The most popular books of the last one hundred years

Brutally honest and wickedly funny, This is Going to Hurt pulls back the curtain on life as a junior doctor in the NHS. A former doctor, Adam Kay chronicles his experiences in a world few get to see. Through night shifts, missed holidays, and surprising patient encounters, he gives readers an unfiltered look at the sacrifices, humanity, and humour that define the medical profession. But Kay’s memoir doesn’t just entertain – it also illuminates the fierce dedication and personal cost behind every medical professional.

In A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara crafts an unforgettable portrait of friendship and survival, following four college friends as they navigate the joys and hardships of life. Beneath their successful exteriors lies a web of secrets, particularly around Jude, a brilliant lawyer with a traumatic past. As the years unfold, the group’s loyalty is tested by love, pain, and the lingering shadows of Jude's history. Haunting and deeply moving, this novel confronts the boundaries of love and endurance with unflinching honesty.

Born into vastly different worlds, William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski share an unbreakable, lifelong rivalry. William, a wealthy Boston banker, is heir to a powerful dynasty; Abel, a determined Polish immigrant, survives unimaginable hardship to build his own empire. Driven by ambition and hardened by loss, these two men are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want and when their paths cross, there are always explosive repercussions. Epic, suspenseful, and filled with richly drawn characters, this is a novel of fate, loyalty, and the relentless pursuit of success.

When a great white shark makes its claim on the quiet shores of Amity Island, the peaceful beach town is plunged into terror. Police Chief Martin Brody, determined to protect his community, teams up with a grizzled shark hunter and a brilliant marine biologist to stop the deadly predator. Their hunt becomes a relentless, high-stakes battle of survival as they face a creature as cunning as it is powerful. The Stephen Spielberg-directed adaptation of this thriller is one of the most influential and critically acclaimed films in cinematic history, often credited as the first ‘Summer Blockbuster’.

Bridget Jones is thirty-something, single, and determined to get her life together. Candid diary entries follow Bridget’s attempts to navigate London life, from disastrous dating escapades to awkward office encounters, supported along the way by her chaotic yet loveable group of friends. A witty, heartwarming look at the highs and lows of adulting, Helen Fielding’s beloved heroine reminds us that sometimes, life’s messiest moments lead to the best outcomes. Just as adored as the original novel is the 2001 adaptation starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

We might be cheating here, as Pride and Prejudice was certainly published more than 100 years ago, but this beloved romance is reissued over and over again, just as it is constantly being readapted for the big screen. We just can’t get enough of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy! In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen invites readers into the world of Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and fiercely independent young woman navigating love and societal expectations in Regency-era England. When she meets the enigmatic Mr Darcy, sparks fly in all the wrong ways, leading to a battle of wits and an undeniable attraction that neither wants to admit. 

In a dystopian world of relentless surveillance and oppressive control, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four immerses readers in the wretched life of Winston Smith. Here, the Party watches everyone’s moves, erases inconvenient truths, and crushes any hint of dissent. Winston’s work erasing facts to fit the Party’s shifting narratives leaves him painfully aware of his powerlessness. But a dangerous hope stirs when he begins to question the Party’s authority – and dares to seek love and freedom in the face of unimaginable risk. 

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway unfolds over a single day in post-World War I London, capturing the inner lives of Clarissa Dalloway and those around her with breathtaking intimacy. As Clarissa prepares for a party that evening, memories and desires surface. Her seemingly perfect life conceals a deeper longing and regret, both of love and of missed opportunities. Nearby, a young war veteran, Septimus Warren Smith, battles invisible wounds, haunted by trauma and struggling to find meaning in a fractured world. Despite its relatively short length, Woolf still manages to craft a rich, poignant portrait of life’s fragility and beauty that will stay with you long after the last page. 

One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World, A House for Mr Biswas tells the moving, often darkly comic story, of Mohun Biswas, a man desperate to break free from a life of poverty and claim a place of his own in the world. Born into hardship in colonial Trinidad, Mr Biswas is haunted by a series of misfortunes and an overbearing extended family, yet he clings to his dream of independence and his pursuit of a home. With wit and insight, V. S. Naipaul crafts a moving exploration of resilience in one man’s quest for identity and dignity. 

Patrick Bateman is anything but what he seems. By day, he’s a wealthy, charming investment banker; by night, he descends into violent fantasies, slipping further into the depths of his fractured psyche. Navigating a world obsessed with appearances and material excess, Bateman is a chilling figure who reflects the darkest sides of ambition and alienation. This brutal satire exposes the emptiness lurking in a culture fixated on wealth and status, confronting readers with a protagonist who is both charismatic and deeply unsettling.

When Arthur Dent discovers his house – and planet – are both about to be demolished, his ordinary life takes an extraordinary turn. Whisked into space by his friend Ford Prefect, who just happens to be an alien, Arthur embarks on an intergalactic adventure armed with only a towel and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. As they navigate a bizarre universe filled with depressed robots, eccentric presidents, and the answer to life’s biggest question, Arthur learns that the cosmos operates on a logic all its own. 

When the devil himself arrives in Soviet Moscow, the city descends into surreal chaos. At the heart of The Master and Margarita lies a passionate love story between a persecuted writer, known as the Master, and his devoted Margarita, who is willing to make a deal with the devil to save him. With dark humour and biting satire, Bulgakov creates a world where love, art, and defiance transcend even the most terrifying forces.