C9. Longest speeches and what each one does. Both

Dialogue and voice. One line per book. Open a book for the full answer, charts and cited lines.

Book	Genre	Result
Treasure Island	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 316 words.
The Thirty-Nine Steps	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 190 words.
The Prisoner of Zenda	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 402 words.
Around the World in Eighty Days	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 160 words.
King Solomon's Mines	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 248 words.
The Hound of the Baskervilles	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 253 words.
A Study in Scarlet	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 241 words.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 396 words.
The Moonstone	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 437 words.
The Woman in White	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 662 words.
Pride and Prejudice	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 357 words.
Persuasion	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 265 words.
Emma	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 571 words.
Jane Eyre	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 354 words.
Dracula	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 437 words.
Frankenstein	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 288 words.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 841 words.
The Picture of Dorian Gray	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 590 words.
Wuthering Heights	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 766 words.
The Turn of the Screw	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 152 words.
The Time Machine	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 154 words.
The War of the Worlds	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 196 words.
The Invisible Man	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 312 words.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 140 words.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 143 words.
The Secret Garden	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 388 words.
The Wind in the Willows	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 465 words.
Great Expectations	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 263 words.
A Christmas Carol	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 142 words.
The Great Gatsby	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 149 words.
Heart of Darkness	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 1,525 words.
Kidnapped	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 343 words.
The Count of Monte Cristo	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 381 words.
The Three Musketeers	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 484 words.
The Riddle of the Sands	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 373 words.
The Scarlet Pimpernel	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 271 words.
The Lost World	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 311 words.
Captain Blood	Thriller and adventure	The longest single speech runs to 299 words.
Lady Audley's Secret	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 480 words.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 406 words.
The Innocence of Father Brown	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 404 words.
The Big Bow Mystery	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 993 words.
The Leavenworth Case	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 532 words.
The Red Thumb Mark	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 383 words.
The Amateur Cracksman	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 305 words.
The Secret Agent	Crime and mystery	The longest single speech runs to 230 words.
Sense and Sensibility	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 528 words.
North and South	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 410 words.
Far from the Madding Crowd	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 211 words.
The Enchanted April	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 167 words.
The Sheik	Romance	The longest single speech runs to 382 words.
Daddy Long Legs	Romance	Longest speeches are Jerusha's reflections in Chapter 7 on orphanage life and Chapter 12 on her doubts about worthiness. These passages establish her philosophy and emotional state. Chapter 11 contains extended …
Carmilla	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 146 words.
The Castle of Otranto	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 378 words.
The Phantom of the Opera	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 301 words.
The Great God Pan	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 221 words.
The Yellow Wallpaper	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 65 words.
The Call of Cthulhu	Gothic and horror	The longest single speech runs to 61 words.
The Island of Doctor Moreau	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 291 words.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 217 words.
A Princess of Mars	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 193 words.
Herland	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 123 words.
Flatland	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 188 words.
Erewhon	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 199 words.
The Last Man	Science fiction	The longest single speech runs to 336 words.
Through the Looking Glass	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 97 words.
A Little Princess	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 167 words.
The Jungle Book	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 187 words.
Five Children and It	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 126 words.
The Railway Children	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 190 words.
The Princess and the Goblin	Fantasy and children's	Longest speeches: grandmother in Chapter 15 explains the ring's power (multiple lines). Curdie in Chapter 19 sings rhyming songs to annoy goblins (multiple stanzas). Goblin king in Chapter 9 outlines invasion plans …
Peter and Wendy	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 115 words.
The Worm Ouroboros	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 454 words.
Anne of Green Gables	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 672 words.
Black Beauty	Fantasy and children's	The longest single speech runs to 440 words.
Middlemarch	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 258 words.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 525 words.
Mrs Dalloway	Literary	Longest speeches are rare. Peter's declaration 'I am in love' (Section 5) is brief. Clarissa's greeting to guests (Section 18) is repeated but short. Most communication is fragmented. The narrator's reflection on …
To the Lighthouse	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 194 words.
Anna Karenina	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 288 words.
Crime and Punishment	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 2,894 words.
Madame Bovary	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 374 words.
The Age of Innocence	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 161 words.
Silas Marner	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 389 words.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn	Literary	The longest single speech runs to 230 words.
Hamlet	Plays	Longest speeches: Hamlet's 'To be or not to be' soliloquy (Scene 8, about 35 lines, explores death and suicide). Hamlet's instructions to the players (Scene 9, about 20 lines, teaches acting). Hamlet's 'How all …
Macbeth	Plays	The longest single speech runs to 124 words.
Romeo and Juliet	Plays	Mercutio's Queen Mab speech (chapter 5, quote 15) is a long, imaginative digression that reveals his wit and cynicism. Romeo's balcony speech (chapter 8, quote 23) is a lyrical declaration of love. Juliet's potion …
Othello	Plays	Othello's longest speech is his account of courtship in scene 3 (approximately 40 lines), establishing his insecurity. Iago's soliloquy in scene 3 (approximately 35 lines) reveals his plot. Othello's jealous rant in …
A Midsummer Night's Dream	Plays	Puck's longest speech in scene 6 ('Lord, what fools these mortals be') reflects on the lovers' chaos. Oberon's speech in scene 3 about the magic flower explains the plot. Puck's epilogue in scene 9 asks forgiveness …
Twelfth Night	Plays	Viola's longest speech is in Scene 9 (lines 17), where she tells the story of a woman who loved in silence. This speech reveals her hidden love for Orsino through metaphor. Orsino's longest speech is in Scene 1, …
Doctor Faustus	Plays	The longest single speech runs to 533 words.
The Importance of Being Earnest	Plays	Lady Bracknell's interrogation of Jack (Act I) is the longest speech sequence, establishing her authority and Jack's vulnerability. Algernon's explanation of Bunburying (Act I) is a key speech defining his …
A Doll's House	Plays	Nora's longest speech is her confrontation with Helmer in Act III, where she declares she must leave to discover herself. This speech defines her arc and the play's theme. Christine's speech about staying with …
Hedda Gabler	Plays	The longest single speech runs to 53 words.
Pygmalion	Plays	Higgins's longest speech in Act IV damns everyone and reveals his indifference to Eliza's future. Eliza's longest speech in Act IV demands to know what will become of her and asserts her worth. Pickering's speeches …
The School for Scandal	Plays	Longest speeches: Sir Peter's lament on marriage (chapter 2, quote 5, 50+ lines). Joseph's confession of his dilemma (chapter 4, quote 13, 40+ lines). Charles's frank admission of extravagance (chapter 8, quote 24, …

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