Top 10 best books according to the BBC version of 200 works

In 2003, the BBC polled 1 million people to compile The Big Read 200 list. The BBC is the British Broadcasting Corporation, which has been engaged in radio, Internet and television broadcasting since 1922. This study began in the UK to find the nation’s favorite novel.

The principle was as follows: first, the British public voted for any novel, and from all the answers they compiled a list of the 200 best books. Then the books that got into the first 21 lines were nominated for further voting (the only condition is that only one book by the author could get into the top 21).

The closer to the top lines of the list, the more readers’ sympathy won the book. Therefore, in the article we will consider the top 10 best books according to the BBC version of the 200.

10 Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

Novel “Jane Eyre” was published in 1847 and became one of the most famous works of Charlotte Brontë. The plot of the novel is the story of the life and love of Jane Eyre. The story begins from childhood, little Jane lives with her aunt, but after a while she is sent to a boarding school. There, Jane copes with difficulties and receives a good education.

At the age of 18, she is already a teacher herself and submits an advertisement for a job in a newspaper. She is hired at the Rochester family castle. Her love story begins in that castle, the story of a feeling that can overcome any obstacles. This is a touching work about the growing up of a girl, from which it is impossible to break away.

9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Clive Staples Lewis

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, published in 1950. The plot develops around four children – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who were sent from London away from the Second World War to an old professor who lives almost alone in an old house.

There, the children find the entrance to a magical land inhabited by mystical creatures. The inhabitants of this country have been living under the rule of an evil sorceress for a long time. But, according to the prophecy, she will be overthrown thanks to these children.

Betrayal, chases and fights, the search for the Lord of the Forest and the battle with the sorceress – that’s what awaits readers on the pages of this book.

8. 1984, George Orwell

«1984is a dystopian novel published in 1949. The main character is Winston Smith, who lives in a new superpower and obeys the ideology of the Party. He does not fully agree with the existing regime.

One day, Winston Smith finds out that his colleague Julia is watching him. It could have been a spy for the Party, but it turned out that Julia had long been in love with Winston. Their love cannot be long and happy because it is forbidden.

They join the Brotherhood, and after a while they are arrested. The hero is tortured in various ways to force him to renounce his ideas, thoughts and love. Whether he will be “cured” of revolutionary moods becomes clear only at the very end of the work.

7. Winnie the Pooh, Alan Alexander Milne

Winnie the Pooh – a teddy bear, a toy and a famous character of the 1926 work of the same name. The book consists of ten stories with their own plots that are not connected to each other.

The author took the characters from the toys of Christopher Robin. Interestingly, they appear in the stories in the same order as they appear in the boy’s life. The action takes place in three “worlds”: the world of toys in the children’s room, the world of animals in the Hundred Acre Wood, and the world of characters in the stories of father to son. This book is thoroughly saturated with love, care and real childhood.

6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”Writer Harper Lee published in 1960. The plot is based on the author’s observations of the events that took place in her hometown when she was only 10 years old, so the story comes from the perspective of a little girl.

Her name is Jean Louise Finch, and she is the youngest child in the family of a lawyer who undertook to defend a black man wrongfully accused of rape. The lawyer does not deviate from his principles even when the first trial is lost. Alas, the accused escapes and is killed. However, the father of the “victim” is unhappy and decides to take revenge.

Despite the fact that the book touches on serious topics, it does not become gloomy, but teaches tolerance, kindness and objectivity.

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling

«Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fireis the fourth book in the Harry Potter series, published in 2000. The main character is again the Boy Who Lived. This time he was not lucky enough to be on the list of participants in the Triwizard Tournament, where all his opponents are older and more experienced than him. He will not only have to risk his life again, fight and survive, but also find out how and why he ended up among the participants.

Like every book in the series, the novel is full of mystery, magic and adventure. But it differs from others in that, along with Harry growing up, the world of magic and sorcery unfolds wider and more voluminously before the reader’s eyes.

4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

«The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“- a novel in the genre of comedy and science fiction, which was released to the court of readers in 1979 and they immediately liked it. The novel begins with the protagonist Arthur Dent lying down in front of a bulldozer to stop the demolition of his own house.

But, as it turned out, not only his house can be demolished, as the alien race of Vogons is already ready to destroy the Earth just to build a hyperspace road. Reading this book is like being a member of a closed club, which you have known about for a long time, but where you could not get into.

3. Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

«Dark beginnings” is a fantasy trilogy consisting of the novels “Northern Lights”, “Wonderful Knife” and “Amber Telescope”, published in 1995. Events are developing in a world where every person has a demon – a part of the soul embodied in an animal.

The main character, Lyra Belacqua, is an orphan girl who has many adventures and trials. She is destined by fate to cope with great evil, to go between worlds, among friends and enemies. Her path is the path of the Northern Lights, leading to a great destination.

2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Novel “Pride and Prejudicewas published in 1813. In her novel, Jane Austen tells the story of the impoverished noble Bennet family. She faces a difficult task – to marry as many as five daughters. The situation in England at that time especially worsens the situation, since it is almost impossible for a girl from a poor family to marry successfully.

However, among the sisters there is a girl named Elizabeth, who has different views on marriage and family happiness.

The work tells about the events taking place with the Bennet family and Elizabeth, and teaches readers not to be afraid to show their true feelings.

1. The Lord of the Rings, John R.R. Tolkien

«Lord of the Rings“- an epic fantasy novel that was released in 1954-1955. The plot of the trilogy is connected with the story “The Hobbit” and in its own way continues the story.

Events take place in the fairy-tale world of Middle-earth, which is inhabited by people, hobbits, orcs, elves, gnomes and many other mythological creatures.

For more than one thousand years, the Great War for the Ring has been waged, which grants unlimited power to serve Evil. The young hobbit Frodo and his friends have to destroy him. Will they be able to resist Sauron, go through the whole of Mordor, get to the Mount of Doom and there, in hellish hell, destroy the Ring? Only the pages of the book know the answer.