Love's Labour's Lost vs The Alchemist, 1612: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Comedies, British and irish drama, Drama
Love's Labour's Lost
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King Ferdinand and his three friends, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, plan to study philosophy for the next three years. During their academic pursuits, they must vow to sleep only three hours a night and not let any…
The Alchemist, 1612
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge said of Ben Jonson's _The Alchemist_ that it had one out of the three most perfect plots in literature. This play, with its sharp portrayal of human folly, is considered by many to be Jonson's…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Love's Labour's Lost has the widest readership — 16522 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Love's Labour's Lost | The Alchemist, 1612 | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (16522) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (20) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (13) | 3.0 (81) |
Reception
| Love's Labour's Lost | The Alchemist, 1612 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 16522 | 81 |
| Editions | 526 | 200 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 11224 | — |
| Reading it now | 500 | — |
| Written reviews | 1321 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 11622 | — |
| Pages | — | 254 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Love's Labour's Lost or The Alchemist, 1612?
Love's Labour's Lost has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Love's Labour's Lost 3.5/5, The Alchemist, 1612 3.5/5).
Which is harder to read: Love's Labour's Lost or The Alchemist, 1612?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Love's Labour's Lost: Challenging; The Alchemist, 1612: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Love's Labour's Lost: 2 film adaptations; The Alchemist, 1612: no film adaptation on record.