The Longest Books

I love getting stuck into a huge doorstopper of a book. Spying a monster volume of prose whets my appetite to lose myself in an epic tale. Thinking about this, I decided to check the web for lists of the longest novels written in, or translated into, the English language. As you’d expect, the debate starts with how to measure a book’s length. Should it by by chapters, pages, words, or characters? Do illustrations count?

So, for this list, I’ve only considered single novels by one author (not a series of books or a collaboration), and they must have been written before the end of the 20th century. I’ve ranked them by word count since page numbers can vary greatly depending on how the book is printed. My list is far from exhaustive, and maybe not even accurate, so, as always with things like this, it allows room for debate and differing opinions. I give you my top ten:

1. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

• Word Count: Approximately 1.2 million words
• Description: This modernist masterpiece, originally published in French and first translated into English in 1922, is a complex narrative of memory, time, and society, spanning seven volumes. The novel has had a great influence on twentieth-century literature. More here.

2. Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson

• Word Count: About 969,000 words
• Description: Published in 1748, this epistolary novel is one of the longest in English literature. It tells the tragic story of Clarissa Harlowe’s life and struggles with her family and suitors. In 2015, the BBC ranked Clarissa 14th on its list of the 100 greatest British novels and in 2013 The Guardian included Clarissa among the 100 best novels written in English. More here.

3. Poor Fellow My Country by Xavier Herbert

• Word Count: About 850,000 words
• Description: This 1975 Miles Franklin Award-winning novel, set in Australia, explores the complexities of Australian society and indigenous issues over several decades. It is the longest Australian work of fiction ever written and was Herbert’s final novel. More here.

4. Sironia, Texas by Madison Cooper

• Word Count: Approximately 840,000 words
• Description: Released in 1952, this novel offers a detailed depiction of life in a fictional Texas town from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The book won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award and sold 25,000 copies in its initial printing but quickly faded from public view. More here.

5. Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young

• Word Count: Approximately 750,000 words
• Description: Published in 1965, Marguerite Young described her novel as “an exploration of the illusions, hallucinations, errors of judgment in individual lives, the central scene of the novel being an opium addict’s paradise.” More here.

6. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

• Word Count: About 655,000 words (English translation)
• Description: First published in French in 1862 and translated into English, this novel covers the lives of several characters in post-revolutionary France, focusing on themes of justice, love, and redemption. It is considered to be one of the greatest novels of the 19th century and has been popularised through numerous adaptations for film, television and the stage, including a musical. More here.

7. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

• Word Count: About 645,000 words
• Description: Published in 1957, this novel presents Rand’s philosophical ideas through a dramatic story of a dystopian United States. It is Rand’s final book published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her magnum opus in the realm of fiction. Atlas Shrugged received largely negative reviews but achieved enduring popularity and ongoing sales in the following decades. More here.

8. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

• Word Count: Approximately 591,000 words
• Description: Published in 1993, the English-language book is one of the longest novels published in a single volume. This novel covers post-partition India, focusing on the efforts of a mother to arrange a marriage for her daughter. In 2019 BBC News included A Suitable Boy on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels. More here.

9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

• Word Count: About 543,000 words
• Description: This 1996 postmodern epic dives into themes of addiction, entertainment, and life in contemporary America, using a vast array of characters and intricate plotlines. This bestseller sold 44,000 hardcover copies in its first year of publication and has since sold more than a million copies worldwide. More here.

10. The Recognitions by William Gaddis

• Word Count: About 540,000 words
• Description: A dense and complex work published in 1955 and the debut novel of US author William Gaddis. The novel was initially poorly received. However, after Gaddis won a National Book Award in 1975 for his second novel, his first work gradually received new and belated recognition as a masterpiece of American literature. It examines themes of art, forgery, and identity through an elaborate narrative structure. More here.