The Novel Index

Chart

The Big Read is 68% British and Irish. The Great American Read is 63% American.

Put the two big readers' polls side by side and they mirror each other. The Big Read (BBC, 2003) has 20% American authors; the Great American Read (PBS, 2018) has 21% British and Irish ones.

Among the critics' lists, Time's 2005 list leans furthest towards America, at 62%. Le Monde and the Bokklubben World Library look furthest afield: 61% and 57% of their authors are from somewhere other than Britain, Ireland or America.

The Big Read is 68% British and Irish. The Great American Read is 63% American.One bar per list, 15 in all, split by where each novel's author is from: Britain or Ireland, America, or anywhere else. Lists are ordered from most to least British and Irish.British or Irish authorAmerican authorAuthor from anywhere elseAmazon UK (2014): 54 British or Irish, 16 American, 9 from elsewhereAmazon UK201479 novels68%20%11%The Big Read (2003): 67 British or Irish, 20 American, 12 from elsewhere, 1 not knownThe Big Read200399 novels68%20%12%Guardian (McCrum) (2015): 63 British or Irish, 34 American, 3 from elsewhereGuardian (McCrum)2015100 novels63%34%The Observer (2003): 55 British or Irish, 23 American, 20 from elsewhereThe Observer200398 novels56%23%20%BBC Arts (2019): 55 British or Irish, 31 American, 14 from elsewhereBBC Arts2019100 novels55%31%14%Guardian 21st century (2019): 29 British or Irish, 14 American, 11 from elsewhere, 2 not knownGuardian 21st century201954 novels54%26%20%Modern Library (1998): 49 British or Irish, 50 American, 1 from elsewhereModern Library1998100 novels49%50%The Telegraph (2009): 42 British or Irish, 17 American, 34 from elsewhere, 5 not knownThe Telegraph200993 novels45%18%37%The Guardian (2026): 42 British or Irish, 28 American, 29 from elsewhere, 1 not knownThe Guardian202699 novels42%28%29%Guardian readers (2026): 40 British or Irish, 35 American, 25 from elsewhereGuardian readers2026100 novels40%35%25%Time (2005): 34 British or Irish, 62 American, 4 from elsewhereTime2005100 novels34%62%Bokklubben World Library (2002): 15 British or Irish, 11 American, 35 from elsewhere, 6 not knownBokklubben World Library200261 novels25%18%57%Great American Read (2018): 21 British or Irish, 62 American, 15 from elsewhere, 2 not knownGreat American Read201898 novels21%63%15%New York Times 21st century (2024): 13 British or Irish, 39 American, 12 from elsewhereNew York Times 21st century202464 novels20%61%19%Le Monde (1999): 12 British or Irish, 16 American, 43 from elsewhere, 1 not knownLe Monde199971 novels17%23%61%
The Big Read is 68% British and Irish. The Great American Read is 63% American.One bar per list, 15 in all, split by where each novel's author is from: Britain or Ireland, America, or anywhere else. Lists are ordered from most to least British and Irish.British or Irish authorAmerican authorAuthor from anywhere elseAmazon UK (2014): 54 British or Irish, 16 American, 9 from elsewhereAmazon UK201479 novels68%20%11%The Big Read (2003): 67 British or Irish, 20 American, 12 from elsewhere, 1 not knownThe Big Read200399 novels68%20%12%Guardian (McCrum) (2015): 63 British or Irish, 34 American, 3 from elsewhereGuardian (McCrum)2015100 novels63%34%The Observer (2003): 55 British or Irish, 23 American, 20 from elsewhereThe Observer200398 novels56%23%20%BBC Arts (2019): 55 British or Irish, 31 American, 14 from elsewhereBBC Arts2019100 novels55%31%14%Guardian 21st century (2019): 29 British or Irish, 14 American, 11 from elsewhere, 2 not knownGuardian 21st century201954 novels54%26%20%Modern Library (1998): 49 British or Irish, 50 American, 1 from elsewhereModern Library1998100 novels49%50%The Telegraph (2009): 42 British or Irish, 17 American, 34 from elsewhere, 5 not knownThe Telegraph200993 novels45%18%37%The Guardian (2026): 42 British or Irish, 28 American, 29 from elsewhere, 1 not knownThe Guardian202699 novels42%28%29%Guardian readers (2026): 40 British or Irish, 35 American, 25 from elsewhereGuardian readers2026100 novels40%35%25%Time (2005): 34 British or Irish, 62 American, 4 from elsewhereTime2005100 novels34%62%Bokklubben World Library (2002): 15 British or Irish, 11 American, 35 from elsewhere, 6 not knownBokklubben World Library200261 novels25%18%57%Great American Read (2018): 21 British or Irish, 62 American, 15 from elsewhere, 2 not knownGreat American Read201898 novels21%63%15%New York Times 21st century (2024): 13 British or Irish, 39 American, 12 from elsewhereNew York Times 21st century202464 novels20%61%19%Le Monde (1999): 12 British or Irish, 16 American, 43 from elsewhere, 1 not knownLe Monde199971 novels17%23%61%
Source: The Novel Index, from 15 lists: Guardian 2026, Guardian (McCrum) 2015, Observer 2003, BBC Arts 2019, Telegraph 2009, Time 2005, Modern Library 1998, Bokklubben World Library 2002, Le Monde 1999, Big Read 2003, Guardian readers 2026, Great American Read 2018, Amazon UK 2014, Guardian 21st century 2019, New York Times 21st century 2024.Download image (PNG)
The numbers behind the chart
ListBritish or IrishAmericanElsewhereNot known
100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, Amazon.co.uk (2014)54 (68%)16 (20%)9 (11%)0
The Big Read top 100, BBC (2003)67 (68%)20 (20%)12 (12%)1
The 100 best novels written in English, The Guardian / Observer (2015)63 (63%)34 (34%)3 (3%)0
The 100 greatest novels of all time, The Observer (2003)55 (56%)23 (23%)20 (20%)0
100 novels that shaped our world, BBC Arts (2019)55 (55%)31 (31%)14 (14%)0
The 100 best books of the 21st century, The Guardian (2019)29 (54%)14 (26%)11 (20%)2
100 Best Novels (board's list), Modern Library (1998)49 (49%)50 (50%)1 (1%)0
100 novels everyone should read, The Telegraph (2009)42 (45%)17 (18%)34 (37%)5
The 100 best novels of all time, The Guardian (2026)42 (42%)28 (28%)29 (29%)1
Readers' top 100 novels, The Guardian (2026)40 (40%)35 (35%)25 (25%)0
All-Time 100 Novels, Time (2005)34 (34%)62 (62%)4 (4%)0
Bokklubben World Library, Norwegian Book Clubs (2002)15 (25%)11 (18%)35 (57%)6
The Great American Read, PBS (2018)21 (21%)62 (63%)15 (15%)2
The 100 best books of the 21st century, The New York Times (2024)13 (20%)39 (61%)12 (19%)0
100 books of the century, Le Monde (1999)12 (17%)16 (23%)43 (61%)1

How we made this

Each novel counts under its author's nationality as recorded on Wikidata. An author with more than one nationality counts once: as British or Irish if either applies, then as American. We don't know the nationality for 18 of the novels, and they are left out of the percentages.

BBC Culture 2015 (British authors only) and the Big Jubilee Read 2022 (Commonwealth authors only) are left out, because their rules decide the answer. Some lists only take books written in English, which leaves less room for authors from elsewhere: Guardian (McCrum) 2015, BBC Arts 2019, Time 2005 and the Modern Library 1998.

How The Novel Index works

Lists used in this chart