TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of January 3, 1954

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
5
THE LADY OF ARLINGTON
Harnett T. Kane

THE LADY OF ARLINGTON

by Harnett T. Kane · Doubleday

12 wks on list

A biography of the wife of General Robert E. Lee who lived near Washington, D.C., and was considered one of the best hostesses of her day.

7
1
THE FEMALE
Paul Wellman
Cover of THE FEMALE

THE FEMALE

by Paul Wellman · Doubleday

12 wks on list

Novel of 6th-century Constantinople, with the Empress Theodora as the scheming heroine.

11
5
DESIREE
Annemarie Selinko

DESIREE

by Annemarie Selinko · William Morrow and Company

49 wks 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.

13
NEW
THE SILVER CHALICE
Thomas B. Costain
Cover of THE SILVER CHALICE

THE SILVER CHALICE

by Thomas B. Costain · Doubleday and Company, Inc

65 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.

15
1
A PASSAGE IN THE NIGHT
Sholem Asch
Cover of A PASSAGE IN THE NIGHT

A PASSAGE IN THE NIGHT

by Sholem Asch · G.P. Putnam's Sons

5 wks on list

Set in 20th-century New York, the story of a man in conflict with his conscience.

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