Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, after a little break on my behalf. Today’s topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is The Longest Books I’ve Ever Read. I can’t promise that this is an absolutely complete list, because I may be forgetting some (or, in the case of Sharon Penman, only including a selection of titles!), but here, in descending order, is a list of the longest books I’ve ever read:
1. The Bible (God)
Coming in first place at a whopping 1,993 pages (because it includes handy footnotes) is my Bible! Not really any surprises there, I guess. 🙂
2. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
Next on my list is David Copperfield, coming in at 1,024 pages. And I can highly recommend the audio narration by Richard Armitage. Yes, folks. That’s 1,024 pages or approximately 36 hours of Richard Armitage’s voice, on tap. *sigh*
3. When Christ and His Saints Slept (Sharon K. Penman)
My next book comes in at a neat 900 pages. And that’s 900 pages of smaller-than-average print. And my, was I sucked in. If you’re at all interested in 12th Century English history, read this book.
4. Daniel Deronda (George Eliot)
Daniel Deronda comes in at number four with 875 pages. This is another one that I technically listened to rather than read.
5. Devil’s Brood (Sharon K. Penman)
This is the only other one of Sharon K. Penman’s books that I’m going to include, coming in at 768 pages. All her books are tomes, and I’ve read several of them. In case you’re wondering, the Devil’s Brood referred to are the children of Henry II of England and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Think Richard the Lionheart and King John. And that’s not even half!
6. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)
This one comes in at 736, and really could have been so much shorter. It’s a lot of pages for not very much satisfaction…
7. Warsaw Requiem (Bodie Thoene)
This one might only come in at 544 pages, but those 544 pages probably contain at least an extra hundred pages worth of story. And this is book six in the series!
8. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
I was a little surprised that this only came in at 544 pages. There’s so much story here!
9. Harold: the Last of the Saxon Kings (Edward Bulwer Lytton)
Coming in at 522 pages and written by he of “It was a dark and stormy night” fame, this is a story of Harold Godwinson, the Saxon king who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. Sorry if that’s a spoiler for you! 😂 It took me a bit of time to work up the courage to keep reading once I got to the battle…
10. North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)
After all these 500+ page novels, 480 pages doesn’t seem like much, but what a story. And I totally forgave the BBC for the dramatic licence they took with the ending in the miniseries. I mean, how could you not… 😉
I’ve read the Bible, of course, and I have just very recently acquired the audio-book of David Copperfield narrated by the the wonderful Richard Armitage. I have North and South as well, and have read quite a few 400+ page books. If I put my mind to it and the text is not to small I can finish them in a few days.
Actually, come to think if it, I read a novel last year that came in at a whopping 560 pages altogether. I think it was actually more like 540 pages, minus all the front matter, but still a lot. Took me a few weeks, with the Kindle and paperback.
I have a book on the Crusades that comes in at 900 odd pages, which I doubt I will ever read. I know some gut once said he read it at college. Smarty pants.
Oh, enjoy David Copperfield! And 900 pages on the Crusades. Wow. It would want to be interesting…
Ooh! I’ve read four on your list–the Bible, When Christ and His Saints Slept, Devil’s Brood, and North and South. Every one worth every hour, especially the first. I’ve also read/listened to the tomes of Edward Rutherford, my favorites being Sarum and Paris. I’ll have to look into Harold: The Last of the Saxon Kings. Should be a good fit for my research for this new series 🙂
I just looked up Edward Rutherford. Wow! And Sarum is only $4.99 on Kindle at the moment, so I may have just added it to my collection…
Excellent list! I’m not one for classics, I suspect if I was my list would be vastly different!
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk
The classics definitely have big page counts!
I’m impressed that you finished A Tale of Two Cities. I’ve started that book multiple times but never managed to get to the end.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I do enjoy Dickens, even if it does feel like he pads the story out at times. But that ending…oh boy. It’s kind of like a benchmark for tears at the end of a novel. If a book can make me cry as much as A Tale of Two Cities, that’s definitely saying something!
I read David Copperfield years ago.
Hope you have a great week.
You too! 🙂
Gone with the Wind checking in at about 1000 pages. After that many pages, wouldn’t you think Margaret Mitchell could have added a few more so she didn’t leave us with a bit of a cliffhanger?
I remember watching the movie with my mother years ago when I was in my teens. We had no idea about the ending and couldn’t believe we’d sat through so many hours for that ending! I think that’s put me off reading the book…
I’ve read the first 2 🙂
The longest books I have read are Roots,Gone With The Wind,David Copperfield, A Tale Of Two Cities, Texas by James Michner,North and South by John Jakes and Vanity Fair.
We definitely share some similar reads!