Little Women vs Sense and Sensibility: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Sisters, Young women, Family life, Drama, Romance, History
Little Women
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Louisa May Alcotts classic novel, set during the Civil War, has always captivated even the most reluctant readers. Little girls, especially, love following the adventures of the four March sisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and…
Sense and Sensibility
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When Mr. Dashwood dies, he must leave the bulk of his estate to the son by his first marriage, which leaves his second wife and three daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) in straitened circumstances. They are…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Sense and Sensibility has the widest readership — 1333866 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Little Women | Sense and Sensibility | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (69325) | 4.1 (1333866) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (1526) | 3.8 (951) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (6513) | 4.5 (1563) |
| LiveLib | 4.0 (2) | — |
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Reception
| Little Women | Sense and Sensibility | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 69325 | 1333866 |
| Editions | 1888 | 2090 |
| Citations | 14 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1656806 | 1037401 |
| Reading it now | — | 54424 |
| Written reviews | 69325 | 38407 |
| Wikipedia attention | 50579 | 44096 |
| Pages | 288 | 331 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Little Women or Sense and Sensibility?
Little Women has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Little Women 4.2/5, Sense and Sensibility 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Little Women or Sense and Sensibility?
Little Women is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Little Women (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m); Sense and Sensibility (331 pages, ≈ 6 h 08 m).
Which is harder to read: Little Women or Sense and Sensibility?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Little Women: Challenging; Sense and Sensibility: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Little Women: 5 film adaptations; Sense and Sensibility: 5 film adaptations.