1952 in books
Who ruled 1952? Herman Wouk was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1952, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herman Wouk | 671 | 27 | 52 |
| 2 | Daphne Du Maurier | 375 | 8 | 25 |
| 3 | Nicholas Monsarrat | 347 | 0 | 22 |
| 4 | Howard Spring | 288 | 0 | 19 |
| 5 | Agnes Sligh Turnbull | 287 | 0 | 23 |
| 6 | Thomas B. Costain | 273 | 8 | 20 |
| 7 | John Steinbeck | 174 | 9 | 12 |
| 8 | Barnaby Conrad | 158 | 0 | 12 |
| 9 | Irving Stone | 150 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Frank Yerby | 138 | 0 | 9 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 1952 | The Caine Mutiny | Herman Wouk | 27 |
| Mar 30, 1952 | My Cousin Rachel | Daphne Du Maurier | 8 |
| Sep 7, 1952 | The Silver Chalice | Thomas B. Costain | 8 |
| Nov 2, 1952 | East of Eden | John Steinbeck | 9 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Silver Chalice | Thomas B. Costain | #1 | 68 | 702.7 |
| 2 | East of Eden | John Steinbeck | #1 | 39 | 401.3 |
| 3 | My Cousin Rachel | Daphne Du Maurier | #1 | 36 | 374.8 |
| 4 | The Houses in Between | Howard Spring | #2 | 37 | 297.4 |
| 5 | The Gown of Glory | Agnes Sligh Turnbull | #3 | 37 | 291.2 |
| 6 | Steamboat Gothic | Frances Parkinson Keyes | #3 | 34 | 269.6 |
| 7 | Giant | Edna Ferber | #2 | 27 | 235.0 |
| 8 | The Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Hemingway | #3 | 26 | 174.6 |
| 9 | Matador | Barnaby Conrad | #3 | 21 | 157.9 |
| 10 | The Saracen Blade | Frank Yerby | #4 | 22 | 137.9 |
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