The Good Soldier vs Vanity Fair: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Married people, British, British and irish fiction, Friendship, Social life and customs, History

Cover of The Good Soldier

The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford · 1915 ★★★★☆ 3.9 162 pages · ≈ 3 h 00 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray · 1800 ★★★★☆ 3.8 699 pages · ≈ 12 h 57 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.9 vs 3.8 — either is a safe pick by score.
The Good Soldier is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 12 for Vanity Fair.
The Good Soldier is the easier read (Challenging), Vanity Fair more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side