Most Popular Fiction Books of the 1940s

Discover popular Fiction books from the 1940s, with reader ratings and new favorites to explore.

Browse publication years

Choose a year or decade. Your genre selection stays the same.

Explore genres All FantasyHorrorScience Fiction

Books in this list

The Egyptian

Mika Waltari

Translation · Historical Fiction · Mainstream

1949

8.5/10 61 ratings

Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Science Fiction · Dystopia · Post-Apocalyptic · Social Science Fiction

1949

8.1/10 202 ratings

The Moomin Books #1

Comet in Moominland

Tove Jansson

Fantasy · Childrens · Translation

1946

8.2/10 171 ratings

The Moomin Books #2

Finn Family Moomintroll

Tove Jansson

Fantasy · Childrens · Translation

1948

8.0/10 127 ratings

Animal Farm

George Orwell

Fantasy · Animal Fantasy · Hugo Award

1945

8.0/10 172 ratings

The Lurker at the Threshold

H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction

1945

7.9/10 33 ratings

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Fantasy · Childrens · Translation

1943

7.6/10 230 ratings

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins Opens the Door

P. L. Travers

Fantasy · Childrens

1943

7.4/10 16 ratings

Adventure #5

The Mountain of Adventure

Enid Blyton

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1949

7.3/10 44 ratings

Barsoom #9

Synthetic Men of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Science Fiction

1940

6.9/10 21 ratings

Farmer Giles of Ham

J. R. R. Tolkien

Fantasy · Childrens

1949

6.6/10 121 ratings

Tarzan #22

Tarzan and the Foreign Legion

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Mainstream

1947

6.7/10 21 ratings

Barsoom #10

Llana of Gathol

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Science Fiction · Short Stories

1948

6.1/10 17 ratings

Space Trilogy #2

Perelandra

C. S. Lewis

Science Fiction

1943

6.2/10 25 ratings

Space Trilogy #3

That Hideous Strength

C. S. Lewis

Science Fiction

1945

6.0/10 21 ratings

Beyond This Horizon

Robert A. Heinlein

Science Fiction

1948

5.4/10 19 ratings

Sixth Column

Robert A. Heinlein

Science Fiction

1949

5.6/10 22 ratings

Beyond the Wall of Sleep

H. P. Lovecraft

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction · Short Stories

1943

10.0/10 2 ratings

Null-A #1

The World of Null-A

A. E. van Vogt

Science Fiction

1948

10.0/10 1 ratings

The Shade of Time

David Duncan

Science Fiction · Thriller

1946

10.0/10 1 ratings

Slan

A. E. van Vogt

Science Fiction

1946

10.0/10 1 ratings

Tales of Piracy, Crime and Ghosts

Daniel Defoe

Horror · Short Stories · Mainstream · Thriller

1945

10.0/10 1 ratings

The Fountainhead

Ayn Rand

Science Fiction · Mainstream

1943

10.0/10 1 ratings

Out of Space and Time

Clark Ashton Smith

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction · Short Stories

1942

9.0/10 1 ratings

Best Supernatural Stories of H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction · Short Stories

1945

8.5/10 4 ratings

Gormenghast #1

Titus Groan

Mervyn Peake

Fantasy

1946

8.4/10 9 ratings

Hercule Poirot #27

The Labors of Hercules

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Short Stories · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1947

8.0/10 2 ratings

Sirius

Olaf Stapledon

Science Fiction

1944

8.0/10 2 ratings

Humanoids #1

The Humanoids

Jack Williamson

Science Fiction

1949

8.0/10 1 ratings

Genius Loci and Other Tales

Clark Ashton Smith

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction · Short Stories

1948

8.0/10 1 ratings

Night's Black Agents

Fritz Leiber

Fantasy · Horror · Short Stories

1947

8.0/10 1 ratings

Dark Carnival

Ray Bradbury

Horror · Short Stories

1947

8.0/10 1 ratings

The Opener of the Way

Robert Bloch

Fantasy · Horror · Short Stories

1945

8.0/10 1 ratings

Time Must Have a Stop

Aldous Huxley

Science Fiction

1944

The Power and the Glory

Graham Greene

Movie · Play · TV Series · Historical Fiction

1940

8.0/10 1 ratings

Portrait of Jennie

Robert Nathan

Fantasy

1940

8.0/10 1 ratings