TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of May 16, 1982

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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CELEBRITY
Thomas Thompson
Cover of CELEBRITY
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THE ONE TREE
Stephen R. Donaldson
Cover of THE ONE TREE

THE ONE TREE

by Stephen R. Donaldson · Ballantine/Del Rey

3 wks on list

Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery begin their search for the One Tree that is to be the salvation of the Land. Only he could find the answer and forge a new Staff of Law--but fate decreed that the journey was to be long, the quest arduous, and quite possibly a failure.... Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

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THY BROTHER'S WIFE
Andrew M. Greeley
Cover of THY BROTHER'S WIFE

THY BROTHER'S WIFE

by Andrew M. Greeley · Warner/Geis

5 wks on list

The direction of Paul and Sean Cronin's lives was shaped the day their father, a self-made multimillionaire, decided that one of his boys would grow up to be a cardinal while the other would become president of the United States. For his elder son, Paul, the father had even chosen a wife—the beautiful Nora, who had come to the Cronin home as an orphan child years before. Obediently, and with a genuine vocation, the younger son, Sean, went into the priesthood. With a more cynical view, Paul went to Notre Dame to prepare for a life in politics until the Korean War intervened. Then came the news—Paul Cronin was missing in action. "If he dies," Sean's father told him, "you must leave the seminary and marry Nora." The words sang in Sean's head. Could he renounce his sacred calling—and marry the girl he had always loved? Long out of print, Thy Brother's Wife is a classic tale by one of America's most loved storytellers. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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SPRING MOON
Bette Bao Lord
Cover of SPRING MOON

SPRING MOON

by Bette Bao Lord · Harper & Row

25 wks on list

At a time of mystery and cruelty ... in an ancient land of breathtaking beauty and exotic surprise ... a courageous woman triumphs over her world's ultimate tragedy. Behind the garden walls of the House of Chang, pampered daughter Spring Moon is born into luxury and privilege. But the tempests of change sweep her into a new world -- one of hardship, turmoil, and heartbreak, one that threatens to destroy her husband, her family, and her darkest secret love. Through a tumultuous lifetime, Spring Moon must cling to her honor, to the memory of a time gone by, and to a destiny, foretold at her birth, that has yet to be fulfilled.

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A MOTHER AND TWO DAUGHTERS
Gail Godwin

A MOTHER AND TWO DAUGHTERS

by Gail Godwin · Viking Press

12 wks on list

"A big, entertaining novel...Rich in character and place and humanity...Gail Godwin is a wonderful writer." THE BOSTON GLOBE At the death of Leonard Strickland, beloved Southern gentleman, husband and father, his family is faced with the unknown. Nell always relied on the husband of her youth for security and friendship. Fiercely independent Cate and perfect Lydia have spent their lives vying for the love and approval their father generously gave. And as each woman begins to view her life, her past, and the possibilities of the future with new eyes, each belatedly discovers that life and death are impossible to plan, and that the past that has kept them apart can bring them closer to themselves and one another....

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A GREEN DESIRE
Anton Myrer
Cover of A GREEN DESIRE
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SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
Rita Mae Brown
Cover of SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

by Rita Mae Brown · Harper & Row

Only Rita Mae Brown, author of Rubyfruit Jungle, could have written a novel as passionately delightful as Southern Discomfort. Here is a witty, warm and pentrating tale of two decades in Montgomery Alabama—a world where all is not what it seems. Meet Hortensia Reedmuller Banastre, a beautiful woman entrenched on old money, white magnolia and a loveless marriage—until she meets an utterly gorgeous young prizefighter. Amid such memorable characters as Banana Mae Parker and Blue Rhonda Latrec (two first-class whores) and Reverend Linton Ray (who wears his clerical collar too tightly for anyone's good), Hortensia struggles to survive the hurricane of emotions caused by her scandalous love. How she ultimately triumphs is a touching and beautiful human drama—an intense and exuberant affair of the heart.

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