Shirley vs Uncle Bernac: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Napoleonic wars, British and irish fiction, Fiction
Shirley
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Shirley, published in 1849, was Charlotte Brontë’s second novel after Jane Eyre. Published under her pseudonym of “Currer Bell,” it differs in several respects from that earlier work. It is written in the third person…
Uncle Bernac
“I dare say that I had already read my uncle's letter a hundred times, and I am sure that I knew it by heart.”
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This is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's dramatic tale of historical fiction set during the Napoleonic wars.
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Uncle Bernac highest: Uncle Bernac 4.0 · Shirley 3.8.
- Uncle Bernac is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 11 for Shirley.
- Shirley has the widest readership — 37677 ratings behind its score.
- Shirley runs the darker storyline; Uncle Bernac stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Shirley | Uncle Bernac | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (37677) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (34) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (25) | 4.5 (9) |
Reception
| Shirley | Uncle Bernac | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 37677 | 9 |
| Editions | 536 | 236 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 70681 | — |
| Reading it now | 1867 | — |
| Written reviews | 2113 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 3898 | — |
| Pages | 640 | 140 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Shirley or Uncle Bernac?
Uncle Bernac has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Uncle Bernac 4.0/5, Shirley 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Shirley or Uncle Bernac?
Uncle Bernac is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Uncle Bernac (140 pages, ≈ 2 h 36 m); Shirley (640 pages, ≈ 11 h 51 m).
Which is harder to read: Shirley or Uncle Bernac?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Shirley: Demanding; Uncle Bernac: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Shirley: 1 film adaptation; Uncle Bernac: no film adaptation on record.