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Popular One-Hit Wonder Novels

Some of the most beloved novels ever written marked the beginning and end of a literary career. Today we're rounding up the most popular of these one-hit wonders.
For this list, we defined a one-hit wonder as the only well-known novel published by an author (which means they could have gone on to publish short story collections, works of nonfiction, or poetry and still be included in this roundup). Then we narrowed it down to the books that have been added the most to Goodreads members' shelves.
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Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
1
Mary Shelley
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
2
J.D. Salinger
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Memoirs of a Geisha
3
Arthur Golden
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
4
Emily Brontë
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
5
Margaret Mitchell
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
Black Beauty
6
Anna Sewell
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
7
Ralph Ellison
The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
The Help
8
Kathryn Stockett
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
9
Sylvia Plath
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
10
Mary Ann Shaffer
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
A Confederacy of Dunces
11
John Kennedy Toole
Doctor Zhivago (Boris Pasternak)
Doctor Zhivago
12
Boris Pasternak
The Picture of Dorian Grey (Oscar Wilde)
The Picture of Dorian Grey
13
Oscar Wilde
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
14
Stephen Chbosky
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
15
Harper Lee
The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)
The Night Circus
16
Erin Morgenstern
All Quiet on the Western Front (German Title: Im Westen Nichts Neues) (Enrich Maria Remarque)
All Quiet on the Western Front (German Title: Im Westen Nichts Neues)
17
Enrich Maria Remarque
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Watership Down
18
Richard Adams
The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster)
The Phantom Tollbooth
19
Norton Juster
The Neverending Story (Michael Ende)
The Neverending Story
20
Michael Ende
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, Jr.)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
21
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
22
Edgar Allan Poe
Pedro Páramo (Juan Rulfo)
Pedro Páramo
23
Juan Rulfo
Battle Royale (Koushun Takami)
Battle Royale
24
Koushun Takami
The Monk (Matthew Lewis)
The Monk
25
Matthew Lewis
Fat City (Leonard Gardner)
Fat City
26
Leonard Gardner
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Flowers for Algernon
27
Daniel Keyes
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
The Outsiders
28
S.E. Hinton
The Leopard (Giuseppe Di Lampedusa)
The Leopard
29
Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
30
Joseph Heller
Solaris (Stanislaw Lem)
Solaris
31
Stanislaw Lem
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
32
Herman Melville
The Little Prince (Antoine De Saint-Exupéry)
The Little Prince
33
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
Angela's Ashes
34
Frank McCourt
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
35
Susanna Clarke
The Library at Mount Char (Scott Hawkins)
The Library at Mount Char
36
Scott Hawkins
The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle)
The Last Unicorn
37
Peter S. Beagle
Geek Love (Katherine Dunn)
Geek Love
38
Katherine Dunn
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
39
Murasaki Shikibu
Nightwood (Djuna Barnes)
Nightwood
40
Djuna Barnes
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