List of longest novels - Wikipedia List of longest novels Marguerite Young with the manuscript of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling This is a list of the longest novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. Until recently, the longest novel was Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus, originally published ( 1649 -- 54 ) in ten parts, each part in three volumes. Artamène is generally attributed to Madeleine de Scudéry. Composing a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted. Length of a book is typically associated with its size -- specifically page count -- leading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Contents 1 Comparison of methods 2 Definitions 3 List 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Comparison of methods Three possible ways to determine length exist and each has its own method for determining length. Character counts are at best estimations of spaces, written characters and punctuation ; Guinness World Records uses this criterion. Word counts is another method that counts each word and omits punctuation, but still considered an estimation for length. Using computer software to count words is the currently preferred method for academia and publications. An arbitrary way is to assume that a standard formatted page with 12 pt Courier font and double - spaced lines is 250 words. Due to formatting, page counts are subject to change from font, style, formatting or paper size of the published work and can not be considered a measure of length despite it being the easiest physical indicator of length. For the purposes of this list, word counts are ideal. Page counts are a relative indicator of length ; for proper comparison the page size will be included. Some difficulty is created when comparing word counts across different writing systems. The logographic Chinese characters used to write East Asian languages each represent one morpheme and are not separated by spaces. The same character may at times stand for one word, and other times form part of a larger word. For instance the characters zhong 中 and guo 囯 can be used independently to mean `` middle '' and `` kingdom '', respectively, but can also be combined into Zhongguo 中囯, `` China '' ( i.e. `` The Middle Kingdom '' ). One could theoretically construct a noun phrase Zhongguo zhong guo 中囯 中囯 meaning `` kingdoms in the middle of China ''. The absence of any formal marking of word boundaries means that it would be difficult to mechanically determine if such a phrase consists of two, three, or four words without knowing Chinese. East Asian bibliographies therefore generally give only the character count without attempting any word count. While a rough approximation might seemingly be gotten from citing the word count of a translation into a Latin alphabet language like English, this is hazardous as the great grammatical and stylistic differences between the languages might cause one to require more words to convey the same meaning as the other. Citing a translation only indicates how many words are required to convey the same meaning in the target text, not how many words the source text actually consists of. Definitions What counts as a novel is another variable. A Novel ( Noun ) is a `` Long Fictitious story in book form or a Novel ( adjective ) `` Fresh New or Original '' i.e. Unique. For the purposes of the list, a `` novel '' is defined as a `` single work '' in print or electronic form that has been published through a mainstream publisher, one that has acquired publishing rights from authors. A `` single work '' includes works thought of as one novel by the author, but published in multiple volumes for reasons of convenience. Excluded are self - published, printed - on - demand, vanity works, unpublished novels like Henry Darger 's, novel sequences like the Chronicles of Barsetshire, novel cycles such as those set in the James Bond universe, and record - grabbing stunts. List Book title Author Edition / publisher Page count Page size Word count Language Notes − Men of Goodwill Jules Romains Calmann Lévy ( Paris ), 1932 - 46 7003800000000000000 ♠ 8,000 pages, 27 volumes in original edition 7006207000000000000 ♠ 2,070,000 French Twenty - seven volumes. Explicitly considered a `` roman '' ( novel ) by its author and not a `` cycle ''. Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus Scudery Georges and / or Madeleine de Scudéry Augustin Courbé, 1649 -- 53 7004130950000000000 ♠ 13,095 pages, ten volumes 7006195430000000000 ♠ 1,954,300 French Het Bureau J.J. Voskuil Van Oorschot, 1996 - 2000 7003505800000000000 ♠ 5,058 pages, seven volumes 7.85 inches ( 19.9 cm ) x 4.95 inches ( 12.6 cm ) 7006159000000000000 ♠ 1,590,000 Dutch Venmurasu Jeyamohan Narrinai / Kizhakku 7003924700000000000 ♠ 9,247 pages, Eleven volumes 8.25 inches ( 21.0 cm ) x 5.85 inches ( 14.9 cm ) 1,556,028 ( as of August 9, 2016 ) Tamil Ongoing version of Mahabaratham in novel form - written so far 12 volumes and published as books. Gordana Marija Jurić Zagorka Školska knjiga, 2007 7003876800000000000 ♠ 8,768 pages, twelve volumes 7006140000000000000 ♠ 1,400,000 ( estimated ) Croatian The longest Croatian novel. A La Recherche À la recherche du temps perdu Proust Marcel Proust Gallimard ( Collection Folio edition, 1988 -- 1990 ) 7003303100000000000 ♠ 3,031 pages, seven volumes 7 inches ( 17.8 cm ) x 5 inches ( 12.7 cm ) 7006126706900000000 ♠ 1,267,069 French Guinness World Record holder for longest novel. Uses estimated character count of 9,609,000 characters. Zettels Traum Schmidt Arno Schmidt Suhrkamp Verlag ( 2010 edition ) 7003153600000000000 ♠ 1,536 pages 14.1 inches ( 35.8 cm ) x 10.8 inches ( 27.4 cm ) 7006110000000000000 ♠ 1,100,000 ( estimated ) German 6,800,000 characters ; longest novel published in one volume Min Kamp Karl Ove Knausgård Forlaget Oktober 3,600 pages, six volumes 1,000,000 Norwegian Ponniyin Selvan Kalki Krishnamurthy ( 1950 edition ) 7003240000000000000 ♠ 2,400 pages, five volumes 7005900000000000000 ♠ 900,000 Tamil Released in five volumes, this historical novel, originally written in Tamil, tells the story of Arulmozhivarman ( Raja Raja Chola I ), one of the kings of the Chola Dynasty Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady Richardson Samuel Richardson Penguin Classics ( 1986 ) 7003153400000000000 ♠ 1,534 pages, seven volumes 9.2 inches ( 23.4 cm ) x 5.8 inches ( 14.7 cm ) 7005943000000000000 ♠ 943,000 and 984,870 English Word count obtained through Project Guttenberg digitization and 1964 estimate by The New York Times Kelidar Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Farhang Moaaser 7003283600000000000 ♠ 2,836 pages, ten volumes 7005950000000000000 ♠ 950,000 Persian The longest Persian novel Poor Fellow My Country Herbert Xavier Herbert HarperCollins Publishers ( Australia ) 7003146600000000000 ♠ 1,466 pages, hardcover 8.1 inches ( 20.6 cm ) x 5.6 inches ( 14.2 cm ) 7005852000000000000 ♠ 852,000 English 1975 winner of the Miles Franklin Award Women and Men Mcelroy Joseph McElroy Knopf ( 1987 ) 7003119200000000000 ♠ 1,192 pages, hardcover 9 inches ( 22.9 cm ) x 6 inches ( 15.2 cm ) 7005850000000000000 ♠ 850,000 ( estimated ) 700,000 ( estimated ) English Story Of The Stone 紅樓夢 ( The Story of the Stone ) Cao Xueqin Penguin Classics 7003233900000000000 ♠ 2,339 7.75 inches ( 19.7 cm ) x 5 inches ( 13 cm ) 7005845000000000000 ♠ 845,000 ( estimated ) Chinese to English translation ( see this page 's `` Talk '' tab for the detailed calculation ) Sironia, Texas Cooper Madison Cooper Houghton Mifflin ( 1952 ) 7003173100000000000 ♠ 1,731 pages, two volumes 7005840000000000000 ♠ 840,000 ( estimated ) English Romancxe 三國 演義 ( Romance of the Three Kingdoms ) Guanzhong Luo Guanzhong Foreign Languages Press ( 1995 ) 7003234000000000000 ♠ 2,340 pages, four volumes 7.2 inches ( 18.3 cm ) x 4.5 inches ( 11.4 cm ) 7005800000000000000 ♠ 800,000 ( estimate ) Chinese to English translation Miss MacIntosh, My Darling Young Marguerite Young Scribners ( 1965 ) 7003119800000000000 ♠ 1,198 pages 7005750000000000000 ♠ 750,000 ( estimated ) 576,000 ( estimated ) English Sir Charles Grandison Samuel Richardson Oxford World 's Classics ( 1986 ) 7003164700000000000 ♠ 1,647 pages 7.2 inches ( 18.3 cm ) x 4.6 inches ( 11.7 cm ) 7005750000000000000 ♠ 750,000 ( estimated ) English Les Misérables Hugo Victor Hugo Gutenberg ebook edition 7005655478000000000 ♠ 655,478 French Varney the Vampire Rymer James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest Edward Lloyd ( 1845 -- 47 ) 7002866000000000000 ♠ 866 pages 7005667000000000000 ♠ 667,000 English Originally published anonymously, in serial `` penny dreadful '' pamphlets. Present - day opinions are divided regarding its authorship. Atlas Shrugged Rand Ayn Rand Signet Books ( 1996 edition ) 7003108800000000000 ♠ 1,088 pages, paperback 6.9 inches ( 17.5 cm ) x 4.1 inches ( 10.4 cm ) 7005645000000000000 ♠ 645,000 ( estimate by the publisher and by The New York Times and by the author herself quoting printer 's word count ) English Jean - Christophe Rolland Romain Rolland Henry Holt ( 1910, 1911, 1913 ) 7003166600000000000 ♠ 1,666 pages, three volumes 7005610000000000000 ♠ 610,000 ( estimated ) French to English translation Author received the 1915 Nobel Prize for Literature. Jerusalem Moore Alan Moore Knockabout ( 2016 ) 7003126600000000000 ♠ 1,266 pages 9.6 inches ( 24.4 cm ) x 6.6 inches ( 16.8 cm ) 7005600000000000000 ♠ 600,000 ( estimated ) English And ladies ``... And Ladies of the Club '' Santmyer Helen Hooven Santmyer Ohio State University Press ( 1982 ) 7003134400000000000 ♠ 1,344 pages 7005600000000000000 ♠ 600,000 ( newspaper estimate ) English 1984 surprise bestseller Suitable A Suitable Boy Seth Vikram Seth Penguin Books 7003136800000000000 ♠ 1,368 pages, paperback 8 inches ( 20.3 cm ) x 5.5 inches ( 14 cm ) 7005593674000000000 ♠ 593,674 English Word count obtained from Amazon digitization ( eBook ) word count. F.L. Věk Jirasek Alois Jirásek Ceskoslovensky Československý spisovatel ( last printed edition, 1976 -- 1977 ) 7003187000000000000 ♠ 1,870 pages ( 1972 ed. ) 7005571350000000000 ♠ 571,350 Czech Word count obtained from 2011 eBook. War And Peace Война и мир ( War and Peace ) Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy Oxford World 's Classics 7003144000000000000 ♠ 1,440 pages, paperback 7.6 inches ( 19.3 cm ) x 5.1 inches ( 13.0 cm ) 7005587287000000000 ♠ 587,287 New American Library Version and 561,093 Oxford World 's Classics Russian to English translation Edition and translation largely account for differences in word count. Mulino Il mulino del Po Bacchelli Riccardo Bacchelli Arnoldo Mondadori Editore 7003211300000000000 ♠ 2,113 pages, paperback 8 inches ( 20.3 cm ) x 5.4 inches ( 13.7 cm ) 7005559830000000000 ♠ 559,830 Italian Infinite Jest Wallace David Foster Wallace Back Bay Books 7003110400000000000 ♠ 1,104 pages, paperback 9.2 inches ( 23.4 cm ) x 6 inches ( 15.2 cm ) 7005543709000000000 ♠ 543,709 English Remembrance Rock Sandburg Carl Sandburg Mariner Books 7003108800000000000 ♠ 1,088 pages, paperback 9 inches ( 22.9 cm ) x 6 inches ( 15.2 cm ) 7005532030000000000 ♠ 532,030 and 673,000 English Word counts obtained from Amazon digitization ( eBook ) word count, and author 's own count. To Green Angel Tower Williams Tad Williams DAW Books 7003108300000000000 ♠ 1,083 pages, hardcover 7005520000000000000 ♠ 520,000 English Word counts obtained from Amazon digitization ( eBook ) word count. Horcynus Orca Darrigo Stefano D'Arrigo Arnoldo Mondadori Editore 7003125700000000000 ♠ 1,257 pages, hardcover 8.2 inches ( 20.8 cm ) x 5.6 inches ( 14.2 cm ) 7005508751000000000 ♠ 508,751 Italian See also Four Great Classical Novels, an overview of four very long Chinese classics. Joseph and His Brothers, by Thomas Mann, is nearly 1500 pages long in English translation by John E. Wood. Originally published in four installments, the work does constitute a true, continuous novel rather than a serialization. The Neapolitan Novels series, by Elena Ferrante, is more than 1,700 pages long in its English translation. Published in four volumes, it is considered by its author `` a single novel, published serially for reasons of length and duration ''. List of manga series by volume count References Jump up ^ The name of her brother Georges appeared on the title page, and he is sometimes credited as a co-author. Jump up ^ `` Longest novel ''. Guinnessworldrecords.com. 1912 - 01 - 01. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Find the Agent Who Will Find You a Publisher ''. AgentQuery. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Hitting the Target Word Count in Your College Admission Essay -- For Dummies ''. Dummies.com. 2008 - 11 - 07. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ See introduction of the abridged audio version recorded by the author, available at : http://www.fremeaux.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=69&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=438&option=com_virtuemart Jump up ^ Scholarly consensus does not exist : Georges ' name is on the original editions, it is commonly believed his sister Madeleine was the true author, yet no close textual analysis has been attempted. See the summary at `` œuvre ''. Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 30. Jump up ^ `` accueil ''. Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 30. Jump up ^ Word count of the online edition, using curl http://www.artamene.org/documents/cyrus[1-10].txt wc - w Jump up ^ source : Loads o ' Lists : 21 Longest Novels ( by word count ) Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Mutharkanal. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149093. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Malaipaadal. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149192. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Vannakadal. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149215. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Neelam. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149246. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Venmugil nagaram. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149321. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Indraneelam. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149710. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Prayaagai. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149161. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Veyyon. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149970. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Kandeepam. Amazon.in. ISBN 9789384149765. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Panniru padaikkalam. Amazon.in. ISBN 9788184937152. Jump up ^ Jeyamohan. Solvalarkaadu. Amazon.in. ISBN 9788184937398. Jump up ^ `` Gordana -- Kraljica Hrvata ''. Školska knjiga. Jump up ^ `` Gordana kraljica Hrvata ''. Goodreads. Jump up ^ `` Gordana kraljica Hrvata ''. Najbolje knjige -- Hrvatski portal za knjige. Jump up ^ See Éditions d'À la recherche du temps perdu # Tableau de correspondance, French Wikipedia. Jump up ^ Bibliothéque Nationale de France catalogue. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 15. Jump up ^ Christophe Vignat. `` Sur le Vocabulaire dans La Recherche ''. Université Paris - Est, Laboratoire d'Informatique de l'Institut Gaspard Monge, Equipe Signal et Communications. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Longest novel ''. Guinnessworldrecords.com. 1912 - 01 - 01. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Arno Schmidt. Zettel 's Traum. Amazon.de. ISBN 9783518803103. Jump up ^ Günter Jürgensmeier, `` Das verfluchte Buch. Über das gefahrvolle Wagnis, Zettel 's Traum zu setzen '' ( in German ), Zettelkasten 27. Aufsätze und Arbeiten zum Werk Arno Schmidts ( Wiesenbach : Bangert & Metzler ) : pp. 42, ISBN 978 - 3 - 924147 - 64 - 8 Jump up ^ Samuel Richardson. Clarissa : Or the History of a Young Lady. Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780140432152. Jump up ^ Hal Boyle Genius is n't all thumbs, writer Boyle confides Florence, Alabama : Times Daily 23 April 1962 ( via Google news archive ) ^ Jump up to : http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/books/the-10-longest-novels-ever-written Jump up ^ Xavier Herbert. Poor Fellow My Country. Amazon.com. ISBN 9780006160298. Jump up ^ Poor fellow my ears The Age 29 December 1987 ( via Google news archive ) Jump up ^ Top award to Xavier Herbert Sydney Morning Herald 28 April 1976 ( via Google news archive ) Jump up ^ Joseph McElroy. Women and Men. Amazon.com. ISBN 9781564780232. Jump up ^ Karl, Frederick ( Spring 1990 ). `` Women and Men : More than a novel ''. Review of Contemporary Fiction. p. 181. Jump up ^ Garth Risk Hallberg ( 2009 - 07 - 07 ). `` The lost postmodernist : Joseph McElroy ''. Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Nichols, Lewis ( 1952 - 11 - 09 ). `` Talk with Madison Cooper -- Review ''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Author a bachelor ; so he has time to write longest novel ''. Chicago Tribune. 1952 - 11 - 16. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. ( via Pqasb.pqarchiver.com ) Jump up ^ Author of 1,800 page novel in New York looking after plans for publication of big book The Times - News 27 October 1952 ( via Google news archive ) Jump up ^ Luo Guanzhong. Three Kingdoms. Amazon.com. ISBN 9787119005904. Jump up ^ `` Movie Review : Red Cliff ''. Arkansasonline.com. 2009 - 12 - 25. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Robert McG. Thomas Jr ( 1995 - 11 - 20 ). `` Marguerite Young, 87, author and icon, dies ''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 04. Jump up ^ Walters, Raymond, Jr ( 12 September 1965 ). `` In and out of books ''. The New York Times. p. BR8. Jump up ^ Victor Hugo. `` Les misérables, Tome I ''. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 23. Jump up ^ Calculated from `` Varney the Vampire ''. Internet Archive, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. the complete text at the University of Virginia. Note that some on - line editions are incomplete. Jump up ^ Ayn Rand. Atlas Shrugged. Amazon.com. ISBN 9780451191144. Jump up ^ Nichols, Lewis ( 1957 - 10 - 13 ). `` Talk With Ayn Rand -- Author 's Query ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Rand, Ayn. The Art of Fiction : A Guide for Writers and Readers. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Steve Scoles ( July 20, 2016 ). `` Creating Jerusalem : Alan Moore on the most important book he has written ''. Northampton News. Retrieved October 12, 2016. Jump up ^ Schott, Webster ( 1984 - 07 - 01 ). `` An Epic of Hometown, U.S.A ''. Washington Post Book World. p. 5. ^ Jump up to : Vikram Seth. A Suitable Boy. Amazon.com. ISBN 9780060925000. Jump up ^ Prague Public Library catalogue : F.L. Věk ( in five volumes ) `` Search : Jirásek, Alois F.L. Věk ''. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 25. Jump up ^ Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace. Louise and Aylmer Maude, Amy Mandelker. Oxford World 's Classics. ISBN 9780199232765. Jump up ^ Tolstoy, Leo ; Dunnigan, Ann. `` War and Peace ''. Perma-bound.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace. Henry Gifford, Louise Maude, Aylmer Maude. Oxford World 's Classics. ISBN 9780192833983. Jump up ^ OPAC Archive Jump up ^ David Foster Wallace. Infinite Jest. Amazon. ISBN 9780316066525. ^ Jump up to : Carl Sandburg. Remembrance Rock. Amazon. ISBN 9780156763905. Jump up ^ author, quoted in Corwin, Norman ( 1961 ). The World of Carl Sandburg. Harcourt, Brace & World. p. 8. Jump up ^ Walsh, Alex ( 2014 - 04 - 04 ). `` Tad Williams to release sequel to Memory, Sorrow & Thorn ''. Doitanyway.co.uk. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 13. Jump up ^ `` HORCYNUS Orca di D'Arrigo, Stefano '' Rete bibliotecaria della Provincia di Padova ``. bibliotecaria della Provincia di Padova. 2012 - 07 - 22. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ `` TNTforum - > Stefano D'Arrigo -- Horcynus Orca ''. Forum.tntvillage.scambioetico.org. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Jenny Turner, `` The Secret Sharer. Elena Ferrante 's existential fiction '', Harper 's Magazine, October 2014. External links The 10 Longest Novels Ever Written Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_longest_novels&oldid=811638699 '' Categories : Lists by length Lists of novels Lists of superlatives Literature records Top book lists Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2015 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 22 November 2017, at 22 : 52. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: which is longer war and peace or les miserables
Answer: Les Misérables