The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books. Only six books topped the list that year. The most popular titles were Gentlemen's Agreement (14 weeks) and House Divided, which spent much of the last quarter of the year at the top of the list and a total of 15 weeks at the top overall. Two other novels, Lydia Bailey and The Moneymen each spent 12 weeks at the top. Sinclair Lewis had his only No. 1 bestseller that year (at least since the list went national in 1942).[1]
^John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992. pp. 27-31