Cover of The Golden Notebook

The Golden Notebook

Doris Lessing, 1962

British novelist, 1919–2013.

The Golden Notebook is a 1962 novel by Doris Lessing.

Essential
  • Critics' Darling

On 6 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Doris Lessing
First published
1962
Length
576 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Literary fiction, Feminist, Political, Postmodern

Is The Golden Notebook worth reading?

6 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian) and The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009)No. 89See the list
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 45See the list
The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015)ListedSee the list
The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture, 2015)No. 24See the list

Best edition of The Golden Notebook

The edition we link to is the Fourth Estate paperback (2022), 576 pages.

Publisher
Fourth Estate (paperback, 2022)
Pages
576
ISBN
9780008553814

How critics and readers rate The Golden Notebook

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 51% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
51%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Golden Notebook

If you liked The Golden Notebook, try Ulysses, Lolita or Atonement.

Lists used on this page