Banned Books 

A number of classic and popular works of literature have been banned, challenged, or censored at various times. The American Library Association is opposed to banning or censoring books because of their content. For more information visit the ALA's Guide to Banned Books.

Examples include:

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale.
Challenged in some schools for sexual content, “themes of despair,” and defamation of women, minorities, God, and the disabled.

Jean Auel, Clan of the Cave Bear.
Banned or challenged in schools for sexual content.

James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain.
Challenged or banned in schools on the grounds of immorality and sexual content; in 1 case a student objected to reading African-American literature.

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451.
A version expurgated mainly for language was released by the publisher and was in print for 13 years without the author’s knowledge.

Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange.
Challenged in bookstores and in schools on the grounds of brutality and violent sexual content.

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.
Challenged in schools for vulgar language; textbooks frequently alter or omit some tales.

J.P. Donleavy, The Ginger Man.
The U.S. and U.K. publishers originally published special or censored versions due to sexual content.

Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie.
Rejected by several publishers because of its realistic portrayal of sexuality.

Howard Fast, Citizen Tom Paine.
Banned in New York schools & government libraries because the author was blacklisted by HUAC.

William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying.
Banned or challenged in schools for profanity, sexual content & questioning the existence of God.

Ernest Gaines, Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
Challenged in several schools for racial slurs and stereotyping and sexual content.

John Gardner, Grendel.
Challenged, banned and restricted in schools for violence and graphic language.

Nadine Gordimer, Burger’s Daughter.
Banned in South Africa upon publication on the grounds that it “endangers the safety of the state.”

William Golding, Lord of the Flies.
Challenged in schools for its pessimistic view of society and violent content.

Judith Guest, Ordinary People.
Challenged in schools for themes of teen suicide, vulgar language and sexual content.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.
Challenged in schools because it concerns adultery and an illegitimate child.

Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land.
An expurgated version was in print for 28 years.

Joseph Heller, Catch-22.
Challenged in schools for vulgar language & content.

Ernest Hemingway, The Sun also Rises.
Hemingway was asked to remove vulgar language by his publisher; his own mother called it “one of the filthiest books of the year.” Challenged in schools for language and references to impotence.

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.
Frequently challenged in schools for immoral and obscene content, vilifying the family, promotion of drug use, sexual content, and a fatalistic view.

James Jones, From Here to Eternity.
Removed from numerous bookstores at the time of publication for sexual content.

James Joyce, Dubliners.
The book’s first printer destroyed all copies on the grounds that it was obscene.

MacKinlay Kantor, Andersonville.
Banned in schools on the grounds of obscenity.

Nikos Kazantzakis, Last Temptation of Christ.
The author was excommunicated from the Eastern Orthodox Church; the book was placed on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books.

Ken Kesey, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Frequently censored and challenged in schools for racist, obscene and immoral content.

Stephen King, Cujo.
Challenged in schools for obscenity & violence.

John Knowles, A Separate Peace.
Challenged in schools for vulgar language and encouraging homosexual behavior and rebellion against authority.

Jerzy Kosinski, Being There.
Challenged in schools for “inappropriate images” including homosexual references.

D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Declared obscene by the U.S. government in 1929, the first unexpurgated edition was not published in the U.S. until 1959.

Wm. Lederer & E. Burdick, The Ugly American.
Temporarily censored on publication by the U.S.I.A.; challenged in schools for criticism of Americans.

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Challenged in schools as a “filthy, trashy novel” and for racist language and content.

Naguib Mahfouz, Children of the Alley.
Banned in Egypt on the grounds of blasphemy; an attempt was made to assassinate the author.

Norman Mailer, Deer Park.
Mailer was dropped by his publisher after refusing to edit sexually explicit passages.

Bernard Malamud, The Fixer.
Banned and challenged in schools on the grounds of obscenity, sexual content, and anti-Semitism.

Mary McCarthy, The Group.
Banned in Ireland upon publication for suggestions of sexuality, homosexuality, and promiscuity.

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind.
Banned or challenged in several schools because of racist language and Scarlett’s “immoral” behavior.

Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye.
Banned or challenged in schools for sexual content.

Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita.
Denounced as “sheer unrestrained pornography” upon publication.

John O’Hara, Ten North Frederick.
Banned in Albany and Detroit for obscenity.

George Orwell, Animal Farm.
Banned in several schools for its political content.

George Orwell, 1984.
One of the most often censored books in schools, because of sexual and political content.

Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago.
Banned in the USSR for political content.

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar.
Challenged in several schools on the grounds that it advocates an objectionable lifestyle.

Erich Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front.
Banned & burned by the Nazis; censored by its U.S. publisher at the request of the Book-of-the-Month Club; banned in Boston for obscenity.

Harold Robbins, Never Love a Stranger.
Deemed obscene in Pennsylvania upon publication.

Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses.
Banned in numerous Muslim countries on the grounds of blasphemy; the author had a bounty put on his head by the Ayatollah Khomeni.

J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye.
Frequently banned or challenged because of obscene language and inappropriate behavior by an adolescent.

Hanan al-Shayk, The Story of Zahra.
Banned in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries for its portrayal of women’s sexuality.

John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men.
The second most banned book in schools in the 1990s on the grounds of vulgar language and unacceptable portrayal of U.S. society.

Stendhal, The Red and the Black.
On the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books for over 100 years for being antireligious.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Banned in the South upon publication for its anti-slavery message; challenged in schools in the 20th century for racial stereotyping and racial slurs.

Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun.
Banned and challenged in several schools for vulgarity and anti-American content.

Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Frequently banned or challenged in schools because of racial slurs; an expurgated edition was published in the 1970s.

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five.
One of the most censored books of the past 25 years on the grounds of obscenity, violence, un-Godliness, immoral subject matter, cruelty, and unpatriotic portrayal of war.

Alice Walker, The Color Purple.
Banned and challenged in schools for sexual content including rape, incest, adultery, and lesbian relationships.

Richard Wright, Black Boy.
Banned in Mississippi for “lies about the South”; banned in several schools for obscenity, sexual content, racial content, and anti-Semitism.

More Information:

Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds - Ref 363.31 Sov

Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds - Ref 363.31 Kar

Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds - Ref 363.31 Sov

Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds - Ref 363.31 Bal

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