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The Modern Library's TOP 100 English-Language Novels of the Last 100 Years (As of 1998)

The Modern Library used a number of metrics to vote on the 100 best English language-novels for, effectively, the years 1899-1998. The list is in order of rank, with Ulysses being voted the best English-language novel of that period.
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Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
1
James Joyce
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
2
F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
3
James Joyce
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
4
Vladimir Nabokov
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
5
Aldous Huxley
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
6
William Faulkner
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
7
Joseph Heller
Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler)
Darkness at Noon
8
Arthur Koestler
Sons and Lovers (D.H. Lawrence)
Sons and Lovers
9
D.H. Lawrence
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
10
John Steinbeck
Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
Under the Volcano
11
Malcolm Lowry
The Way of All Flesh (Samuel Butler)
The Way of All Flesh
12
Samuel Butler
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
13
George Orwell
I, Claudius (Robert Graves)
I, Claudius
14
Robert Graves
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
15
Virginia Woolf
An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser, 1925)
An American Tragedy
16
Theodore Dreiser, 1925
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
17
Carson McCullers
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five
18
Kurt Vonnegut
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
19
Ralph Ellison
Native Son (Richard Wright)
Native Son
20
Richard Wright
Henderson the Rain King (Saul Bellow)
Henderson the Rain King
21
Saul Bellow
Appointment in Samarra (John O'Hara)
Appointment in Samarra
22
John O'Hara
U.S.A. (John Dos Passos)
U.S.A.
23
John Dos Passos
Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson)
Winesburg, Ohio
24
Sherwood Anderson
A Passage to India (E.M. Forster)
A Passage to India
25
E.M. Forster
The Wings of the Dove (Henry James)
The Wings of the Dove
26
Henry James
The Ambassadors (Henry James)
The Ambassadors
27
Henry James
Tender Is the Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Tender Is the Night
28
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Studs Lonigan Trilogy (James T. Farrell)
The Studs Lonigan Trilogy
29
James T. Farrell
The Good Soldier (Ford Madox Ford)
The Good Soldier
30
Ford Madox Ford
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
31
George Orwell
The Golden Bowl (Henry James)
The Golden Bowl
32
Henry James
Sister Carrie (Theodore Dreiser)
Sister Carrie
33
Theodore Dreiser
A Handful of Dust (Evelyn Waugh)
A Handful of Dust
34
Evelyn Waugh
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
35
William Faulkner
All the King's Men (Robert Penn Warren)
All the King's Men
36
Robert Penn Warren
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
37
Thornton Wilder
Howards End (E.M. Forster)
Howards End
38
E.M. Forster
Go Tell It on the Mountain (James Baldwin)
Go Tell It on the Mountain
39
James Baldwin
The Heart of the Matter (Graham Greene)
The Heart of the Matter
40
Graham Greene
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