Despite being regarded as one of the greatest novels of all time, Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace has finally achieved the title bestseller, with sales of the 1000-page tome boosted by a recent BBC television adaptation.
The interwoven story of a number of Russian aristocratic families set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, the novel has long been considered a literary hurdle, regarded by readers as one everyone needs to start and rarely anyone manages to finish.
First published in 1869, the classic has shot up the sales charts for the first time since records began in the late 1990s, The Guardian reports, off the back of the big-budget period drama produced by the BBC. The British national broadcaster also republished a copy of the novel, including an introduction by the series’ writer Andrew Davis, featuring the show’s cast (Paul Dano, Lily James, and James Norton) on the cover.
After a six-week run, the final episode of the drama came to a conclusion two weeks ago, to much critical acclaim and solid viewership ratings.
According to Nielsen BookScan, the body in charge of compiling the bestseller chart since 1998, the BBC edition of the Tolstoy story sold nearly 3,600 copies last week in the UK, with more than 13,000 copies sold since it was published in December. The sales of the BBC’s version mean it has entered the bestseller chart for the first time ever, in 50th place.
A further 2,400 copies of the classic sold last week, published in other editions.
“We saw similar sales increases on Dickens thanks to the BBC’s Dickensian series,” Helen Trayler, managing director at publisher Wordsworth Editions, said, adding that the bodice-ripping Lady Chatterley’s Lover had also seen a bump in sales due to the BBC’s racy adaptation months earlier.
“We raise our hats to the BBC and other broadcasters who bring these incredible classic literary works to the mass market,” she said.
“Although sometimes sniffed at by the academics, these adaptations are encouraging more people to read the classics. And that can only be a good thing.”
