Modern Library's 100 Best Novels is a 1998 list of the best English-language novels published during the 20th century, as selected by

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...

from among 400 novels published by Random House, which owns Modern Library.Jessica Woodbury
"Back Away From that 100 Best Novels List"
''

Book Riot A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

'', August 23, 2017. The purpose of the list was to "bring the Modern Library to public attention" and stimulate sales of its books.Paul Lewis
"'Ulysses' at Top As Panel Picks 100 Best Novels"
'' The New York Times'', July 20, 1998. A separate

Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction The Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction was created in 1998 by the Modern Library. The list is what it considers to be the 100 best non-fiction books published since 1900. The list included memoirs, textbooks, polemics, and collections of essays. A ...

list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the 20th century was created the same year.

Editors' list

During early 1998, the Modern Library polled its editorial board to find their opinions of the best 100 novels. The board of review consisted of

Daniel J. Boorstin Daniel Joseph Boorstin (October 1, 1914 – February 28, 2004) was an American historian at the University of Chicago who wrote on many topics in American and world history. He was appointed the twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress in ...

A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy ( Drabble; born 24 August 1936), known professionally by her former marriage name as A. S. Byatt ( ), is an English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer. Her books have been widely translated, into more than t ...

, Christopher Cerf, Shelby Foote,

Vartan Gregorian Vartan Gregorian; fa, وارتان گرگوریان (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. An Armenian born in Ira ...

, Edmund Morris, John Richardson, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., William Styron and Gore Vidal. All but Gregorian were published by Random House or an affiliate. ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' by James Joyce topped the list, followed by F. Scott Fitzgerald's '' The Great Gatsby'' and Joyce's '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man''. The most recent novel in the list is William Kennedy's '' Ironweed'', published in 1983; the oldest is ''

The Way of All Flesh ''The Way of All Flesh'' (sometimes called ''Ernest Pontifex, or the Way of All Flesh'') is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it traces four generations of the ...

'' by Samuel Butler, which was written between 1873 and 1884, but not published until 1902.

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

's ''

Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...

'' was technically first published as a three-part serial in 1899; however, it was not published as a novel in a single volume until 1902, making it eligible for the list. Conrad has four novels on the list, the most of any author. William Faulkner, E. M. Forster, Henry James, James Joyce,

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, and Evelyn Waugh each have three novels. There are ten other authors with two novels. The following table shows the top ten novels from the editors' list:100 Best Novels
Modern Library

Notes

References

External links

The Modern Library list
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{{Books 20th-century novels Lists of novels Top book lists American fiction awards Awards established in 1998 1998 establishments in the United States

Editors' list

See also

Notes

References

External links