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.

Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer kicking off second wave feminism.

What effects have they had in real life?

I'm a big Jane Austen fan but can't think of a single societal change that any of her novels has led to.

Going back to Black Beauty, that directly led to the banning of bearing reins and other animal welfare legislation.

A lot of the books mentioned on the thread, may have shown how awful some situations were but didn't actually change anything in RL.

Well not 1984, as it seems we’re living some elements of that right now.

@canklesmctacotits What change did any of those lead to ? We have discussed To Kill a Mockingbird but the others?

I think you've got a good point, but many examples on this thread disprove it too. I don't think anyone is suggesting 'one book on its own'. That's moving the goalposts. But some obviously have had a direct impact.

Most novels are a creation of their time so reflect or absorb the zeitgeist, but also help to create it. Its hard to pin down. Influence partly comes from an audience ready to receive its message, even if its the book that articulates the message. That audience can then go on to push for the change. They might have done it any way, they might not. Everyone know emotion is important in politics and novels can throw that into the mix.

Understood - but the OP seems to be looking for novels with a substantial standalone impact. I cited those books/actions as at least or more impactful as DC; I wasn’t claiming they were novels

Much more light-hearted but the Harry Potter novels got many young non-readers reading.

Good point and not trivial at all!

Where did she say standalone? Noone could argue slavery wouldn't have come to an end without Uncle Tom's Cabin but it clearly had a massive direct impact. It wasn't the only factor thst changed minds and galvanised opinion.

In this sort of phrasing ie did X novel lead directly to Y outcome?

@SharonEllis

as per my earlier posts, any novel is a part of the zeitgeist/outcome, not the whole. So I think we are agreeing.

OP appears to have changed her mind. First she was asking for "substantial", now she wants direct causation for empire collapse.

Its a really interesting thread @MsAmerica I think its useful to think about novels that had a direct catalytic effect as distinct from just being popular and 'influential' - the latter category often helps the generations that come after to understand how change happened and helps to keep issues alive.

50 Shades of Grey had a huge impact on society. I think it counts as "substantial". Also "We Need to Talk About Kevin". And I'm sticking with "Eat, Pray, Love". All three had a huge impact on real life, especially women's lives.

What substantial RL effects do you think any of those have had? I can't think of anything but happy to be corrected/informed like I was with To Kill A Mockingbird.

I don’t think there would be many novels that will have had an immediate substantial real-world effect. They’re novels. Their influence might not be appreciated until decades after the author has died, for example. The impact could be on writing styles (Austen was the first to break the fourth wall); on feminism by introducing small but significant new ideas to their readers; on empire by exposing readers to the horrors that go on in places unknown (same goes for many if not most books mentioned here); and so forth.

I don’t think the OP is asking for major and immediate impacts in real time. She asked for substantial effects. That’s really any book that hasn’t sunk without a trace, and that’s been read by many who have felt impacted for one reason or another.

I think we have different ideas of "substantial impact", that's all. I think these three moved the dial on significant social issues and they did it from people buying the books and talking about them, investigating the issues, coming to new positions on the points they made.

I agree they didn't overthrow regimes or bring in new laws but they did have a huge impact on people's actual lives.

Fair enough. I can see that "substantial impact" can be interpreted in different ways.

What public conversations do you think they contributed to?

Yes, it was , I guess he didn't have very refined taste:)

I remember all three being really influential at the time. Books like that come along every so often.

I remember Lionel Shriver being absolutely everywhere in the broadsheets and lit festival circuit. No idea what her books actually influenced. What changed as a result?

Like I said, it doesn't have to be about laws being introduced. It's about how we see ourselves, and it added to the debates around nature versus nuture, the ways women are made to feel responsible for family outcomes, the rise in child unhappiness, going back to work etc. I think it had an impact because it got people talking about these things. It moved the conversation, people's understanding of some big issues they maybe hadn't considered.

The book did that. Not a TV series or a documentary but a book.

I didn't mention laws. What changed though. What did the vast majority of people think before the book came out and how did society's attitude change afterwards - you've got to have some metric for tracking change.

That's the way I'm thinking.

Some of the Victorian novels mentioned previously did contribute towards changing attitudes towards, for example, divorce or the use of climbing boys (child chimney sweeps).

Some of the modern novels cited, led to articles in broadsheets, interviews at literary festivals, dinner party conversations among the lanyard class but I'm not convinced that any of them led to (or even contributed towards), wider societal changes.

Well put.

I wish those on the woke left would re-read 1984 and understand that its lessons applied to them just as much as everyone else. It wasn’t the ‘fascists’ who demanded Roald Dahl’s books be re-written. Orwell would be bitterly amused to find that so-called liberals are now the most dictatorial and intolerant people in Britain. They’re the ones who are trying to control what we can say and think and read. It’s the liberal-left who are stopping people speaking on university campuses. And it’s the liberal-left who are re-writing history, attacking the literary canon and ‘de-colonising’ the libraries.

God, ‘de-colonising the libraries’ is exactly the kind of phrase you’d expect to find in 1984. Orwell assumed future dictatorships would either be right-wing fascist or Stalinist Communist. Not even he imagined woke-liberal dictators!