Fanny vs Where Serpents Sleep: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Prostitutes, London, Fiction
Fanny
“I, Fanny Hackabout-Jones, having been blest with long Life, which makes e'en the Harshest Events of Youth pale to Insignificance or, i'faith, appear as Comedies, do write this History of my Life and Adventures as a Testament for my only Daughter, Belinda.”
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"Jong . . . filled a gap in the great tradition of the picaresque novel. . . . Linguistically, "Fanny" is a tower of strength. . . . Jong has gone farther than Joyce."--Anthony Burgess, "Saturday Review."
Where Serpents Sleep
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Fourth in the “moody and atmospheric” historical mystery series starring “a troubled but compelling antihero.”(Booklist)London, 1812. The brutal slaughter of eight young prostitutes in a house of refuge near Covent…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Where Serpents Sleep highest: Where Serpents Sleep 4.4 · Fanny 3.7.
- Where Serpents Sleep is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 9 for Fanny.
- Where Serpents Sleep has the widest readership — 251 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Fanny | Where Serpents Sleep | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (9) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (2) | 3.9 (14) |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (15) | 4.5 (251) |
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Reception
| Fanny | Where Serpents Sleep | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 15 | 251 |
| Editions | 13 | 3 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 9 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 915 | — |
| Pages | 505 | 341 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Fanny or Where Serpents Sleep?
Where Serpents Sleep has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Where Serpents Sleep 4.4/5, Fanny 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Fanny or Where Serpents Sleep?
Where Serpents Sleep is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Where Serpents Sleep (341 pages, ≈ 6 h 19 m); Fanny (505 pages, ≈ 9 h 21 m).
Which is harder to read: Fanny or Where Serpents Sleep?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Fanny: Moderate; Where Serpents Sleep: Moderate.