A Christmas Carol vs Pride and Prejudice: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: British and irish fiction, 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.
Pride and Prejudice
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
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Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 novel of manners written by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- A Christmas Carol is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for Pride and Prejudice.
- Pride and Prejudice has the widest readership — 4989220 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| A Christmas Carol | Pride and Prejudice | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (59209) | 4.3 (4989220) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (1150) | 4.2 (3205) |
| Google Books | — | 4.5 (9) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1204) | 4.5 (30521) |
Reception
| A Christmas Carol | Pride and Prejudice | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 59209 | 4989220 |
| Editions | 3199 | 4039 |
| Citations | 17 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 10847 | 2911553 |
| Reading it now | 295 | 259375 |
| Written reviews | 717 | 158595 |
| Wikipedia attention | 28663 | 99265 |
| Pages | 88 | 320 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Christmas Carol or Pride and Prejudice?
Pride and Prejudice has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Pride and Prejudice 4.3/5, A Christmas Carol 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Christmas Carol or Pride and Prejudice?
A Christmas Carol is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: A Christmas Carol (88 pages, ≈ 1 h 38 m); Pride and Prejudice (320 pages, ≈ 5 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: A Christmas Carol or Pride and Prejudice?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Christmas Carol: Challenging; Pride and Prejudice: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
A Christmas Carol: 5 film adaptations; Pride and Prejudice: 5 film adaptations.