This is a list of books that topped
''The New York Times'' best-seller list in 1942.
Though the bestseller list first began in 1931, it only became a national survey on August 9, 1942; previously the list only reflected sales from the
New York metropolitan area.
Fiction
The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books.
The two most popular books that year were ''
The Song of Bernadette'', by
Franz Werfel
Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...
, which made the list for fifteen weeks; and ''
The Robe'', by
Lloyd Douglas
Lloyd Cassel Douglas (August 27, 1877 – February 13, 1951) was an American minister and author.
Douglas was one of the most popular American authors of his time, although he did not write his first novel until he was 50.
Biography
He was ...
, which would dominate the list for the final six weeks of 1942 and most of 1943.
[ Bear, John (1992). ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: Intriguing Facts About the 484 Books That Have Been #1 New York Times Bestsellers Since the First List, 50 Years Ago''. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. pp. 3-5.]
Nonfiction
The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books.
See also
*
''Publishers Weekly'' list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1940s
References
{{NYT number-one books
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
.
New York Times number-one books
New York Times number-one books
New York Times number-one books