The Catcher in the Rye ranked 15th in the BBC’s 2003 survey, The Big Read.
The BBC’s Big Read asked the British public to nominate and vote for its best-loved novel. The final ranking placed J. D. Salinger’s book at number 15, below Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca at 14 and above Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows at 16.
The survey reflected popularity among participating readers rather than a scholarly judgment of literary quality. Its top position went to The Lord of the Rings, followed by Pride and Prejudice, while several modern and children’s classics also ranked highly.
The number is easy to confuse with other list positions because The Big Read covered hundreds of books and was frequently summarized in shortened top-20 lists. It also should not be confused with later “best novels” rankings, which use different voters, criteria, and publication dates.