We started at 1918, bringing you the bestselling books of the last one hundred years. We’re moving along now, covering each year at a time and today we’re into a new decade as we look at the top ten bestselling books of 1940.
1940 was dominated by World War II. Food rationing began in the UK, the Soviet Union stepped into the war, Mussolini met with Hitler, and Germany invaded many countries including Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, while Italy invaded Greece. It’s surprising there was time or peace for writing fiction.
So here they are, the ten top selling books of 1940 as war gripped the world. We’ve also included some well known books that didn’t make the list.
Oliver Wiswell – Kenneth Roberts
1940 also saw the release of Carson McCuller’s, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and Native Son by Richard Wright
We’ll continue this series right through to 2018, keep an eye out for 1941, coming soon!
If you’d like to see all the lists so far, try this search
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