Most Popular Mainstream Books
Explore the most popular Mainstream books across decades, with reader ratings and discoveries from Risingshadow.
Browse publication years
Choose a year or decade. Your genre selection stays the same.
Books in this list
Cry to Heaven
Mainstream
1982
Disco Hustle
Mainstream
1976
No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories
Short Stories · Translation · Mainstream
1961
Janine is French
Mainstream
1960
Our Man in Havana
Spy Thriller · Historical Fiction · Mainstream · Thriller
1958
Tales of Piracy, Crime and Ghosts
Horror · Short Stories · Mainstream · Thriller
1945
The Fountainhead
Science Fiction · Mainstream
1943
The Phantom of the Opera
Horror · Crime Fiction · Gothic Horror · Mainstream · Mystery
1910
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories
Horror · Short Stories · Mainstream
1891
The Pilgrim's Progress
Fantasy · Christian Fantasy · Non-fiction · Mainstream
1678
Troy Trilogy #2
Shield of Thunder
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
September 2006
The Last Kingdom #13
War Lord
Medieval · War & Military · Historical Fiction · Mainstream
October 15, 2020
Troy Trilogy #1
Lord of the Silver Bow
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
September 2005
Troy Trilogy #3
Fall of Kings
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
August 27, 2007
The Bridge
Fantasy · Mainstream
1986
The MANIAC
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
October 3, 2023
A Taste of the Unexpected
Fantasy · Short Stories · Mainstream
2005
Act of Oblivion
Suspense Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Alternate History · Historical Fiction
2022
The Heel
Fantasy · Crime Fiction · Mainstream
October 2017
Austenland #2
Midnight in Austenland
Mainstream · Romance
January 31, 2012
Warriors
Fantasy · Science Fiction · Anthology · Locus Award · Mainstream
March 14, 2010
Austenland
Mainstream
2007
Fort Pillow
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
2006
Pirates!
Young Adult · Adventure · Historical Fiction · Mainstream
October 2003
Enigma
Spy Thriller · Suspense Thriller · War & Military · Alternate History · Historical Fiction
September 26, 1995
The Art of Living and Other Stories
Short Stories · Mainstream
1981
Our Ancestors
Our Ancestors
Fantasy · Collection · Translation · Mainstream
1962
The Last Kingdom #8
The Empty Throne
Medieval · War & Military · Historical Fiction · Mainstream
October 21, 2014
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
Mainstream
April 25, 2009
Black Swan Green
Mainstream
2006
Possession
Fantasy · Mainstream
1990
Beasts of the Sea
Translation · Historical Fiction · Mainstream
October 23, 2025
Specimen Days
Science Fiction · Mainstream
2005
Ghostwritten
Science Fiction · Mainstream
1999
Killer Instinct #3
The Fire Witness
Crime Fiction · Nordic Noir · Translation · Mainstream · Thriller
July 9, 2013
Cicero trilogy #1
Imperium
Historical Fiction · Mainstream
September 4, 2006