What novels have had a substantial real-world effect?

[MsAmerica]

What novels have had such a powerful impact that they triggered an actual change in socio-political policies or overall public opinion on an important subject?

I can only think of two, offhand:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair Any others?

As far as I know, books like Grapes of Wrath may have had enthusiasts, but by the time it came out, it was too late for any relevant policy. And I know that Dickens may have influenced public policy, but I don’t think it was due to a particular novel.

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte both influenced the debate around divorce legislation.

Germinal by Emile Zola

Did The Mayor of Casterbridge as well? Because that would make a lot of sense.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang made people much more aware of the horrors of the cultural revolution than they had previously been.

Good question, I'm not sure on that one.

Thanks. That's really helpful.

The podcast Journey Through Time just did a three part series on A Christmas Carol with an emphasis on the effect it had on society - Christmas wasn’t massively celebrated when it came out and it was an important part of a revival, as well as raising awareness of the cruelty of Victorian legislation that put the poor in workhouses.

Certainly created pressure for reform of Poor Laws, which did happen.

Poor Law reform happened before Oliver Twist was published. Whether for better or worse is debatable, but it didn't happen because of Oliver Twist.

It largely happened for the same reason as there is pressure to reform the benefits system today - the ever increasing cost.

I agree. I think the Labour landslide was due more to people having fought a hard war and thinking that they needed a peace that offered more than just a return to the status quo. Labour were offering things like the NHS which was very attractive to a population where huge numbers of people couldn't afford to see a doctor.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist (great book and much loved in Hastings - not far from me - because Mugsborough is based on the town) was, and still is, popular with socialist activists rather than being a popular best seller.

50 shades of grey probably helped the choking of women become acceptable.

Dickens used most of his novels to highlight injustice, child labour and poverty by sneaking mention of dire situations into the stories. Having experienced poverty himself in his childhood, including a time when he was sent to work in a bottle blacking factory, he also wrote many articles on the subject in which he strongly argued against the idea that poverty was caused by some sort of moral failure.

Once he was successful he used his position to support many anti poverty campaigns, he donated money raised from his public reading to good causes and helped set up a women's refuge. He also campaigned fiercely for the banning of public hangings, having been appalled at the festival like behaviour of the crowd at the public execution of a woman who had murdered her abusive husband

Huckleberry Finn
All Quiet on the Western Front

Invisible Women by Perez - I see her book and ideas from it all over social media and in various programmes, even comedies. I don't know if most know they are quoting her research but it has changed a lot in a few years; the world's first female crash test dummies we trialed in last month.

I think I'd want to include The Handmaid's tale because of the impact on protest, the fact it's such a widely referred to book in the realm of women's rights (or lack thereof)

I should have added a request to be specific as to any effect.

I mean, what major effect? I mean, did Dr. Zhivago lead directly to the collapse of the Soviet Union?

By the way, I don't think Zarathustra is a novel, is it?

Love on the Dole (Walter Greenwood) helped raise public awareness and shape public debate about mass unemployment in the 1930s.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra Isn’t a novel and neither is Anne Frank’s diary.

But I get why people mentioned them.

@MsAmerica Zarathustra is a novel.

It's kind of difficult to categorise, I get that, but it's definitely not factual!

Re Dr Zhivago, of course it didn't dissolve the USSR on its own but it was considered to be sufficiently explosive that it was banned by the Soviets and covertly distributed in there by the CIA. It was a staple point of focus for anti establishment networks, consistently and for a long time, and it was important because it treated the revelations about Soviet abuses from people like Solzhenitsyn and others as fact beyond discussion, while framing them poetically, which was always going to be a big draw for Russians.

Agree, but I hope you mean soviet abuses against Solzhenitsyn!

Yes, I mean the revelations came from him! Sorry if that wasn't clear!

His Gulag Archipelago was the real power move, book-wise, against the Soviets, but I couldn't include it on this list here because it isn't a novel.

No worries! I just thought if people hasn’t read it they might make an assertion about him is all! Amazing book, but agree, not a novel. I guess maybe we could count A Day in the of Life of Ivan Denisovich in this list? As an overall part of the picture?

Sorry if I spelled that incorrectly, I am on a crap internet connection tonight and didn’t want to use precious data checking that one after having checked two earlier on!

Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done?
As per AI it had a profound, transformative impact on Russian society, acting as a catalyst for radical thought, a model for generations of revolutionaries, and a major influence on the trajectory of Russian history

Yes, I'd agree with that. It was really important too, and I think the about-face that happened in its wake (approved by Khrushchev, banned by his successors) contributed to mistrust in leaders more widely - like, the Secretary/Committee might try to distance itself from Stalin now he's dead, but just how distant is it?