A Tale of Two Cities by the numbers
Charles Dickens · first published 1859 · dataset 2026-10-24
Who it is not for: readers below 10th grade: no school list in our data assigns it earlier. At 448 pages it is also longer than the median book listed for grades 9-12 (273), so it is not a quick read.
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Length and reading time
| Pages (dataset edition) | 448 |
|---|---|
| Estimated words | 123,000 |
| Reading time, 300 wpm (fast) | 6 h 51 min |
| Reading time, 250 wpm (average adult) | 8 h 13 min |
| Reading time, 200 wpm (careful / younger reader) | 10 h 16 min |
| Days at 20 minutes a day | 25 |
| Lexile measure | 1170L |
At 448 pages, A Tale of Two Cities is longer than 96.4% of the 2,330 books on the reading lists we track whose page count we know (2,809 books are tracked in all). It is longer than the median book listed for grades 9-12 (273 pages).
A Tale of Two Cities is 448 pages; the median book listed for grades 9-12 is 273 pages and the median of all 2,330 listed books with a page count is 187.
Source: Page counts of 2,330 books on U.S. school reading lists, bookstatistics.com · Dataset snapshot 2026-10-24
Show the numbers
| Book | Pages |
|---|---|
| A Tale of Two Cities | 448 pages |
| Median book listed for grades 9-12 | 273 pages |
| Median of all listed books | 187 pages |
Word counts and reading times are estimates: pages × 275 words, divided by the reading speed. Your edition's page count and your own pace will differ.
Where A Tale of Two Cities is on school reading lists
4 appearances (0.0% of all 20,804 listings in the dataset), drawn from 3 published lists, in grades 10th–12th. 4 of the 4 carry a link to the published source document.
| Grade | Listings |
|---|---|
| 10th | 1 |
| 11th | 2 |
| 12th | 1 |
Sources
- Charles Dickens is on the IB Diploma Programme English A: Literature Prescribed Reading List (author-eligible; schools select from the full PRL). Verified via independent author-roster cross-reference, 2026-09-04. · checked 2026-09-04
- AP Lit representative text list · checked 2026-05-29
- CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 9-10 exemplar · checked 2026-05-29
Questions
How many pages is A Tale of Two Cities?
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is 448 pages in the edition recorded in our dataset. Page counts vary by edition and format; at about 275 words per page that is roughly 123,000 words.
How long does it take to read A Tale of Two Cities?
About 8 h 13 min at an average adult pace of 250 words per minute (6 h 51 min at 300 wpm, 10 h 16 min at 200 wpm). At 20 minutes a day that is about 25 days.
Is A Tale of Two Cities on school reading lists?
Yes. It appears 4 times on the U.S. school reading lists, award lists and curricula in our dataset, in 3 national curricula (no single state), most often in grades 9-12. That ranks it #1,582 of 2,809 listed books.
Related
- A Tale of Two Cities: reading level, grades and similar booksOn ReadingList, our sister site for school reading lists.
- Books of about the same lengthLittle Women (449 pp.) · Pride and Prejudice (432 pp.) · The Grapes of Wrath (464 pp.) · The Unwanteds (416 pp.)
- The most assigned books, rankedAll 2,809 listed books start here.
- Book length statisticsHow long assigned books are, by grade.
Cite this page
<a href="https://bookstatistics.com/books/a-tale-of-two-cities/">A Tale of Two Cities statistics</a>. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [A Tale of Two Cities statistics](https://bookstatistics.com/books/a-tale-of-two-cities/). Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [url=https://bookstatistics.com/books/a-tale-of-two-cities/]A Tale of Two Cities statistics[/url]. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site.