Some authors are known by millions of people for having written many successful novels - others, however, continue to be defined by the one which brought them worldwide fame.

Though many enjoyed good sales and critical acclaim for their lesser-known works, these books simply can't compete with those single pieces of work that truly caught people's imagination the world over.

Here, BBC Bitesize looks at four authors who are each widely known for just one of their published works - and puts the spotlight on some of their other books, which have their admirers, but can remain in the shadow of their most celebrated offering.

Bram Stoker: More than just a vampire

The name Bram Stoker seems destined to forever be linked with his most famous novel, Dracula - published in 1897 - even though he died in 1912 before it went on to achieve enormous popularity.

But Stoker, who was born in Dublin in 1847, wrote 10 other novels and two novellas - and his immediate follow-up to Dracula had none of that title's gothic horror. In sharp contrast to his story of a fictional vampire, Miss Betty (1898) was a historical romance set in England during the Georgian era.

Meanwhile, more than a decade before Dracula made his terrifying entrance, Stoker saw his first collection of short stories published - and the eight tales featured in Under The Sunset (1881) were written for children. The stories were accompanied by 33 illustrations.

Stoker also wrote non-fiction works. He worked as acting manager and business manager for the Lyceum Theatre in London, and he was the personal assistant to its manager - his friend, the actor Sir Henry Irving. One of Stoker's major pieces of non-fiction was Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving, first published in the UK as a two-volume biography in 1906.

Colleen McCullough: Getting past the thorns

Australian author Colleen McCullough, who died in 2015, wrote 25 novels - but it was The Thorn Birds which millions of readers around the world fell in love with.

The 600-page romance was first published in 1977. It became the best-selling Australian novel of all time with sales of 30 million in dozens of languages, and made McCullough internationally famous. The book was also turned into a popular UK television mini-series.

None of her other books came close to achieving the same success as The Thorn Birds. McCullough, from Wellington, New South Wales, believed her most important work was seven novels on the life and times of Julius Caesar. She devoted herself to The Masters of Rome series for almost 30 years, from the early 1980s until 2007. In that time, McCullough's home doubled as a library containing thousands of books on every aspect of Roman history. She drew maps of cities and battlefields, visited museums all over the world and consulted experts in a dozen universities.

The author also published five murder mysteries in the Carmine Delmonico series between 2006 and 2013. Previously, she had written a biography - The Courage and the Will: The Life of Roden Cutler VC, which was published in 1999. As well as being a war hero, Cutler was the longest-serving Governor of New South Wales.

JD Salinger: When your other works don't catch on

JD Salinger has been described as the author of one of the greatest ever American novels.

The Catcher in the Rye - whose main character, Holden Caulfield, was seen as the epitome of a disaffected young man - continues to be the one work linked to its creator's name. This is not surprising when you consider it has been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 65 million copies worldwide.

Salinger - the initials stand for Jerome David - quickly became disillusioned with the publishing world after the arrival of his masterpiece. He left New York to live a more secluded life in New Hampshire. His other - limited - works were unable to escape the giant shadow cast by the success of his best-known work.

Three books followed 1951’s The Catcher in the Rye, but though they sold very well, they failed go down in posterity in the same way as Salinger's most renowned work.

In 1953, the author provided readers with a collection of short stories - called, simply, Nine Stories. Salinger's novel in two halves - Franny and Zooey - was published in 1961. The featured family returned in 1963's Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters. This novel also included another story: Seymour - An Introduction.

Though successful, critics believed these three books lacked the freshness of The Catcher in the Rye - the title that still springs to the lips of millions of people when they hear the name JD Salinger.

Jack Kerouac: Go off-road with tales of American life

Jack Kerouac, described as the father of the beat generation - achieved legendary status thanks to his novel On The Road, although it took him five years to find a publisher for it.

His most famous book finally hit the shops in 1957, when he was in his mid-thirties. Written in a 'free-form' style, it describes a series of trips across America made by a number of penniless young people who have a lust for life.

But Kerouac, who was from Lowell, Massachusetts, had already written what some people now consider his best novels (though they were only published after he achieved success with On The Road). These included Dr Sax, Maggie Cassidy, and Visions of Cody. He had, meanwhile, received plaudits in New York for his first novel The Town and the City (published in 1950).

The Town and the City has been recommended for those readers who aren't that keen on the author's 'beat writings'. Inspired by his own younger days, it documents a family's struggle to adapt to the changing times in post-World War II America. Kerouac was also a poet, and in The Scripture of the Golden Eternity he drew on his interest in Buddhist philosophy to produce a collection of meditations and haikus focusing on joy and consciousness.

This article was published in March 2026