Little Women vs The Picture of Dorian Gray: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Drama, History, Fiction
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…
The Picture of Dorian Gray
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The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. The…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray has the widest readership — 1989262 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Little Women | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (69325) | 4.1 (1989262) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (1526) | 4.0 (2705) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (6513) | 4.5 (3399) |
| LiveLib | 4.0 (2) | — |
Reception
| Little Women | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 69325 | 1989262 |
| Editions | 1888 | 3012 |
| Citations | 14 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1656806 | 1774335 |
| Reading it now | — | 128865 |
| Written reviews | 69325 | 107713 |
| Wikipedia attention | 50579 | 66661 |
| Pages | 288 | 312 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Little Women or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Little Women has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Little Women 4.2/5, The Picture of Dorian Gray 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Little Women or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Little Women is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Little Women (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m); The Picture of Dorian Gray (312 pages, ≈ 5 h 47 m).
Which is harder to read: Little Women or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Little Women: Challenging; The Picture of Dorian Gray: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Little Women: 5 film adaptations; The Picture of Dorian Gray: 5 film adaptations.