Ephemeral fame

MT Kahn at Kahn's Corner has undertaken to read and review the 94 bestellers of the past 100 years based on Publisher's Weekly bestseller list.

Interesting exercise. As I have frequently commented, durability of books is not a function (only) of being popular. There are many passing fads and most bestsellers end up long forgotten in relatively short spans of time. This list is a reminder of that truism. My nomination for the three requirements of a novel to have any likely durability are 1) good in literary terms), 2) pertinent, and 3) popular.

Here's the list, make of it what you will.

1913: The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill (not the Churchill you are thinking of)
1914: The Eyes of the World by Harold Bell Wright
1915: The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington
1916: Seventeen by Booth Tarkington
1917: Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells
1918: The U. P. Trail by Zane Grey
1919: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
1920: The Man of the Forest by Zane Grey
1921: Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
1922: If Winter Comes by A.S.M. Hutchinson
1923: Black Oxen by Gertrude Atherton
1924: So Big by Edna Ferber
1925: Soundings by A. Hamilton Gibbs
1926: The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine
1927: Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis
1928: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
1929: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
1930: Cimarron by Edna Ferber
1931: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
1932: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck *
1933: Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen
1934: Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen*
1935: Green Light by Lloyd C. Douglas
1936: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1937: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell*
1938: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1939: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1940: How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
1941: The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin
1942: The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel
1943: The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
1944: Strange Fruit by Lillian Smith
1945: Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
1946: The King's General by Daphne du Maurier
1947: The Miracle of the Bells by Russell Janney
1948: The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas
1949: The Egyptian by Mika Waltari
1950: The Cardinal by Henry Morton Robinson
1951: From Here to Eternity by James Jones
1952: The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain
1953: The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas*
1954: Not as a Stranger by Morton Thompson
1955: Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
1956: Don't Go Near the Water by William Brinkley
1957: By Love Possessed by James Gould Cozzens
1958: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
1959: Exodus by Leon Uris
1960: Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
1961: The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
1962: Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter
1963: The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris L. West
1964: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
1965: The Source by James A. Michener
1966: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
1967: The Arrangement by Elia Kazan
1968: Airport by Arthur Hailey
1969: Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
1970: Love Story by Erich Segal
1971: Wheels by Arthur Hailey
1972: Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
1973: Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach*
1974: Centennial by James A. Michener
1975: Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow
1976: Trinity by Leon Uris
1977: The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
1978: Chesapeake by James A. Michener
1979: The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum
1980: The Covenant by James A. Michener
1981: Noble House by James Clavell
1982: E.T., The Extraterrestrial by William Kotzwinkle
1983: Return of the Jedi by James Kahn
1984: The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
1985: The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
1986: It by Stephen King
1987: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
1988: The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy
1989: Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy
1990: The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel
1991: Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley
1992: Dolores Clairborne by Stephen King
1993: The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
1994: The Chamber by John Grisham
1995: The Rainmaker by John Grisham
1996: The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
1997: The Partner by John Grisham
1998: The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
1999: The Testament by John Grisham
2000: The Brethren by John Grisham
2001: Desecration by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
2002: The Summons by John Grisham
2003: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown**
2004: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown*
2005: The Broker by John Grisham
2006: For One More Day by Mitch Albom
2007: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini**
2008: The Appeal by John Grisham
2009: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2010: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson
2011: The Litigators by John Grisham
2012: Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James