Les Misérables vs The Conquest of Poverty: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Poverty, History
Les Misérables
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In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo…
The Conquest of Poverty
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"A publication of the Principles of Freedom Committee." Includes bibliographical references.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Conquest of Poverty is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 8 for Les Misérables.
- Les Misérables has the widest readership — 860724 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Les Misérables | The Conquest of Poverty | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (860724) | 4.3 (89) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (735) | — |
| Google Books | 4.5 (5) | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (125) | 4.5 (5) |
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Reception
| Les Misérables | The Conquest of Poverty | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 860724 | 89 |
| Editions | 526 | 4 |
| Citations | — | 10 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 1080411 | 340 |
| Reading it now | 77 | 23 |
| Written reviews | 26998 | 5 |
| Wikipedia attention | 62074 | — |
| Pages | 464 | 240 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Les Misérables or The Conquest of Poverty?
Les Misérables has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Les Misérables 4.2/5, The Conquest of Poverty 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Les Misérables or The Conquest of Poverty?
The Conquest of Poverty is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Conquest of Poverty (240 pages, ≈ 4 h 27 m); Les Misérables (464 pages, ≈ 8 h 36 m).
Which is harder to read: Les Misérables or The Conquest of Poverty?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Les Misérables: Demanding; The Conquest of Poverty: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Les Misérables: 5 film adaptations; The Conquest of Poverty: no film adaptation on record.