READING TIME · L. M. MONTGOMERY · 1908
How long does it take to read Anne of Green Gables?
At an average reading speed, about 6 hours 35 minutes. Anne of Green Gables is 102,073 words long, in 38 chapters.
- WORDS
- 102,073
- CHAPTERS
- 38
- READING LEVEL
- About grade 6 (Flesch–Kincaid)
Reading time at different speeds
| Reader | Speed | Whole book |
|---|---|---|
| Unhurried | 200 words a minute | 8 h 30 min |
| Average adult reader | 260 words a minute | 6 h 35 min |
| Quick reader | 320 words a minute | 5 h 20 min |
To finish it at a steady pace:
- 20 minutes a day: about 20 days
- 30 minutes a day: about 14 days
- 60 minutes a day: about 7 days
How many chapters are in Anne of Green Gables?
Anne of Green Gables has 38 chapters. The longest is Chapter 15: A Tempest in the School Teapot (5,253 words, 20 min); the shortest is Chapter 7: Anne Says Her Prayers (1,193 words, 5 min). The average chapter takes 10 min.
Reading times below are at 260 words a minute.
| Chapter | Words | Reading time | Practice in Parlor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised | 2,836 | 11 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 2: Matthew Cuthbert Is Surprised | 4,911 | 19 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 3: Marilla Cuthbert Is Surprised | 2,149 | 8 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 4: Morning at Green Gables | 2,274 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 5: Anne’s History | 2,105 | 8 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 6: Marilla Makes Up Her Mind | 1,925 | 7 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 7: Anne Says Her Prayers | 1,193 | 5 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 8: Anne’s Bringing-up Is Begun | 2,896 | 11 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 9: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Properly Horrified | 2,381 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 10: Anne’s Apology | 2,449 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 11: Anne’s Impressions of Sunday-school | 1,763 | 7 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 12: A Solemn Vow and Promise | 2,004 | 8 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 13: The Delights of Anticipation | 1,827 | 7 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 14: Anne’s Confession | 3,032 | 12 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 15: A Tempest in the School Teapot | 5,253 | 20 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 16: Diana Is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results | 3,980 | 15 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 17: A New Interest in Life | 2,022 | 8 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 18: Anne to the Rescue | 3,426 | 13 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 19: A Concert, a Catastrophe, and a Confession | 4,004 | 15 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 20: A Good Imagination Gone Wrong | 2,228 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 21: A New Departure in Flavorings | 3,639 | 14 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 22: Anne Is Invited Out to Tea | 1,484 | 6 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 23: Anne Comes to Grief in an Affair of Honor | 2,324 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 24: Miss Stacy and Her Pupils Get Up a Concert | 1,534 | 6 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 25: Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves | 3,448 | 13 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 26: The Story Club Is Formed | 2,654 | 10 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 27: Vanity and Vexation of Spirit | 2,522 | 10 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 28: An Unfortunate Lily Maid | 2,834 | 11 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 29: An Epoch in Anne’s Life | 3,201 | 12 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 30: The Queen’s Class Is Organized | 4,290 | 17 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 31: Where the Brook and River Meet | 2,262 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 32: The Pass List Is Out | 2,687 | 10 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 33: The Hotel Concert | 3,310 | 13 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 34: A Queen’s Girl | 2,485 | 10 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 35: The Winter at Queen’s | 1,616 | 6 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 36: The Glory and the Dream | 1,914 | 7 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 37: The Reaper Whose Name Is Death | 2,311 | 9 min | Check it → |
| Chapter 38: The Bend in the Road | 2,900 | 11 min | Check it → |
READING IT FOR CLASS?
Knowing how long it takes is one thing. Understanding it is another.
Parlor Study is a reading comprehension companion. Read Anne of Green Gables one chapter at a time, then make sure you understood it.
- Read a chapter. The full Project Gutenberg text, with highlights, notes and read-aloud.
- Explain it in your own words. Challenge me asks about the main idea, what the text suggests without saying, and the turn the chapter hinges on, then checks your answer against the text.
- Talk it through, then come back. Discuss stays within the chapters you have reached, so it won’t give away what comes next, and Revisit brings your ideas back later.
Parlor Study is a web preview for ages 13 and up, available by invitation. Request an invitation. AI feedback can make mistakes; check it against the text.
How these numbers were worked out
Words are counted in Anne of Green Gables, Project Gutenberg eBook #45, the edition Parlor opens, divided into chapters exactly as Parlor shows them. Project Gutenberg’s licence and notes are left out. Other editions may differ slightly.
Reading speeds follow Marc Brysbaert’s review of 190 studies, which found that adults read English silently at about 260 words a minute for fiction and 238 for non-fiction (Journal of Memory and Language, 2019). Older and more difficult books often take longer than their word count suggests.
The reading level is the Flesch–Kincaid grade, worked out from average sentence length (13.9 words) and word length. It measures how long the sentences and words are, not how hard the ideas are.
Similar length
- A Passage to India 6 h 30 min
- Gulliver's Travels 6 h 35 min
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 6 h 45 min
- Little Men 6 h 45 min