Book Anatomy · The Great God Pan
The Great God Pan: Commercial facts
13 lenses on commercial facts for The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L12 L13
L1. Total word count. Count
1894, 21,758 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L2. Chapter count and average length. Count
1894, 21,758 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L3. Length against modern norms for the genre. Both
21,758 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules.
At 21,758 words, the book is short for modern horror or gothic fiction, which typically run 80,000 to 120,000 words. It reads as a novella or short novel, which suits its concentrated focus and rapid pacing.
L4. First published as a serial or a volume? Research
1894, 21,758 words. See the full lens on the book page.
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L5. Serial instalment breaks and how each ends. Both
The book was published as a complete work in 1894, not serialised. However, its eight short chapters function like serial instalments, each ending with a question or revelation that propels readers forward.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
L6. Sales and reviews in its day. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L7. Adaptations: film, TV, stage, count and type. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L8. Sequels and series. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L9. Modern books in the same mould (comps). AI
Modern comps include Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw' (ambiguous supernatural horror), Shirley Jackson's 'The Haunting of Hill House' (investigation of the inexplicable), and Paul Tremblay's 'A Head Full of Ghosts' (corruption and hidden truth).
L10. Who it would be shelved for today. AI
The book would be shelved in gothic horror, classic horror, and literary fiction. It appeals to readers of Victorian gothic, supernatural horror, and philosophical horror that questions the limits of human knowledge and action.
L11. Content notes. AI
Content notes: violation and non-consensual surgery on a young girl; suicide of multiple characters; implied sexual corruption; body horror; psychological trauma and madness.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8
the soul seemed struggling and shuddering within the house of flesh. (Ch 1, para 38)
Et Diabolus incarnatus est. Et homo factus est. (Ch 2, para 18)
I was then privileged or accursed, I dare not say which, to see that which was on the bed, lying there black like ink, transformed before my eyes. (Ch 8, para 5)
L12. A modern pitch line and blurb. AI
When a surgeon pierces the veil between worlds through forbidden experiment, he unleashes a monstrous being who corrupts and destroys all who encounter her true nature. A man's rational investigation cannot stop what should never have been created.
L13. Title style against genre norms. AI
The title is simple and mythological, naming the central symbol rather than describing plot or character. This suits gothic and horror norms, which often use symbolic or mysterious titles. It echoes titles like 'The Monk' or 'Frankenstein' in its directness.
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