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The Big Read's top 100
By Luke Leitch, Arts Reporter, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 16.05.03
Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones, makes the top 100
Nearly 140,000 people have voted in the BBC's nationwide poll to find Britain's 100 best-loved books - and today the Evening Standard reveals the finalists for the first time. The 100-strong list, including all four Harry Potter books, will be officially unveiled in a BBC2 programme tomorrow, but the order of their popularity is not being revealed.
The programme, The Big Read, climaxes in the autumn when the BBC names the top 20 books. It will then screen a documentary dedicated to each author, each presented by an as yet unnamed celebrity.
Finally, the best-loved book of all will be decided in a final voting programme similar to the concluding broadcasts of the Great Britons. But before then, the BBC is urging people to start reading books from this list, with a view to thinking about which to vote for.
Jeffrey Archer makes the top 100 for Kane & Abel, but Martin Amis does not appear at all. The accolade for most popular author is shared by Dickens and fantasy author Terry Pratchett, who each have five books named. British authors make up 66 per cent of those on the list, and 35 per cent are women.
Thirty per cent of the titles are children's books, with Roald Dahl and Jacqueline Wilson each having four books on the list. Interestingly there is not a single novel from the 18th century - when the novel form was invented.
Mark Harrison, creative director of the BBC's arts programming, described the list as " gloriously diverse: by asking people for their bestloved books we have tapped into a real vein of passion".
British Library spokesman Colin Beesley said there were a few surprises, adding: "I like the fact that there are a lot of children's books here - I think it shows the books you read as a kid resonate well beyond childhood."
