What novels have had a substantial real-world effect?

They were mostly, or all serialised I think. Dickens serialised some if them in his own magazine! But you're right it was a format that allowed wide distribution and impact.

It really did. It must have influenced The Factory Act, which was the first ever act relating to child welfare, plus policies on poverty in general - poor laws, etc. Dickens work was really influential.

That’s a good one!

And maybe Hard Times? That was serialised in the paper and hugely popular at the time.

Lady Chatterly's Lover!

I'm not sure that he was inspired by Charles Dickens; I think it was more being confronted by the reality of child poverty when he moved to London. The story that's always stuck with me is that he had to turn away a boy from one of the early homes because it was full and then a couple of days later the boy was found dead from starvation and exposure. I grew up with the story of him personally coming across the boy's body but that could by mythologising.

I've just got sidetracked into looking at the Barnado's website which has an interesting section about their history.
Our history | Barnardo's

I came on to say Black Beauty but you beat me to it. Anna Sewell didn't write it as a children's book (which it is often seen as now); she wrote it to highlight the harsh treatment of horses and to show people who work with horses how they should be treated.

Its huge success directly led to the enactment of a number of animal welfare laws.

Other books have been part of a public conversation or led to sympathy for particular groups of people but that doesn't always lead to action.

The Water Babies raised awareness of the terrible conditions endured by "climbing boys" and may have contributed to the Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act.

@FruAashild@Redstarcloud- I’m always not a great fan on texts with a message, but Black Beauty is my one exception. Sadly, that’s because there are so many ways that people can be horrible to horses, which means the book never gets boring. I thought of it recently when there were reports in the news of dogs having their ears cropped - I remember feeling quite shocked that this was still happening as it gets a mention in BB.

Continuing my French philosopher theme, but this time a trivial suggestion - Voltaire’s Candide as the book most likely to be quoted in newspapers.

Anne Frank's Diary. It opened a lot of eyes worldwide to the horror and cruelty of the Nazi regime at the time it was written.

Eat, Pray, Love, which is regarded as the epitome of "me" culture and personal growth, especially for early middle aged women - aiming for self fulfilment as the solution to your problems rather than eg staying home and volunteering. It helped set off a huge interest in the East as a source of help in doing this - not sure Italy benefitted in the same way!

Actually it often does as is well documented, though it doesn't always. You could have just said it was influential. Noone else has expressed value judgements on this thread. To say people 'fell for' Zionist agendas suggests you think there is something wrong with the right to self determination of the Jewish people.

Wasn't Dr. Banardo, founder of Banardo's, inspired by Charles Dickens? He set up a lot of the early children's homes, which were better than orphanages which simply tried (badly) to keep the children alive, he aimed for a better standard of nutrition to ensure better health and set up paths into training and employment for the children when they grew up. Still a world away from what is considered ideal today but much better than the alternatives.

I have no idea what citme is and I am not going to get into a debate with you. You know full well that anti-Zionism does not equate antisemitism.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Exodus was particularly impactful in the Soviet Union where it was secretly translated and galvanised those Jews who escaped and the movement to support their agenda of human rights and freedom outside, especially in the United States.

Hang on, have I walked into CITME by accident? I wasn't expecting antisemitism here.

I was thinking of Cry, the Beloved Country. Funnily enough I read it around the same time as Grapes of Wrath and both had a huge impact on me. It was widely read for sure but it came out just before apartheid was consolidated and decades before it was dismantled so its effect was more in galvanising AA action there and abroad I think but didnt really have a chance to change anything.

Maybe a bit more frivolous, but I recall reading that A Christmas Carol by Dickens has been credited with the creation of the idea of a white Christmas.

It hardly ever snows on Christmas Day, but Dickens’ childhood coincided with a ‘little ice age’ when it snowed at Christmas for several consecutive years, and because of the influence of his work, his experience of white christmases became the cultural image of a traditional Christmas.

@SharonEllis - Yes! Things Fall Apart is such a masterpiece and so succinct in the ideas it gets across. I often think about that book - especially as I grew up in a UK colony.

An old one, but Émile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was very influential in education.

@MsAmerica The South African equivalent of Uncle Sam’s Cabin would probably be Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton as if humanised the people affected by apartheid an shone a light on what was going on in SA. It was very widely read even in the UK and US.

Exodus by Leon Uris. Emotionally manipulative and historically inaccurate. It must have induced millions to fall for Zionist agendas.

I think Roots, though it turned out to be fiction not biography, opened a lot of white people's eyes to the depth of evil of the slave trade, which probably eventually worked through into huge support for the BLM movement.

Me too!!

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was published in 1958 just before the major wave on independence for African nations. It was very widely read and had a massive impact on understanding as it was the first novel by an African (Nigerian) read by many people outside Africa.