A survey to mark the tenth anniversary of World Book Day asked readers to nominate books they cannot live without. Pride and Prejudice beat Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy, Lord of the Rings, into second place. Two of the Brontë sisters appear alongside Charles Dickens and George Orwell, showing that the nation’s readers still treasure their classics.
The Bible was placed sixth in the list. It owed its strong showing to the over-60s, who named it their fourth favourite. It continues to figure with younger generations, although falling out of the top ten for 18-25 year-olds and tailing down to number 19 in the under-18 age group.
Across the UK only the Welsh and inhabitants of the West Midlands failed to put the Bible in their top ten.
