Emma vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Classics, Romance, Fiction
Emma
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Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of…
The Great Gatsby
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”
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Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
- Emma reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 73 times.
- The Great Gatsby runs the darker storyline; Emma stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Emma | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (1019390) | 3.9 (6120259) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (851) | 4.5 (2) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (7) | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (4089) | 4.5 (806) |
| LiveLib | 3.4 (4) | 4.0 (5) |
Reception
| Emma | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1019390 | 6120259 |
| Editions | 2263 | 1179 |
| Citations | 73 | 24 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1014805 | 2127185 |
| Reading it now | 66765 | 85180 |
| Written reviews | 46241 | 138625 |
| Wikipedia attention | 28127 | 94574 |
| Pages | 536 | 431 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Emma or The Great Gatsby?
Emma has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Emma 4.0/5, The Great Gatsby 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Emma or The Great Gatsby?
The Great Gatsby is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m); Emma (536 pages, ≈ 9 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: Emma or The Great Gatsby?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Emma: Demanding; The Great Gatsby: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Emma: 5 film adaptations; The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations.