In 2003, the Air Force interviewed 1 million people to compile a List of 200 Best Novels (The Big Read). The Air Force is the British Broadcasting Corporation, which has been involved in radio, Internet, and television broadcasting since 1922. This study began in the UK to find the nation’s favorite novel.
The principle was as follows: at first the British public voted for any novel, and from all the answers they made a list of 200 best books. Then the books that got to the first 21 lines were put forward for further voting (the only condition is that only one author’s book could get into the top 21).
The closer to the top of the list, the more readers won the book. Therefore, in the article we will consider the top 10 best books according to the Air Force version of 200.
List
- 10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- 9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Clive Staples Lewis
- 8.1984, George Orwell
- 7. Winnie the Pooh, Alan Alexander Milne
- 6. Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
- 5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Joan Rowling
- 4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
- 3. Dark beginnings, Philip Pulman
- 2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
- 1. The Lord of the Rings, John R.R. Tolkien
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The novel "Jane Eyre”Was published in 1847 and became one of the most famous works of Charlotte Bronte. The plot of the novel is the story of life and love by Jane Eyre. The story begins from childhood, little Jane lives with her aunt, but after a while she is sent to a boarding school. There, Jane copes with difficulties and receives a good education.
At 18, she herself is a teacher and is applying for a job in the newspaper. She is taken to work in the Rochester family castle. In that castle begins her love story, the story of feelings that can overcome any obstacles. This is a touching piece about the girl growing up, from which it is impossible to break away.
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Clive Staples Lewis
“Lion, witch and wardrobe”- the first book of the series“ The Chronicles of Narnia ”, published in 1950. The plot develops around four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who were sent from London away from World War II to an old professor who lives almost alone in an old house.
There, children find the entrance to a magical land inhabited by mystical creatures. The inhabitants of this country have long lived under the rule of an evil sorceress. But, according to the prophecy, she will be overthrown thanks to these children.
Betrayal, chases and fights, the search for the Lord of the Forest and the battle with the witch - this is what awaits readers in the pages of this book.
8.1984, George Orwell
«1984"- a dystopian novel published in 1949. The main character is Winston Smith, who lives in a new superpower and submits to the ideology of the Party. He does not fully agree with the existing regime.
One day Winston Smith finds out that his colleague Julia is watching him. It could have been a Party spy, but it turned out that Julia had long been in love with Winston. Their love cannot be long and happy, because it is forbidden.
They join the Brotherhood, and after a while they are arrested. The hero is tortured in many ways to make him renounce his ideas, thoughts and love. Whether he will be “cured” of revolutionary sentiments becomes clear only at the very end of the work.
7. Winnie the Pooh, Alan Alexander Milne
Winnie the Pooh - a teddy bear, a toy and a famous character of the same name work of 1926. The book consists of ten stories with their own stories that are not related to each other.
The author took characters from the toys of Christopher Robin. Interestingly, they appear in the stories in the same order as in the life of a boy. The action takes place in three “worlds”: the world of toys in the children's room, the world of animals in the Stochrovaya Forest and the world of characters in the stories of the father to his son. This book is thoroughly saturated with love, care and a real childhood.
6. Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"Writer Harper Lee published in 1960. The plot is based on the author's observations of the events that occurred in her hometown when she was only 10 years old, so the story is narrated on behalf of a little girl.
Her name is Gene Louise Finch, and she is the youngest child in the family of a lawyer who undertook to defend a black man unfairly accused of rape. The lawyer does not depart from his principles even when the first trial is lost. Alas, the accused escapes and is killed. However, the father of the “victim” is unhappy and decides to take revenge.
Despite the fact that the book touches on serious topics, it does not become gloomy, but teaches tolerance, kindness and objectivity.
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Joan Rowling
«Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"- the fourth book in a series of books about Harry Potter, published in 2000. The main character is again the Boy Who Lived. This time he was not lucky to be on the list of participants in the Three Wizards Tournament, where all his rivals are older and more experienced than him.
He will not only have to risk his life again, fight and survive, but also find out how and why he was among the participants.
Like every book in this series, the novel is full of secrets, magic and adventure. But it differs from others in that, with the growing up of Harry, the world of magic and wizardry unfolds before the eyes of the reader more and more extensively.
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
«The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"- a novel in the genre of comedy and science fiction, which went to the court of readers in 1979 and immediately liked it. The novel begins with the main character Arthur Dent lying in front of a bulldozer to stop the demolition of his own house.
But, as it turned out, not only his house can be demolished, since the alien race of the Wogons is ready to destroy the Earth only in order to pave the hyperspace road. To read this book is how to be a member of a closed club that I knew about for a long time, but where I could not get into.
3. Dark beginnings, Philip Pulman
«Dark beginnings"- a fantastic trilogy consisting of the novels" Northern Lights "," Wonderful Knife "and" Amber Telescope ", published in 1995. Events develop in a world where every person has a demon - a part of the soul embodied in an animal.
The main character, Lira Belakva, is an orphan girl who has many adventures and trials. She is destined to cope with great evil, to pass between worlds, among friends and enemies. Her path is the Northern Lights road leading to a great destination.
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
The novel "Pride and Prejudice"Was published in 1813. In her novel, Jane Austen talks about the impoverished noble family of Bennett. She faces a difficult task - to marry as many as five daughters. Particularly worsen the situation in England at that time, as a girl from a poor family is almost impossible to successfully marry.
However, among the sisters there is a girl named Elizabeth, who has different views on marriage and family happiness.
The work tells about the events taking place with the Bennet and Elizabeth family, and teaches readers not to be afraid to show their true feelings.
1. Tolkien
«Lord of the Rings"- a fantasy epic novel that saw the light in 1954-1955. The plot of the trilogy is connected with the story “The Hobbit” and continues to narrate in a way.
Events take place in the fabulous world of Middle-earth, which is inhabited by people, hobbits, orcs, elves, gnomes and many other mythological creatures.
For more than a thousand years, the Great War for the Ring has been waged, which grants unlimited power to serve the Evil. The young hobbit Frodo and his friends have to destroy him. Will they be able to confront Sauron, go through the entire Mordor, get to the Mountain of Fate and there, in hellish hell, destroy the Ring? Only the pages of the book know the answer.