TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 3, 1957

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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2
COMPULSION
Meyer Levin
Cover of COMPULSION

COMPULSION

by Meyer Levin · Simon & Schuster

16 wks on list

Ambassador Theatre, Michael Myerberg presents "Compulsion," dramatization by (producer's version) Meyer Levin, production staged by Alex Segal, with Roddy McDowall, Dean Stockwell, Howard Da Silva, Michael Constantine, settings by Peter Larkin, costumes by John Boxer, lighting by Charles Elson, co-producer Len S. Gruenberg

5
2
THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS
Rebecca West
Cover of THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS

THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS

by Rebecca West · Viking Press

11 wks on list

The lives of the talented Aubrey children have long been clouded by their father's genius for instability, but his new job in the London suburbs promises, for a time at least, reprieve from scandal and the threat of ruin. Mrs. Aubrey, a former concert pianist, struggles to keep the family afloat, but then she is something of a high-strung eccentric herself, as is all too clear to her daughter Rose, through whose loving but sometimes cruel eyes events are seen. Still, living on the edge holds the promise of the unexpected, and the Aubreys, who encounter furious poltergeists, turn up hidden masterpieces, and come to the aid of a murderess, will find that they have adventure to spare. In The Fountain Overflows... Rebecca West transmuted her own volatile childhood into enduring art. This is an unvarnished but affectionate picture of an extraordinary family, in which a remarkable stylist and powerful intelligence surveys the elusive boundaries of childhood and adulthood, freedom and dependency, the ordinary and the occult. --Amazon.com.

7
1
THE TRIBE THAT LOST ITS HEAD
Nicholas Monsarrat
Cover of THE TRIBE THAT LOST ITS HEAD

THE TRIBE THAT LOST ITS HEAD

by Nicholas Monsarrat · William Sloane Associates

17 wks on list

Five hundred miles off southwest Africa lies the island of Pharamaul. In dense jungle live the notorious Maula tribe, kept under surveillance by a solitary District Officer and his young wife. When Chief-designate, Dinamaula, returns England with a spirited desire to speed the development of his people, political crisis erupts.

8
4
THE LAST ANGRY MAN
Gerald Green
Cover of THE LAST ANGRY MAN

THE LAST ANGRY MAN

by Gerald Green · Charles Scribner's Sons

2 wks on list

A doctor, living in the Brooklyn slums, conducts a one-man campaign against hoodlums.

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1
STOPOVER: TOKYO
John P. Marquand
Cover of STOPOVER: TOKYO

STOPOVER: TOKYO

by John P. Marquand · Little, Brown and Co

4 wks on list

"A suspense story of today's cloak and dagger boys, as Jack Rhyce is sent out to Tokyo to explore the sources of the unrest reported by the local agent as sparked by a mystery man, "Big Ben". Jack finds himself paired with a girl, Ruth Bogard, with whom he reluctantly falls in love. This complicates their mission and a number of missteps result, as they stop off in Hawaii, think they have identified "Big Ben" as an airline employee who whistles tunes from The Red Mill and knows far too much about their doings. Once in Tokyo they find their goal blocked by the Japanese secret service, with our old friend Mr. Moto in control."--Goodreads

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1
TOWER IN THE WEST
Frank Norris

TOWER IN THE WEST

by Frank Norris · Harper and Brothers

6 wks on list

Story of an American architect who builds a skyscraper in St. Louis.

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