How long does it take to read Middlemarch?
George Eliot
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, Middlemarch takes about 21 hours to read. As an audiobook, expect about 34 hours at 1x.
Middlemarch first appeared in eight instalments in 1871 and 1872, and the novel keeps that shape: eight books, 86 chapters and a Finale. Read one book a week and each takes about two and a half hours.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the book:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: counted text. We used the Project Gutenberg text (#145), from Chapter I to the end of the Finale. The short Prelude isn't included; the epigraphs at the head of each chapter are.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked November 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log it in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read Middlemarch?
About 21 hours at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 26 hours at 200 and 18 hours at 300.
How many words are in Middlemarch?
315,580 words.
How many pages a day to finish Middlemarch in a month?
About 39 pages a day, or 43m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 1,148 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
How many chapters does Middlemarch have?
86, in eight books, followed by a Finale. They average about 3,600 words, roughly 15 minutes of reading each.
Is Middlemarch longer than Anna Karenina?
No, though it's close: 315,580 words against 349,538 in the translation we counted. Middlemarch takes about two hours less.