Celebrating Literary Milestones: 25, 50, 75, 100, and 125 Years of Iconic Books

Debbie Brown
Sep 9
5 min read

Welcome back! We begin this academic year by celebrating the milestone birthdays of books that have become part of the fabric of our society and have made a lasting cultural impact unlike many others. Join us as we wish books like The Great Gatsby, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mrs. Dalloway, The Wonderful World of Oz, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and others a very happy birthday.

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Books are more than just pages bound together—they are cultural markers, reflecting the fears, hopes, and imaginations of their times. Each year, beloved classics and modern masterpieces reach milestone anniversaries, offering us a chance to revisit their legacies and reconsider their impact. In 2025, we celebrate books turning 25, 50, 75, 100, and even 125 years old. From magical adventures to controversial bestsellers, these works remind us how literature continues to shape our world.

25 Years (Published in 2000)

The turn of the millennium was buzzing with anticipation and uncertainty, but it was also a golden moment for publishing. In 2000, readers were captivated by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The book release was nothing short of a global event, with midnight release parties and record-breaking sales. This installment marked a darker turn in the series, bridging childhood wonder with the coming-of-age struggles that defined Harry’s journey.

Alongside it, Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons hit the shelves, mixing religious intrigue, history, and thriller pacing that foreshadowed the frenzy around The Da Vinci Code. Meanwhile, Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising gave young readers a poignant look at immigration, resilience, and cultural identity. Each of these books, though vastly different, spoke to audiences searching for magic, mystery, and meaning in a rapidly changing world.

Finally, 2000 also saw the release of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith, a follow-up to his bestselling The Case for Christ. In it, Strobel tackled some of the most challenging objections to Christianity, interviewing theologians, philosophers, and scholars. The book sparked conversation in both religious and secular circles, praised by some as a thoughtful defense of faith and criticized by others as apologetic evangelism. Its success demonstrated the appetite for accessible explorations of spirituality at the dawn of a new millennium.

50 Years (Published in 1975)

The mid-1970s were an era of cultural shifts, and the publishing world reflected those tensions. Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot terrified readers with its reimagining of the vampire myth, placing supernatural horror in the backdrop of small-town America. Its commercial success cemented King as a master of modern horror.

In contrast, Larry McMurtry’s Terms of Endearment explored family dynamics, love, and loss, resonating with readers in more intimate and emotional ways. Though not as polarizing as King’s work, McMurtry’s frank depictions of flawed, complicated relationships pushed against traditional portrayals of family life in popular fiction.

Children’s literature also had its landmark moment in 1975 with Beverly Cleary’s Ramona the Brave. This installment of the beloved Ramona Quimby series captured the everyday struggles and triumphs of childhood, from sibling rivalry to standing up for oneself. Cleary’s ability to portray children’s voices with honesty and humor resonated deeply with young readers and parents alike. While less controversial than King or McMurtry, Cleary’s work was revolutionary in its own way—validating children’s experiences and giving them stories where they could see themselves reflected.

Together, these works showcased the remarkable range of 1975’s literary landscape—frightening, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at once.

75 Years (Published in 1950)

Postwar America was entering an age of both optimism and anxiety, and literature often reflected the need for escape. Enter C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published installment of The Chronicles of Narnia. With its magical land, talking animals, and allegorical undertones, the novel quickly became a beloved children’s classic and a staple of fantasy literature.

Meanwhile, Agatha Christie continued her reign as the “Queen of Crime” with A Murder Is Announced, published in 1950. The novel featured Miss Marple at her best, investigating a murder that occurs after a local newspaper advertises it in advance. The book was both a bestseller and a cultural talking point, showing how Christie’s mysteries reflected postwar concerns about trust, identity, and the fragility of small communities. That same year, she also released Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, further cementing her place as one of the most prolific and popular writers of the century.

Finally, Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery transported readers to Victorian England, mixing historical detail with thrilling storytelling. This book highlighted Crichton’s gift for making history feel as suspenseful as science fiction.

Though different in tone and audience, Lewis, Christie, and Crichton all emphasized adventure, imagination, and mystery—qualities that readers craved in a world still recovering from war.

100 Years (Published in 1925)

The roaring twenties produced some of the most enduring literature of the 20th century. Perhaps none shines brighter than F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Though initially met with modest sales and mixed reviews, the novel’s portrayal of wealth, longing, and disillusionment in Jazz Age America has since made it a pillar of American literature. Today, those same qualities—its sharp critique of the American Dream and its concise, poetic prose—are precisely what make it endure.

That same year, Virginia Woolf published Mrs Dalloway, a groundbreaking modernist novel that unfolded in the course of a single day in postwar London. Woolf’s use of stream-of-consciousness narration and shifting perspectives was daring for its time, challenging traditional storytelling and immersing readers in the inner lives of her characters. While some early critics found her style confusing or overly experimental, Mrs Dalloway is now considered one of the most important novels of the 20th century, standing alongside The Great Gatsby as a defining work of 1925.

The 1920s also saw publishers becoming more experimental, giving space to voices that challenged social and cultural norms. Together, Fitzgerald and Woolf remind us that literary greatness is not always immediate but often grows with time, shaping how we understand an era and ourselves.

125 Years (Published in 1900)

The turn of the 20th century was a fertile period for publishing, as print technology made books more accessible to a wider audience. L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900 and quickly became a sensation. Its fantastical journey through Oz introduced readers to Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion—characters who would become embedded in American folklore.

While the book was marketed as a children’s fairy tale, some contemporaries critiqued its departure from the moral-heavy stories of the Victorian era. Instead, Baum offered entertainment, imagination, and a new kind of American fairy tale. Over a century later, its cultural influence—from stage adaptations to the iconic 1939 film—remains unmatched.

From the yellow brick road to the streets of West Egg, from Narnia’s wardrobe to the halls of Hogwarts, these milestone books remind us of literature’s enduring power. Each emerged in its time with a story that captivated, challenged, or comforted readers, and each continues to shape our imaginations today. As these works celebrate 25, 50, 75, 100, and 125 years, we honor not only the authors who created them but also the readers who keep their stories alive. Books may age, but their magic never fades.

Follow the links below to access books in Henry Buhl Library celebrating milestone birthdays this year: