887 lost-world romance about the immortal queen Ayesha, the original She-who-must-be-obeyed, has sold an estimated 83 million copies. A foundational adventure fantasy, it shaped generations of pulp and genre writers.
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
Dan Brown's 2003 conspiracy thriller, racing through a secret history of the Holy Grail, has sold about 80 million copies and made Robert Langdon a household name. It was one of the defining publishing phenomena of the 2000s.
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