The Big Read
In 2003, the BBC launched The Big Read, a year-long survey asking the British public to vote for their best-loved novel. Over 700,000 votes arrived. The BBC described the campaign as the biggest single test of public reading taste the country had seen. Before the results were announced, the survey had already divided opinion on whether mass voting was the right way to engage with literature.
William Shakespeare's plays were excluded from the start. The survey was restricted to novels, and no plays qualified under that definition. Viewers could cast their votes by web, SMS, or telephone. The BBC first invited the public to nominate any novel they wished, with no restrictions on what could be entered. From those nominations, a longlist of 200 titles was compiled. The 21 highest-placed novels then advanced to a final vote. The condition was strict: only one book per author could appear in that shortlist.
The survey attracted criticism from commentators who accused the BBC of adopting a sensationalist approach to literature. Supporters took the opposite view, arguing that the programme raised public awareness of reading and brought books to a wider audience. The campaign culminated in a series of television programmes in which celebrity advocates championed the novels they personally loved. When the final shortlist of 21 was announced, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was among them. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire appeared there as well.
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings placed first in the final vote. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice came second, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials third. Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy took fourth, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire fifth. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird placed sixth, A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh seventh, and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four eighth. C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came ninth, and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre tenth.
In the first round of voting, all four Harry Potter novels then in print had ranked among the top 25. Both of Tolkien's Middle-earth novels also appeared in that early group. By the final shortlist, Rowling was represented solely by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Tolkien only by The Lord of the Rings. Their other titles were assigned positions 22 through 25, just outside the final cut. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights placed twelfth, and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca fourteenth. Below those top places, fifteen of the full 200 entries belonged to a single author.
Goosebumps by R. L. Stine and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle both made the survey's final ranking. So did Ulysses by James Joyce and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory placed thirty-fifth, while Goosebumps appeared toward the foot of the same ranking.
Australia held a survey called My Favourite Book. Germany ran Das grosse Lesen, and Hungary mounted A Nagy Konyv, which translates as The Big Book. Bulgaria and Latvia each staged their own contests under names that translate as The Big Read. The Great American Read, staged in the United States, applied the same format to a different electorate.
Common questions
What was the BBC Big Read and when did it take place?
The Big Read was a year-long BBC survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2003, inviting the public to vote for the nation's best-loved novel. Over 700,000 votes were received, and the BBC described it as the biggest single test of public reading taste the country had seen.
Which novel won the BBC Big Read in 2003?
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings won the BBC Big Read, placing first in the final vote. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice came second, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials placed third.
How did voting work in the BBC Big Read?
Viewers could cast votes in the BBC Big Read by web, SMS, or telephone. The public first nominated any novel they wished, producing a longlist of 200 titles. The 21 highest-placed novels then advanced to a final vote, with only one book permitted per author in the shortlist.
Which author had the most books in the BBC Big Read top 200?
Terry Pratchett placed fifteen novels in the BBC Big Read top 200, more than any other author. Jacqueline Wilson came second with fourteen entries, followed by Roald Dahl with nine.
Why were Shakespeare's plays excluded from the BBC Big Read?
The BBC Big Read was restricted to novels, so William Shakespeare's plays did not qualify. The survey's rules excluded all non-novel formats from the outset.
Did other countries run their own version of the BBC Big Read?
Several countries staged their own equivalents of the BBC Big Read. Australia held My Favourite Book, Germany ran Das grosse Lesen, Hungary mounted A Nagy Konyv (The Big Book), Bulgaria and Latvia each staged their own versions, and the United States held The Great American Read.
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