How many pages is War and Peace?

About 838 pages, though editions of a book this old vary a great deal — which is why its reading time comes from the complete text instead: 565,123 words, about 37½ hrs of reading at an average pace.

Is War and Peace worth reading?

We score it 6.1 out of 10 for the time it takes — worth it for some readers. Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.07 out of 5 from 516 ratings, which counts for 7.1; at about 37½ hrs at an average pace it gives back 1.0 for its length.

How long is the War and Peace audiobook?

About 63 hrs, estimated from the 565,000 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 · ≈63 hrs

War and Peace

Name: War and Peace
Author: Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

37½ hrsto read

6.1worth it

At your speed≈ 37½ hrs

Pages838

Audiobook≈ 63 hrs

Times shown for 250 words a minute (average)

The complete text runs to 565,123 words, counted word for word. At an average 250 words a minute that is 37½ hrs — a week or more of evenings.

Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.07 out of 5, from 516 ratings.

Worth-it score 6.1/10 — Worth it for some readers. Readers 7.1 (Hardcover's 4.07★ from 516 ratings) − length 1.0 = 6.1. How the score works →

How long does it take to read War and Peace?

The complete text of War and Peace runs to 565,123 words — about 838 pages in the edition we list. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:

Estimated reading time for War and Peace at three reading speeds.
Your pace	Words per minute	Time to finish
Slow	175	54 hrs
Average	250	37½ hrs
Fast	400	23½ 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 63 hrs — an estimate from the word count, since narrators vary.

Common questions

How long does it take to read War and Peace?: About 37½ hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. The complete text of War and Peace runs to 565,123 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 54 hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 23½ hrs.
How many pages is War and Peace?: About 838 pages, though editions of a book this old vary a great deal — which is why its reading time comes from the complete text instead: 565,123 words, about 37½ hrs of reading at an average pace.
Is War and Peace worth reading?: We score it 6.1 out of 10 for the time it takes — worth it for some readers. Readers on Hardcover rate it 4.07 out of 5 from 516 ratings, which counts for 7.1; at about 37½ hrs at an average pace it gives back 1.0 for its length.
How long is the War and Peace audiobook?: About 63 hrs, estimated from the 565,000 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

At a glittering society party in St. Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon’s army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever.…

The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey, and impetuous Natasha interweave with a huge cast, from aristocrats and peasants, to soldiers and Napoleon himself. In War and Peace, Tolstoy entwines grand themes—conflict and love, birth and death, free will and fate—with unforgettable scenes of nineteenth-century Russia, to create a magnificent epic of human life in all its imperfection and grandeur.

ClassicHistoryRussian EmpireFictionRussiaRussia (federation), fictionFiction, historicalClassic Literature