Back to Methuselah vs Henry IV, Part 1: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: British and irish drama, English drama, English literature, Drama

Back to Methuselah George Bernard Shaw · 1921 ★★★★☆ 3.8 283 pages · ≈ 5 h 14 m · Challenging

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.

Japanese Literature Longevity Translations from English

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Henry IV, Part 1 William Shakespeare · 1598 ★★★★☆ 3.8 122 pages · ≈ 2 h 16 m · Challenging

“Following the battle of Shrewsbury (where King Henry and Prince Hal were victorious and Hotspur killed), Rumor spreads the false information that Hotspur was the victor and the King and Prince were killed.”

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, discusses the author and the theater of his time, and provides quizzes and other study activities.

1 film adaptation

Juvenile drama Shakespeare In literature Sources

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Henry IV, Part 1 is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 5 for Back to Methuselah.
Henry IV, Part 1 has the widest readership — 34291 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Henry IV, Part 1 ≈ 2h vs 5h for Back to Methuselah

Scores by source

	Back to Methuselah	Henry IV, Part 1
Goodreads	3.8 (327)	3.8 (34291)
Hardcover	3.0 (1)	3.9 (54)
Google Books	—	2.0 (2)
Apple Books	—	4.5 (18)

Reception

	Back to Methuselah	Henry IV, Part 1
Ratings	327	34291
Editions	123	782
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	914	16609
Reading it now	51	650
Written reviews	38	2103
Wikipedia attention	704	9387
Pages	283	122

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Back to Methuselah or Henry IV, Part 1?

Henry IV, Part 1 has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Henry IV, Part 1 3.8/5, Back to Methuselah 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: Back to Methuselah or Henry IV, Part 1?

Henry IV, Part 1 is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Henry IV, Part 1 (122 pages, ≈ 2 h 16 m); Back to Methuselah (283 pages, ≈ 5 h 14 m).

Which is harder to read: Back to Methuselah or Henry IV, Part 1?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Back to Methuselah: Challenging; Henry IV, Part 1: Challenging.

Have both books been made into films?

Back to Methuselah: no film adaptation on record; Henry IV, Part 1: 5 film adaptations.