How long does it take to read The Nightingale?
Kristin Hannah
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, The Nightingale takes 10 hours 55 minutes to read. The unabridged audiobook runs 18 hours at 1x, or 12 hours at 1.5x.
Kristin Hannah's novel of two sisters in occupied France, Vianne and Isabelle, is long: about 11 hours at an average pace, and longer than her later novel The Women.
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: audiobook estimate. Estimated from the unabridged audiobook narrated by Polly Stone (17:37, as Libro.fm and OverDrive both list it) at 155 words a minute. One Audible listing gave 17:19; we've gone with the two that agree.
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 The Nightingale?
About 11 hours at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 14 hours at 200 and 9h 6m at 300.
How many words are in The Nightingale?
About 163,835 words. That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How long is the audiobook?
17 hours 37 minutes unabridged at 1x: 11h 45m at 1.5x and 8h 49m at 2x.
How many pages a day to finish The Nightingale in a month?
About 20 pages a day, or 22m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 596 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
Is The Nightingale longer than The Women?
Yes: about 164,000 words against 139,000 by the same audiobook estimate, roughly an hour and 40 minutes more reading.
How long would it take at 30 minutes a day?
About 22 days: the whole book is just under 11 hours at an average pace.