1942 in books
Who ruled 1942? Franz Werfel was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1942, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franz Werfel | 400 | 14 | 31 |
| 2 | Pearl S. Buck | 239 | 5 | 19 |
| 3 | John Steinbeck | 234 | 12 | 18 |
| 4 | Rachel Field | 233 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 | Mary Ellen Chase | 175 | 4 | 14 |
| 6 | Nancy Hale | 155 | 5 | 12 |
| 7 | Helen MacInnes | 135 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Marcia Davenport | 110 | 2 | 9 |
| 9 | Louis Bromfield | 109 | 0 | 11 |
| 10 | Marguerite Steen | 109 | 0 | 10 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5, 1942 | The Keys of the Kingdom | A. J. Cronin | 1 |
| Jan 12, 1942 | Windswept | Mary Ellen Chase | 4 |
| Feb 9, 1942 | Dragon Seed | Pearl S. Buck | 5 |
| Feb 16, 1942 | Frenchman's Creek | Daphne Du Maurier | 1 |
| Mar 23, 1942 | The Moon Is Down | John Steinbeck | 12 |
| Jun 15, 1942 | And Now Tomorrow | Rachel Field | 6 |
| Jul 20, 1942 | The Song of Bernadette | Franz Werfel | 14 |
| Nov 2, 1942 | The Prodigal Women | Nancy Hale | 5 |
| Nov 23, 1942 | The Valley of Decision | Marcia Davenport | 2 |
| Dec 21, 1942 | The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas | 2 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas | #1 | 111 | 1,107.3 |
| 2 | The Valley of Decision | Marcia Davenport | #1 | 49 | 561.5 |
| 3 | The Song of Bernadette | Franz Werfel | #1 | 39 | 477.1 |
| 4 | Dragon Seed | Pearl S. Buck | #1 | 19 | 239.0 |
| 5 | The Moon Is Down | John Steinbeck | #1 | 18 | 233.6 |
| 6 | And Now Tomorrow | Rachel Field | #1 | 19 | 233.3 |
| 7 | The Prodigal Women | Nancy Hale | #1 | 20 | 228.0 |
| 8 | Assignment in Brittany | Helen MacInnes | #2 | 12 | 134.6 |
| 9 | Frenchman's Creek | Daphne Du Maurier | #1 | 10 | 105.6 |
| 10 | Islandia | Austin Wright | #2 | 9 | 103.0 |
Author of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the author with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Author of the Week. How it works