Nineteen Eighty-Four vs The Picture of Dorian Gray: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Classics, Drama, Fiction
Nineteen Eighty-Four
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
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Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often referred to as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by the English novelist George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair). It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker…
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.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four has the widest readership — 5733183 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (5733183) | 4.1 (1989262) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 4.0 (2705) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (3399) |
Reception
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5733183 | 1989262 |
| Editions | 536 | 3012 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 3170038 | 1774335 |
| Reading it now | — | 128865 |
| Written reviews | 171557 | 107713 |
| Wikipedia attention | 140637 | 66661 |
| Pages | 244 | 312 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Nineteen Eighty-Four has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Nineteen Eighty-Four 4.2/5, The Picture of Dorian Gray 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Nineteen Eighty-Four is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Nineteen Eighty-Four (244 pages, ≈ 4 h 31 m); The Picture of Dorian Gray (312 pages, ≈ 5 h 47 m).
Which is harder to read: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Nineteen Eighty-Four: Challenging; The Picture of Dorian Gray: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Nineteen Eighty-Four: 5 film adaptations; The Picture of Dorian Gray: 5 film adaptations.