The Blue Girl vs The Talleyrand Maxim: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mystery
The Blue Girl
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From the author of the nationally bestselling suspense novel The Yard and the forthcoming The Black Country, both novels of Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad, comes a short story of the Squad, a cautionary tale: Be careful…
The Talleyrand Maxim
“Linford Pratt, senior clerk to Eldrick & Pascoe, solicitors, of Barford, a young man who earnestly desired to get on in life, by hook or by crook, with no objection whatever to crookedness, so long as it could be performed in safety and secrecy, had once during one of his periodical visit to the town Reference Library, lighted on a maxim of that other unscrupulous person, Prince Talleyrand, which”
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The “Talleyrand Maxim” holds that “With time and patience, the mulberry leaf is turned into satin.” The adage has the character of guidance for life for an ambitious legal clerk, Linford Pratt. Unlike most people, he…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Blue Girl is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for The Talleyrand Maxim.
- The Talleyrand Maxim has the widest readership — 180 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Blue Girl | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (180) |
| Hardcover | 2.5 (4) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (39) | 4.5 (13) |
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Reception
| The Blue Girl | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 39 | 180 |
| Editions | — | 115 |
| Want to read | — | 102 |
| Reading it now | — | 28 |
| Written reviews | — | 30 |
| Pages | 46 | 195 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Blue Girl or The Talleyrand Maxim?
The Talleyrand Maxim has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Talleyrand Maxim 3.9/5, The Blue Girl 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Blue Girl or The Talleyrand Maxim?
The Blue Girl is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Blue Girl (46 pages, ≈ 51 min); The Talleyrand Maxim (195 pages, ≈ 3 h 37 m).
Which is harder to read: The Blue Girl or The Talleyrand Maxim?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Blue Girl: Moderate; The Talleyrand Maxim: Challenging.