Over the years, I have occasionally been curious about the books that were published when I was born, but never delved much beyond mild curiosity.

As I turn 60 this year, I decided to put more effort into finding out what bestselling novels were on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of my birthday.

I thought it would take quite some digging to find the relevant information until I came across this very handy website, Hawes Publications, which lists ‘Adult Hardcover Bestseller Number Ones’ in Fiction and Non-fiction for each week of every month of the year, starting from 1931.

So, here’s the list of what was on the NYTimes Fiction Bestsellers list for the week beginning 27th October 1963:
‘The Group’, by Mary McCarthy.

Set between the two World Wars, ‘Mary McCarthy’s most celebrated novel follows the lives of eight Vassar graduates, known simply to their classmates as ‘the group’. An eclectic mix of personalities and upbringings, they meet a week after graduation to watch Kay Strong get married. After the ceremony, the women begin their adult lives – travelling to Europe, tackling the worlds of nursing and publishing, and finding love and heartbreak in the streets of New York City. Through the years, some of the friends grow apart and some become entangled in each other’s affairs, but all vow not to become like their mothers and fathers. It is only when one of them passes away that they all come back together again to mourn the loss of a friend, a confidante, and most importantly, a member of the group.’

‘The Shoes of the Fisherman’ by Morris L. West.

The first of West’s ‘The Vatican’ trilogy – ‘The pope is dead and the corridors of the Vatican hum with intrigue as cardinals gather to elect his successor. The result is a surprise: the new pope is the youngest of them all – a bearded Ukrainian.
This is the moving story of Kiril I, recently released from seventeen years in Siberian labour camps and haunted by his past. Not only is he the leader of a fractured Catholic Church, but he also finds he must confront his inquisitor and tormentor in order to avert another world war.’

‘Caravans’ by James A. Michener.

‘First published in 1963, James A. Michener’s gripping chronicle of the social and political landscape of Afghanistan is more relevant now than ever. Combining fact with riveting adventure and intrigue, Michener follows a military man tasked, in the years after World War II, with a dangerous assignment: finding and returning a young American woman living in Afghanistan to her distraught family after she suddenly and mysteriously disappears.
A timeless tale of love and emotional drama set against the backdrop of one of the most important countries in the world today, Caravans captures the tension of the postwar period, the sweep of Afghanistan’s remarkable history, and the inescapable allure of the past.’

‘The Living Reed’ by Pearl S. Buck.

‘The Living Reed follows four generations of one family, the Kims, beginning with Il-han and his father, both advisors to the royal family in Korea. When Japan invades and the queen is killed, Il-han takes his family into hiding. In the ensuing years, he and his family take part in the secret war against the Japanese occupation.
Pearl S. Buck’s epic tells the history of Korea through the lives of one family. She paints an amazing portrait of the country and makes us empathize with their struggle for sovereignty through her beautifully drawn characters.’

‘City of Night’ by John Rechy.

‘Bold and inventive in style, City of Night is the groundbreaking 1960s novel about male prostitution. Rechy is unflinching in his portrayal of one hustling ‘youngman’ and his search for self-knowledge among the other denizens of his neon-lit world. As the narrator moves from Texas to Times Square and then on to the French Quarter of New Orleans, Rechy delivers a portrait of the edges of America that has lost none of its power. On his travels, the nameless narrator meets a collection of unforgettable characters, from vice cops to guilt-ridden married men eaten up by desire, to Lance O’Hara, once Hollywood’s biggest star. Rechy describes this world with candour and understanding in a prose that is highly personal and vividly descriptive.’

‘The Battle of the Villa Fiorita’ by Rumer Godden.

‘The Battle of Villa Fiorita’ by Rumer Godden

‘When their mother leaves the country to be with her lover, Hugh and Caddie Clavering’s seemingly perfect life falls apart. Devastated by the sudden, bitter dissolution of their parents’ marriage and desperate for her to come back, the children travel alone to the Villa Fiorita on Lake Garda, determined not to leave without her.
On arrival, they can tell Fanny and Rob are deeply in love, and their mother is happier than they’ve ever seen her, but the scheme lives on. Thankfully, Rob’s young daughter is only too glad to help destroy their parents’ relationship. Will Hugh and Caddie realise that their actions have consequences before it is too late?
Told with wit and great empathy against a stunning evocation of the Italian countryside, Rumer Godden’s The Battle of the Villa Fiorita marks another coming-of-age classic for the highly acclaimed author.’

‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ by Ian Fleming.

‘In the aftermath of Operation Thunderball, Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s trail has gone cold – and so has 007’s love for his job. The only thing that can rekindle his passion is Contessa Teresa ‘Tracy’ di Vicenzo, a troubled young woman who shares his taste for fast cars and danger. She’s the daughter of a powerful crime boss, and he thinks Bond’s hand in marriage may be the solution to all her problems. Bond’s not ready to settle down – yet – but he soon finds himself falling for the enigmatic Tracy. After finally tracking the SPECTRE chief to a stronghold in the Swiss Alps, Bond uncovers the details of Blofeld’s latest plot: a biological warfare scheme more audacious than anything the fiend has tried before. Now Bond must save the world again – and survive Blofeld’s last, very personal, act of vengeance.’

‘The Three Sirens’ by Irving Wallace.

‘What happens when a varied group of men and women, married and unmarried, from our complex culture is thrown together for six dramatic weeks with the people of a simpler, happier society, free from the inhibitions and tensions of the twentieth century?
Irving Wallace’s provocative novel is the story of this confrontation, as an American field team of anthropologists and laymen descends upon a remote Polynesian island to study a unique and hitherto undiscovered way of life.
The visiting Americans are supposed to be dispassionate observers. Yet each brings to the island his or her own problems, attitudes, and prejudices… These visitors are brought face to face with uninhibited behaviour and customs that seem to be a shocking assault, a challenge, to their most cherished beliefs about love, sex, marriage, child rearing, and justice.’

‘The Concubine’ by Norah Lofts.

‘“All eyes and hair” a courtier had said disparagingly of her – and certainly the younger daughter of Tom Boleyn lacked the bounteous charms of most ladies of Court. Black-haired, black-eyed, she had a wild-sprite quality that was to prove more effective, more dangerous than conventional feminine appeal.
The King first noticed her when she was sixteen – and with imperial greed he smashed her youthful love-affair with Harry Percy and began the process of royal seduction…
But this was no ordinary woman, no maid-in-waiting to be possessed and discarded by a king. Against his will, his own common sense, Henry found himself bewitched – enthralled by the young girl who was to be known as – The Concubine…’

‘The Venetian Affair’ by Helen MacInnes.

‘A vacation in Venice that was grim business. A girl constantly beside him who wasn’t his. How the hell had he walked into this upside-down world? New York drama critic Bill Fenner arrives in Paris, only to discover that his coat has accidentally been switched with another – and that he is now $100,000 richer. But when the US Embassy refers him to NATO and the CIA, what began as a seemingly simple case of mistaken identity becomes something far more lethal. Following the trail to Venice, Fenner must learn to play a deadly game with the highest stakes, against communist opponents plotting an assassination that threatens to undermine the balance of Europe. Accompanied by a woman he cannot have, he soon discovers that the key to stopping his enemies lies in his own past…’

I’ve been aware of a few of the books listed – ‘Caravans’, ‘The Living Reed’, and, of course, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ – but I’ve not read any of these books.

So, I decided to pick one and chose ‘The Concubine’ by Norah Lofts; I’ll post my review of it next week.

Bestselling Novels Week Beginning 27 October 1963