This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books with a High Page Count
The books I’ve listed here all have more than 800 pages. There are others that I read before I started blogging, but I’ve only included books that I’ve actually reviewed on my blog. Not surprisingly, most of them are classics.
1. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1536 pages) – I read this epistolary 18th century novel as part of a year-long group read and probably wouldn’t have made it to the end otherwise. I liked it overall but it was so repetitive!
2. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1456 pages) – I loved the story but could have done without so many digressions. It’s one of the books on this list that I really think could have been a lot shorter!
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1440 pages) – This was another group read, although I abandoned the schedule after a while to finish it at my own pace. I enjoyed it, but liked the peace sections much better than the war!
4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1312 pages) – This is one of my favourite books of all time, so I don’t mind the length at all and would have been happy for it to be even longer!
5. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (1168 pages) – This bleak but fascinating Norwegian classic is technically three separate books, but often packaged together in one volume. My edition was translated by Tiina Nunnally.
6. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman (1080 pages) – This long, detailed and gripping account of the life of Richard III is one of my favourite historical novels.
7. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1056 pages) – I read this slowly, over the course of a year, which suited its episodic structure. I found it much more entertaining than I’d expected.
8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1024 pages) – I’ve read a lot of very long Dickens novels, but decided to limit my list to one book per author. This is one I remember enjoying.
9. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye (964 pages) – Another of my favourite historical novels, set in 19th century India and following the story of a British orphan raised as a Hindu.
10. Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (930 pages) – I loved the first three or four books in the Outlander series, but I feel that the more recent ones have been getting weaker as they get longer and longer! Still looking forward to book ten, though.
Honourable mentions: The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (928 pages), Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (922 pages), The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (912 pages) Paris by Edward Rutherfurd (848 pages), The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (832 pages).
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Have you read any of these? What are the longest books you’ve read? Laura is hosting Doorstoppers in December later this year, if any of these books appeal – but better get started now!
She Reads Novels 
I finally managed to read The Brothers Karamazov on my 6th attempt a few years ago! And both me and my sons enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo so much, definitely one that never feels too long!
I would add my beloved Tale of Genji to the mix. Maybe I’ll write a post as well…
The Brothers Karamazov is on my TBR. I’ll get to it eventually!
In my blog post about it, I riffed a bit about why I thought I’d been successful in reading it on that occasion, while all the previous time I failed. I was starting to feel bad about my lack of perseverance with it…
Over the years I’ve read loads over 400 pages. Not many over 800 though. Unless forced at school. Dickens being an obvious one. I can’t bear his written style. So verbose. Is that a word. Lol. . The BBC adaptations were great though.
Other than that I think the longest was Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine at 950 pages. And Lord of the Rings . Oh, and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. C1200. And I loved the first 3 Outlander books. Not so much the remainder. In the last few years I would suggest the following
1 Mirage by Camilla Lackberg 551. In fact the whole trilogy of Cult and Trapped
2 Cold Truth by Toni Anderson 506
3 Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts 431
4 Concealed in Death by JD Robb 402
5 Atlas by Harry Whitaker and Lucinda Riley 763
6 Essex Dogs by Dan Jones 432
7 Overboard by Sara Paretsky. 432
Gill
I’ve had mixed experiences with Dickens. I’ve loved some – A Tale of Two Cities is my favourite – and struggled with others. I think a lot of people feel the same about the Outlander series – the first few books were great, but the more recent ones aren’t as good. There are far too many characters now, in my opinion, and not enough focus on Jamie and Claire and their family.
I’ve read Atlas (and the rest of the Seven Sisters series) but none of the others you’ve mentioned there!
The Sunne in Splendour is probably my favourite historical novel ever but I’ve enjoyed all of Sharon Penman’s novels. I definitely agree that Les Miserables could have been a lot shorter and still been an amazing story. I hadn’t realised just how long some of these classics actually are.
I’ve loved all the Sharon Penman books I’ve read so far, but there are still quite a lot I haven’t read and am looking forward to. Les Miserables is a great story but really didn’t need all those long digressions!
Count of Monte Cristo is the book I’ve always thought of as “THAT HUUUUGWE NOVEL”. I didn’t realize David Copperfield was so girthy!
The Count is huge but definitely worth the time and effort, I think! There are a few Dickens novels that are even longer than David Copperfield, but I only wanted to include one book for each author.
Of your list I’ve read Kristin Lavransdatter, Don Quixote, and David Copperfield (plus the Trollope, Stephenson, and Catton from your honourable mentions!) I’ve read chunks of Clarissa, but never the whole thing right through, which is something an 18th-centuryist probably shouldn’t admit to. I love door stoppers and read fast, but often get antsy about spending so long in one book—I’m planning to do Doorstops in December precisely because I’ve usually made my reading goal by then, and can mentally relax a bit!
You probably haven’t missed much by not reading the whole of Clarissa. The plot seemed to go round in circles and I kept feeling as if I was reading the same thing over and over again! I’m hoping to take part in Doorstoppers in December but haven’t thought about what to read for it yet.
I always say that I must be one of the few people who claim to have read War And Peace, and actually have (a boring job around the time the BBC adaptation came out was responsible). It was years ago, but I remember enjoying it. I’ve also read The Far Pavilions (loved it) and The Sunne in Splendour (not impressed). As for Dickens, school put me off him for life. I seriously dislike verbose (yes, it is a word) Victorian novels, I think that’s why I love Austen so much – not a superfluous word anywhere, nothing’s wasted. As a library assistant, I dislike very long books – they’re a nightmare to shelve (heavy and need too much space), and they always fall apart long before their slimmer companions.
Other very long books I’ve enjoyed – Lord of the Rings, and the Wolf Hall trilogy. And of course I’ve written some fairly long ones myself!
I love a lot of Victorian authors – the Brontës, Wilkie Collins, Thomas Hardy and even Anthony Trollope, who is also very verbose – but Dickens has always been more of a problem for me. I’ve enjoyed a few of his books but found others a struggle to get through. I do prefer Austen! I don’t think I ever made it all the way through Lord of the Rings, although I did enjoy The Hobbit as a child.
I’ve read Kristin Lavransdatter and The Sunne in Splendour, and loved them both. I’ve owned copies of War and Peace, Les Miserables and The Far Pavilions for years, but never read them, ahem. We were forced to read David Copperfield at school, when we were only about 13, and it put me off Dickens for life. Even the teacher admitted that it was boring. I wasn’t impressed with Don Quixote either, and sympathise with Spanish kids who are all forced to read it at school! I love all Edward Rutherfurd’s books, but don’t understand why people make such a fuss about Hilary Mantel.
That reminds me – I’ve still got the late Sharon Penman’s last book waiting to be read!
I would definitely recommend The Far Pavilions – I think you might enjoy it. I liked both David Copperfield and Don Quixote, but I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to read them as a teenager and feel sorry for anyone who was forced to!
You do read a lot of long books! Of the books on your list, I’m over halfway through Clarissa…and someday I’m going to finish it. And I’ve got both Don Quixote and Count of Monte Cristo on my TBR list. They are two classics I want to read at some point. When I’m in the mood and have the time for a really long book. ;D
It took me a whole year to read Clarissa and that was with other bloggers reading along too and giving each other encouragement. I don’t think I would have finished it on my own. The Count of Monte Cristo is great, but you do need plenty of time!
I also included David Copperfield and Count of Monte Cristo. I agree with you about War and Peace and the Outlander series. I really need to read Les Miserables. Thanks for the recommendations!
I think a lot of us prefer the earlier Outlander books to the more recent ones. I hope you’re able to read Les Miserables soon – it’s definitely worth it!
I always say re Tolstoy that I read Peace.
I definitely enjoyed the Peace a lot more than the War!
I have more of a tolerance now for war stories than I did then, so I might try reading it some other time.
I’ve read Les Mis (aargh!), W&P (forgotten it now) and David Copperfield (Yay! Dickens!). Next year I’m planning to listen to all 76 hours of The Count of Monte Cristo. But then I’m going to avoid adding monsters to my list for a while! Novellas are the answer… 😉
I hope you enjoy The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas is much more fun to read than Hugo!
😂 Thank goodness for that! 😉
God, I love a long book, but sadly the only two of these I’ve read I’ve hated (War and Peace & David Copperfield). Did love The Mirror and the Light and The Luminaries, though. Thanks for linking to Doorstoppers!
I’m definitely hoping to join in with Doorstoppers. I don’t know what I’ll be reading yet, but I think it will have to be something slightly shorter than the books I’ve listed here!
Wise!
Lovely list! One day I will get to Les Mis and Don Quixote!
They’re both worth the time and effort, I think!
I read a (very!) adapted version of Les Mis in my high school French class. I also read War and Peace and Clarissa in college. I read The Sunne in Splendour and The Far Pavilions on my own, and enjoyed them both. Go Tell the Bees… is the only Outlander book I haven’t read yet.
Here’s my list: https://franlaniado.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/top-ten-tuesday-the-last-ten-doorstops-i-read/
You probably didn’t miss much by reading a shorter version of Les Mis. The original is full of long digressions that have nothing to do with the actual plot. I’m glad you enjoyed The Sunne in Splendour and The Far Pavilions – two of my favourite historical novels!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo is one of my fave books too ! Absolutely agree with you, would have loved it to be even longer ! Greetings from France
I’m glad you love it too! It’s such a great book!
I love a chunky fantasy book but lengthy classics make me nervous. I may try some further down the line (like Monte Cristo) but I’m seeing how I get on with some other classics first as I’ve only read a handful.
You’re not the first person that I’ve seen whose said they preferred the peace sections of War & Peace over the war ones. And I had no clue David Copperfield was so long. For some reason I thought I’d read his longest title with Great Expectations but I guess not. I adore Les Mis on stage but I don’t think I fancy trying the book tbh. The musical has such a soft spot in my heart that I don’t want to risk a negative experience with the book having any kind of impact on it. I’m sure I have a Sharon Penman book on my TBR though. Great list.
Yes, I think if you’re still quite new to classics it’s probably best to avoid the very long ones for now. Monte Cristo is great, though, so I definitely recommend reading it at some point.
I struggle in general with books with lots of war scenes, so it’s not surprising that I preferred the peace sections of War and Peace! I don’t know if David Copperfield is Dickens’ longest book as so many of them are very long, but it felt like the longest! My favourite is actually A Tale of Two Cities, which is one of the shortest.
I’ll hopefully try it out further down the line, if the other classics I read go well 🤞 oddly more than one person has mentioned that one to me recently.
I think it was learning that A Tale Of Two Cities was fairly short that probably convinced me that more of his books were 🙈 I haven’t tried that one yet but I’ve recently moved it up my TBR as a recent retelling of it caught my eye. It’s nice to know it’s a favourite of yours too.
Hello Helen, I have read The Count of Monte Cristo and Nicholas Nickleby off your list; although I don’t remember a great deal about the latter so may need a re-read of that sometime soon! As for other long books I have read, off the top of my head, there is The Lord of the Rings and the Holy Bible. 😁
Blessings, Jessica 💌
I loved The Hobbit as a child but have never read the whole of Lord of the Rings. I don’t think I ever continued past the first book, so I should probably try again one day!
I hope you do give the Lord of the Rings another try. Even I found the first book a bit of a slog on my first read of the trilogy, but the next two books just flew by! And well now, I love them all! 😊