Far from the Madding Crowd vs The Blithedale Romance: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Farm life, Open_syllabus_project, Classic Literature, Fiction

Cover of Far from the Madding Crowd

Far from the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy · 1874 ★★★★☆ 4.4 491 pages · ≈ 9 h 06 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

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Cover of The Blithedale Romance

The Blithedale Romance Nathaniel Hawthorne · 1852 ★★★☆☆ 3.4 344 pages · ≈ 6 h 22 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Readers rate Far from the Madding Crowd higher: 4.4 vs 3.4 from 587 votes.
The Blithedale Romance is the quicker read — about 6 hours vs 9 for Far from the Madding Crowd.

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