Madame Bovary vs Wuthering Heights: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Madame Bovary
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Charles Bovary, médecin de campagne, veuf d'une mégère, fait lors d'une tournée la rencontre du père Rouault et de sa fille, Emma. Après leur mariage, Emma reste insatisfaite et rêve d'une nouvelle vie. Son premier…
Wuthering Heights
“1801.-I have just returned from a visit to my landlord-the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.”
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Wuthering Heights is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons,…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Wuthering Heights has the widest readership — 2281673 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Madame Bovary | Wuthering Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (388377) | 3.9 (2281673) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (454) | — |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (4) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (316) | 4.0 (5966) |
Reception
| Madame Bovary | Wuthering Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 388377 | 2281673 |
| Editions | 1558 | 2887 |
| Citations | 76 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 377133 | 1742187 |
| Reading it now | 23808 | 184443 |
| Written reviews | 21977 | 125002 |
| Wikipedia attention | 23433 | 139844 |
| Pages | 430 | 356 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Madame Bovary or Wuthering Heights?
Wuthering Heights has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Wuthering Heights 3.9/5, Madame Bovary 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Madame Bovary or Wuthering Heights?
Wuthering Heights is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Wuthering Heights (356 pages, ≈ 6 h 36 m); Madame Bovary (430 pages, ≈ 7 h 58 m).
Which is harder to read: Madame Bovary or Wuthering Heights?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Madame Bovary: Challenging; Wuthering Heights: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Madame Bovary: 5 film adaptations; Wuthering Heights: 5 film adaptations.