Little, Big
#6993.80 adjusted 3.81 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1981 Reading commitment Low John Crowley Last reviewed 2026-08-27
Overview
Little, Big is John Crowley's standalone 1981 novel, a generational saga following the Drinkwater family and their house Edgewood, which sits at the edge of a fairy realm slowly intruding on the mundane world across decades. Structured as a multi-generational family chronicle in the tradition of a Victorian novel, it follows successive Drinkwaters as their ordinary lives become gradually, almost imperceptibly, entangled with fairy influence, until the boundary between the two worlds becomes difficult to locate at all. Widely regarded as one of the most important American fantasy novels of the twentieth century, it won the 1982 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and was later selected for a major American literary retrospective list of best fantasy novels, cementing its reputation among critics as a work of literary ambition comparable to mainstream American fiction of its era.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Little, Big (1981) core · 3.80 (12,586 ratings)
Quick answers
- How many books are in Little, Big? Little, Big's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Little, Big finished? Complete (1981).
- How much reading does Little, Big take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~538 pages).
- How is Little, Big ranked? #699 in this site's official ranking, based on 12,586 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #699?
Ranked #699 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.80 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (12,586 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #698, Jirel of Joiry (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #699 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1982: won: Little, Big
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 1981: nominated: Little, Big
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1982: nominated: Little, Big
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1982: nominated: Little, Big
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.80 across 12,586 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Little, Big (John Crowley) accepted 2026-08-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is the complete standalone novel.