How many pages is The Scarlet Letter?

About 279 pages, though editions of a book this old vary a great deal — which is why its reading time comes from the complete text instead: 83,814 words, about 5½ hrs of reading at an average pace.

Is The Scarlet Letter worth reading?

We score it 3.2 out of 10 for the time it takes — a hard sell for the time. Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.17 out of 5 from 976 ratings, which counts for 3.2; at about 5½ hrs at an average pace its length neither adds nor takes away.

How long is The Scarlet Letter audiobook?

About 9½ hrs, estimated from the 84,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.

Find a copy Listen on Audible · ≈9½ hrs

The Scarlet Letter

Name: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

5½ hrsto read

3.2worth it

At your speed≈ 5½ hrs

Pages279

Audiobook≈ 9½ hrs

Times shown for 250 words a minute (average)

The complete text runs to 83,814 words, counted word for word. At an average 250 words a minute that is 5½ hrs — a weekend's reading.

Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.17 out of 5, from 976 ratings.

Worth-it score 3.2/10 — A hard sell for the time. Readers 3.2 (Hardcover's 3.17★ from 976 ratings) + length 0.0 = 3.2. How the score works →

How long does it take to read The Scarlet Letter?

The complete text of The Scarlet Letter runs to 83,814 words — about 279 pages in the edition we list. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:

Estimated reading time for The Scarlet Letter at three reading speeds.
Your pace	Words per minute	Time to finish
Slow	175	8 hrs
Average	250	5½ hrs
Fast	400	3½ hrs

Counted word for word from the complete public-domain text on Project Gutenberg, so these times don't depend on any one edition's page count. Most adults read between 200 and 300 words a minute — set your own pace and every time on the site adjusts. Prefer to listen? At a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute the audiobook runs about 9½ hrs — an estimate from the word count, since narrators vary.

Common questions

How long does it take to read The Scarlet Letter?: About 5½ hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. The complete text of The Scarlet Letter runs to 83,814 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 8 hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 3½ hrs.
How many pages is The Scarlet Letter?: About 279 pages, though editions of a book this old vary a great deal — which is why its reading time comes from the complete text instead: 83,814 words, about 5½ hrs of reading at an average pace.
Is The Scarlet Letter worth reading?: We score it 3.2 out of 10 for the time it takes — a hard sell for the time. Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.17 out of 5 from 976 ratings, which counts for 3.2; at about 5½ hrs at an average pace its length neither adds nor takes away.
How long is The Scarlet Letter audiobook?: About 9½ hrs, estimated from the 84,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.

From the publisher

A stark and allegorical tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's exploration of the dichotomy between the public and private self, internal passion and external convention, gives us the unforgettable Hester Prynne, who…

discovers strength in the face of ostracism and emerges as a heroine ahead of her time.

FictionPuritansPuritans in fictionHistoryAdultery in fictionAdulteryIllegitimate childrenIllegitimate children in fiction