TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 23, 1953

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
1
DESIREE
Annemarie Selinko

DESIREE

by Annemarie Selinko · William Morrow and Company

32 wks at #1 · 30 on list

Eugénie Désirée Clary records two love affairs in her diary, one with Napoleon, who jilted her for Josephine, and a second with General Bernadotte, who married her.

6
1
THE DARK ANGEL
Mika Waltari

THE DARK ANGEL

by Mika Waltari · Putnam

10 wks on list

Historical novel about Constantinople at the time of its fall, in 1452-1453.

8
1
THE SILVER CHALICE
Thomas B. Costain
Cover of THE SILVER CHALICE

THE SILVER CHALICE

by Thomas B. Costain · Doubleday and Company, Inc

56 wks on list

"This novel [is] based on legends of the years following Christ's crucifixion. [It] describes the life of Basil, the artisan who fashioned the silver chalice, a frame meant to hold the ... cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper"--Fiction catalog.

9
1
KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE
Rumer Godden
Cover of KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE

KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE

by Rumer Godden · Viking Press

11 wks on list

Roman om en ung engelsk enke, hvis livsmod og udholdenhed bærer hende frelst igennem genvordigheder i et afsides indisk bjerglandskab i Kashmir

14
NEW
THE CAINE MUTINY
Herman Wouk
Cover of THE CAINE MUTINY

THE CAINE MUTINY

by Herman Wouk · Doubleday

122 wks on list

Each decade new readers discover the characters and curious activities aboard the U.S.S. "Caine in this classic tale of pathos, humor, and scope.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.