This is a list of books that topped The New York Times best-seller list in 1939. When the list began in 1931 through 1941 it only reflected sales in the New York City area.
Fiction The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books.
The two most popular books that year were The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, which held on top of the list for 24 weeks, and All This and Heaven Too by Rachel Field, which was on top of the list for 14 weeks.Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 1939 Retrieved March 14, 2018
DateBookAuthor January 2 All This and Heaven Too Rachel Field January 9 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier January 16 All This and Heaven Too Rachel Field January 23 January 30 February 6 February 13 February 20 February 27 March 6 March 13 March 20 March 27 April 3 Wickford Point John P. Marquand April 10 All This and Heaven Too Rachel Field April 17 April 24 Wickford Point John P. Marquand May 1 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 June 5 June 12 June 19 June 26 July 3 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 31 August 7 August 14 August 21 August 28 September 4 September 11 September 18 September 25 October 2 October 9 Escape Ethel Vance October 16 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck October 23 Escape Ethel Vance October 30 November 6 November 13 November 20 Kitty Foyle Christopher Morley November 27 December 4 December 11 December 18 The Nazarene Sholem Asch December 25 Moment in Peking Lin Yutang
Nonfiction The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books.Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 1939 DateBookAuthor January 2 Listen! The Wind Anne Morrow Lindbergh January 9 January 16 January 23 With Malice Toward Some Margaret Halsey January 30 Listen! The Wind Anne Morrow Lindbergh February 6 We Saw It Happen Hanson W. Baldwin and Shepard Stone, editors February 13 A Peculiar Treasure Edna Ferber February 20 February 27 March 6 March 13 March 20 Reaching for the Stars Nora Waln March 27 April 3 April 10 April 17 April 24 May 1 Days of Our Years Pierre van Paassen May 8 Reaching for the Stars Nora Waln May 15 May 22 May 29 June 5 Days of Our Years Pierre van Paassen June 12 June 19 Inside Asia John Gunther June 26 July 3 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 31 August 7 August 14 Not Peace but a Sword Vincent Sheean August 21 August 28 September 4 Country Lawyer Bellamy Partridge September 11 Not Peace but a Sword Vincent Sheean September 18 Inside Asia John Gunther September 25 Country Lawyer Bellamy Partridge October 2 October 9 Inside Asia John Gunther October 16 October 23 Country Lawyer Bellamy Partridge October 30 A Treasury of Art Masterpieces Thomas Craven, editor November 6 Country Lawyer Bellamy Partridge November 13 November 20 November 27 December 4 December 11 December 18 December 25 A Treasury of Art Masterpieces Thomas Craven, editor
See also Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1930s
References