An Ideal Husband vs Back to Methuselah: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: British and irish drama, English drama, English literature, Drama
An Ideal Husband
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An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in "the…
Back to Methuselah
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Five linked plays that expound Shaw's philosophy of creative evolution in an extended dramatic parable that progresses through time from the Garden of Edesn to AD 31,920. Cf Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate An Ideal Husband highest: An Ideal Husband 4.3 · Back to Methuselah 3.8.
- An Ideal Husband is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 5 for Back to Methuselah.
- Back to Methuselah has the widest readership — 327 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| An Ideal Husband | Back to Methuselah | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.8 (327) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (80) | 3.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (308) | — |
Reception
| An Ideal Husband | Back to Methuselah | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 308 | 327 |
| Editions | 56 | 123 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 914 |
| Reading it now | — | 51 |
| Written reviews | — | 38 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4739 | 704 |
| Pages | 116 | 283 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: An Ideal Husband or Back to Methuselah?
An Ideal Husband has the higher combined reader rating across sources (An Ideal Husband 4.3/5, Back to Methuselah 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: An Ideal Husband or Back to Methuselah?
An Ideal Husband is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: An Ideal Husband (116 pages, ≈ 2 h 09 m); Back to Methuselah (283 pages, ≈ 5 h 14 m).
Which is harder to read: An Ideal Husband or Back to Methuselah?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — An Ideal Husband: Demanding; Back to Methuselah: Challenging.