Books That Were Banned in the Past Century

Literature has always been an enriching factor to humanity, but the books that were banned in the past century were at one point considered harmful to society’s status quo. While today most of the treasured novels on this list have contributed to forming the minds of entire generations, they had to fall under restrictive hands before developing their popularity. The reasons for banning these books varied, but some of the most common were sexual imagery, invoking rebellious and aggressive ideas, and questioning racism, as well as religious beliefs of the 20^th century.

Now, as we’ve learned in our previous article about the 10 most controversial songs of all time, banning a piece of art, music, or literature will rarely result in non-consumption. To the contrary, once the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom listed these works as challenged, flocks of bookworms and literary experts found their way around the restrictions in order to attain a copy. So, let’s take a look at some of the books that were banned in the past century and what made them so controversial.

6. Brave New World (1932)

Author: Aldous Huxley

There’s truly nothing subtle about Aldous Huxley’s depiction of what our future society could look like: dystopian to the core, with humans ranked in a classified system and, of course, a rebel that won’t conform to the state of the world. However, while the novel is impeccably written, the 1932 society wasn’t quite ready to embrace it and banned the book for contempt of religion, marriage, and the family.