Dolores Claiborne
by Stephen King
★ Top 25 book of 1992 · #21 on Best Books of 1992
Dolores Claiborne, suspected of killing her wealthy employer Vera Donovan, tells police her life story. She recalls her failing marriage, her violent husband's suspicious death decades ago, and her loyalty to a demanding employer.
Best for: Readers who like suspense told through a suspect's own confessional account
Dolores Claiborne is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 1992, out of 43 1992 books that cleared our data bar.
What Dolores Claiborne is about
Dolores Claiborne, a 65-year-old widow on Little Tall Island, Maine, sits down with a local constable and a stenographer to give her statement. She is suspected of killing Vera Donovan, the wealthy, elderly woman she has cared for as a live-in helper. Dolores insists she did not do it, but she is ready to confess to something else: arranging the death of her husband, Joe St. George, nearly thirty years ago.
The whole novel is her voice, plain-spoken and unsparing, telling a story of an abusive marriage, a fierce wish to protect her children, and a long, uneasy bond with a woman whose mind is slipping away. Stephen King builds a gritty, confessional psychological thriller about class, endurance, and the secrets two women keep. It will appeal to readers who value strong character voice over shocks.
Dolores Claiborne on the Best Books of 1992
Dolores Claiborne came out in 1992. Of the 43 books first published in 1992 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #21 on our Best Books of 1992 list.
Why it made the list: 305 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.3 out of 5 (29 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1992 list
- The Pelican Brief John Grisham, #19
- Dragonfly in Amber Diana Gabaldon, #20
- Jazz Toni Morrison, #22
See all Best Books of 1992 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1991 Best Books of 1993.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 224 want to read it, 6 are reading it now and 75 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.3 out of 5 from 29 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 79 | 55% |
| Reader love | 2 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 23 | 20% |
Questions about Dolores Claiborne
When was Dolores Claiborne published?
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King was first published in 1992.
Was Dolores Claiborne one of the best books of 1992?
Dolores Claiborne is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 1992, out of 43 1992 books that cleared our data bar. 305 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.3 out of 5 (29 ratings).
Why is Dolores Claiborne on the Best Books of 1992 list?
305 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.3 out of 5 (29 ratings).
More of the best books of 1992
- Welcome to Dead House Robert Lawrence Stine, #1
- The Secret History Donna Tartt, #2
- The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes Bill Watterson, #3
- Snow Crash Neal Stephenson, #4
- The Shadow Rising Robert Jordan, #5
- The Artist's Way Julia Cameron, #6
See the full Best Books of 1992, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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