Le Morte d'Arthur vs Malory: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: English Romances, Kings and rulers in literature, Romances, Legends, Arthurian romances, History and criticism
Le Morte d'Arthur
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Le Morte d'Arthur (originally spelled Le Morte Darthur, ungrammatical Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King…
Malory
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Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of Le Morte d'Arthur, the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources, and published by the…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Malory is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 9 for Le Morte d'Arthur.
- Malory has the widest readership — 40060 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Le Morte d'Arthur | Malory | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (40053) | 3.9 (40060) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (69) | 3.0 (1) |
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Reception
| Le Morte d'Arthur | Malory | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 40053 | 40060 |
| Editions | 373 | 8 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 48944 | 48906 |
| Reading it now | 2863 | 2858 |
| Written reviews | 1497 | 1495 |
| Wikipedia attention | 19167 | 6747 |
| Pages | 518 | 208 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Le Morte d'Arthur or Malory?
Malory has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Malory 3.9/5, Le Morte d'Arthur 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Le Morte d'Arthur or Malory?
Malory is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Malory (208 pages, ≈ 3 h 51 m); Le Morte d'Arthur (518 pages, ≈ 9 h 36 m).
Which is harder to read: Le Morte d'Arthur or Malory?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Le Morte d'Arthur: Demanding; Malory: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Le Morte d'Arthur: 5 film adaptations; Malory: no film adaptation on record.