A Christmas Carol vs Macbeth: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Drama, Fiction
A Christmas Carol
“Marley was dead, to begin with.”
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A retelling of the story about a miser whose life is changed by Christmas.
Macbeth
“Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.”
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The play concerns a trusted general who secretly lusts for power. Encouraged by the prophecies of three witches and urged on by his ambitious wife Macbeth commits regicide. Left fearful and superstitious by this…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate A Christmas Carol highest: A Christmas Carol 4.1 · Macbeth 3.5.
- A Christmas Carol has the widest readership — 59209 ratings behind its score.
- Macbeth reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 66 times.
- Macbeth runs the darker storyline; A Christmas Carol stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| A Christmas Carol | Macbeth | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (59209) | 3.5 (18773) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (1150) | 3.9 (1169) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1204) | 3.5 (555) |
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Reception
| A Christmas Carol | Macbeth | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 59209 | 18773 |
| Editions | 3199 | 1867 |
| Citations | 17 | 66 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 10847 | 8761 |
| Reading it now | 295 | 325 |
| Written reviews | 717 | 190 |
| Wikipedia attention | 28663 | 485 |
| Pages | 88 | 84 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Christmas Carol or Macbeth?
A Christmas Carol has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Christmas Carol 4.1/5, Macbeth 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Christmas Carol or Macbeth?
Macbeth is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Macbeth (84 pages, ≈ 1 h 33 m); A Christmas Carol (88 pages, ≈ 1 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: A Christmas Carol or Macbeth?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Christmas Carol: Challenging; Macbeth: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
A Christmas Carol: 5 film adaptations; Macbeth: no film adaptation on record.