1944 in books
Who ruled 1944? Lillian Smith was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1944, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lillian Smith | 429 | 22 | 32 |
| 2 | Betty Smith | 405 | 15 | 33 |
| 3 | Somerset Maugham | 379 | 3 | 31 |
| 4 | John Hersey | 289 | 0 | 28 |
| 5 | Lloyd C. Douglas | 262 | 0 | 25 |
| 6 | Elizabeth Goudge | 156 | 1 | 13 |
| 7 | Kathleen Winsor | 129 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | Joseph S. Pennell | 117 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 | Ben Ames Williams | 111 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | John P. Marquand | 108 | 0 | 10 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 1944 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Betty Smith | 15 |
| Apr 16, 1944 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith | 22 |
| Aug 20, 1944 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham | 3 |
| Sep 10, 1944 | The History of Rome Hanks | Joseph S. Pennell | 3 |
| Oct 29, 1944 | Green Dolphin Street | Elizabeth Goudge | 1 |
| Nov 5, 1944 | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor | 8 |
| Dec 31, 1944 | The Green Years | A. J. Cronin | 1 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor | #1 | 58 | 480.7 |
| 2 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith | #1 | 32 | 429.4 |
| 3 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham | #1 | 31 | 379.0 |
| 4 | The Green Years | A. J. Cronin | #1 | 28 | 375.4 |
| 5 | Earth and High Heaven | Gwenthalyn Graham | #1 | 31 | 334.2 |
| 6 | A Bell for Adano | John Hersey | #2 | 28 | 289.3 |
| 7 | Green Dolphin Street | Elizabeth Goudge | #1 | 22 | 227.9 |
| 8 | Immortal Wife | Irving Stone | #3 | 22 | 171.6 |
| 9 | The History of Rome Hanks | Joseph S. Pennell | #1 | 10 | 116.8 |
| 10 | Leave Her to Heaven | Ben Ames Williams | #3 | 12 | 110.6 |
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