In a survey to mark the tenth anniversary of World Book Day, classic literature dominated the list of books people cannot live without, with Pride and Prejudice beating Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy, Lord of the Rings, into second place. Two of the Bronte sisters appear alongside Charles Dickens and George Orwell, showing that, despite the Richard & Judy factor, the nation’s readers still treasure their classics.

Pride and Prejudice narrowly topped the survey ahead of Lord of the Rings trilogy with a fifth of all participants voting for it. 

The ten books our nation can’t live without are:

1. Pride and Prejudice  Jane Austen  20%
2. Lord of the Rings  JRR Tolkien  17%
3. Jane Eyre   Charlotte Bronte 14%
4. Harry Potter books  JK Rowling  12%
5. To Kill a Mockingbird  Harper Lee  9.5%
6. The Bible      9%   
7. Wuthering Heights  Emily Bronte  8.5%
8= Nineteen Eighty Four  George Orwell  6%
His Dark Materials  Philip Pullman 6%
10. Great Expectations  Charles Dickens 5.5%

Over two thousand people voted online at www.worldbookday10.com, and, underlining the long tail phenomenon, 10,000 different books were selected.

The Bible owes its strong showing thanks to the over 60s, who named it their fourth favourite. The good book continues to figure with younger generations, falling out of the top ten for the 18-25 year-olds and tailing down to number 19 in the under 18 age group. Across the UK, The Bible, figures strongly, with only the Welsh and the inhabitants of the West Midlands failing to put The Bible in their top ten.

Pride and Prejudice topped the lists of every region in the UK apart from Northern Ireland, where To Kill a Mockingbird took the top slot. It was also popular with every age group, being at number one for everyone except under 18s. Even for this youngest age group, Pride and Prejudice was number two, knocked off by Harry Potter. For men, Austen’s classic love story was relegated to number 6, whilst Lord of the Rings was in first position.