L3. Length against modern norms for the genre. Both
Commercial facts. One line per book. Open a book for the full answer, charts and cited lines.
| Book | Genre | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Treasure Island | Thriller and adventure | 68,669 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Thirty-Nine Steps | Thriller and adventure | 41,218 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Prisoner of Zenda | Thriller and adventure | 54,078 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Around the World in Eighty Days | Thriller and adventure | 63,208 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| King Solomon's Mines | Thriller and adventure | 81,974 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Crime and mystery | 59,487 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Study in Scarlet | Crime and mystery | 43,595 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Crime and mystery | 105,143 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Moonstone | Crime and mystery | 190,014 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Woman in White | Crime and mystery | 247,843 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Pride and Prejudice | Romance | 122,720 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Persuasion | Romance | 83,588 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Emma | Romance | 160,886 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Jane Eyre | Romance | 187,566 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Dracula | Gothic and horror | 161,966 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Frankenstein | Gothic and horror | 75,165 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | Gothic and horror | 25,685 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. |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Gothic and horror | 79,299 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Wuthering Heights | Gothic and horror | 117,006 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Turn of the Screw | Gothic and horror | 39,992 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. |
| The Time Machine | Science fiction | 32,679 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The War of the Worlds | Science fiction | 60,403 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Invisible Man | Science fiction | 48,955 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Fantasy and children's | 26,665 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | Fantasy and children's | 39,341 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Secret Garden | Fantasy and children's | 81,188 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Wind in the Willows | Fantasy and children's | 59,596 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Great Expectations | Literary | 186,445 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Christmas Carol | Literary | 28,711 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Great Gatsby | Literary | 48,617 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Heart of Darkness | Literary | 38,761 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Kidnapped | Thriller and adventure | 80,410 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | Thriller and adventure | 466,070 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Three Musketeers | Thriller and adventure | 229,771 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Riddle of the Sands | Thriller and adventure | 109,278 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Thriller and adventure | 85,378 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Lost World | Thriller and adventure | 76,506 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Captain Blood | Thriller and adventure | 113,999 words. Modern thriller and adventure often runs 80,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Lady Audley's Secret | Crime and mystery | 151,091 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Murders in the Rue Morgue | Crime and mystery | 13,885 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Innocence of Father Brown | Crime and mystery | 79,546 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Big Bow Mystery | Crime and mystery | 42,638 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Leavenworth Case | Crime and mystery | 111,107 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Red Thumb Mark | Crime and mystery | 70,853 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Amateur Cracksman | Crime and mystery | 52,529 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Secret Agent | Crime and mystery | 91,008 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Sense and Sensibility | Romance | 119,848 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| North and South | Romance | 183,455 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Far from the Madding Crowd | Romance | 138,266 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Enchanted April | Romance | 79,083 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Sheik | Romance | 88,318 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Daddy Long Legs | Romance | 37,670 words. Modern romance often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Carmilla | Gothic and horror | 27,925 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. |
| The Castle of Otranto | Gothic and horror | 34,867 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. |
| The Phantom of the Opera | Gothic and horror | 83,400 words. Modern gothic and horror often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Great God Pan | Gothic and horror | 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. |
| The Yellow Wallpaper | Gothic and horror | 6,173 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. |
| The Call of Cthulhu | Gothic and horror | 12,021 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. |
| The Island of Doctor Moreau | Science fiction | 43,679 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Journey to the Centre of the Earth | Science fiction | 85,996 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Princess of Mars | Science fiction | 66,098 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Herland | Science fiction | 53,326 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Flatland | Science fiction | 29,645 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Erewhon | Science fiction | 82,256 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Last Man | Science fiction | 169,311 words. Modern science fiction often runs 90,000 to 110,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Through the Looking Glass | Fantasy and children's | 29,559 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Little Princess | Fantasy and children's | 67,152 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Jungle Book | Fantasy and children's | 51,738 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Five Children and It | Fantasy and children's | 53,499 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Railway Children | Fantasy and children's | 60,017 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Princess and the Goblin | Fantasy and children's | 51,219 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Peter and Wendy | Fantasy and children's | 47,331 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Worm Ouroboros | Fantasy and children's | 170,881 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Anne of Green Gables | Fantasy and children's | 103,002 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Black Beauty | Fantasy and children's | 59,871 words. Modern fantasy and children's often runs 30,000 to 60,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Middlemarch | Literary | 320,023 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles | Literary | 151,045 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Mrs Dalloway | Literary | 64,422 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| To the Lighthouse | Literary | 69,611 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Anna Karenina | Literary | 351,659 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Crime and Punishment | Literary | 204,405 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Madame Bovary | Literary | 116,834 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Age of Innocence | Literary | 102,960 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Silas Marner | Literary | 72,022 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Literary | 112,677 words. Modern literary often runs 70,000 to 100,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Hamlet | Plays | 31,738 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Macbeth | Plays | 17,992 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Romeo and Juliet | Plays | 25,710 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Othello | Plays | 27,562 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Plays | 17,150 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Twelfth Night | Plays | 21,125 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Doctor Faustus | Plays | 12,468 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is short for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The Importance of Being Earnest | Plays | 20,591 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| A Doll's House | Plays | 26,786 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Hedda Gabler | Plays | 27,073 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| Pygmalion | Plays | 32,299 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
| The School for Scandal | Plays | 28,583 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules. |
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