Skip to content

Eras · The 1950s

1954 in books

Who ruled 1954? Morton Thompson was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1954, the biggest books and the top authors.

NYT Hardcover Fiction

Author of the Year 1954

Morton Thompson

24 crowns · 43 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 609

Top authors of 1954
#AuthorEra PowerCrownsTop-five weeks
1Morton Thompson6092443
2Daphne Du Maurier3241123
3Samuel Shellabarger235616
4Irving Stone2131115
5Taylor Caldwell210013
6Norah Lofts208012
7John Steinbeck207017
8James A. Michener202015
9Frances Parkinson Keyes189011
10Ernest K. Gann185014
Every #1 bestseller of 19544 books reached #1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list
First week at #1TitleAuthorWeeks at #1
Jan 3, 1954Lord VanitySamuel Shellabarger6
Feb 14, 1954Not as a StrangerMorton Thompson24
Aug 1, 1954Mary AnneDaphne Du Maurier11
Oct 17, 1954Love Is EternalIrving Stone11
Biggest books of 1954Titles that entered the list in 1954, by Book Power
#TitleAuthorPeakWeeksBook Power
1Not as a StrangerMorton Thompson#179748.7
2No Time for SergeantsMac Hyman#266480.5
3Love Is EternalIrving Stone#139423.9
4The View from Pompey's HeadHamilton Basso#140395.0
5Mary AnneDaphne Du Maurier#134344.2
6KatherineAnya Seton#229255.2
7Never Victorious, Never DefeatedTaylor Caldwell#229210.1
8Bless This HouseNorah Lofts#225207.7
9Sweet ThursdayJohn Steinbeck#325206.5
10SayonaraJames A. Michener#221202.3

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