The Scarlet Letter by the numbers
Nathaniel Hawthorne · first published 1850 · dataset 2026-07-21
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Length and reading time
| Pages (dataset edition) | 238 |
|---|---|
| Estimated words | 65,000 |
| Reading time, 300 wpm (fast) | 3 h 38 min |
| Reading time, 250 wpm (average adult) | 4 h 22 min |
| Reading time, 200 wpm (careful / younger reader) | 5 h 27 min |
| Days at 20 minutes a day | 14 |
| Lexile measure | 1420L |
At 238 pages, The Scarlet Letter is longer than 59.3% of the 1,664 books on the reading lists we track. It is shorter than the median book listed for grades 9-12 (274 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 The Scarlet Letter is on school reading lists
4 appearances (0.0% of all 13,258 listings in the dataset), drawn from 4 published lists, in grades 11th–12th. 4 of the 4 carry a link to the published source document.
States (1): Massachusetts.
| Grade | Listings |
|---|---|
| 11th | 3 |
| 12th | 1 |
Sources
- MA ELA Framework — paired with Puritan New England history · checked 2026-05-29
- AP Lit representative text · checked 2026-05-29
- CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 11-CCR exemplar · checked 2026-05-29
- CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 11-CCR story exemplar · checked 2026-05-29
Questions
How many pages is The Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is 238 pages in the edition recorded in our dataset. Page counts vary by edition and format; at about 275 words per page that is roughly 65,000 words.
How long does it take to read The Scarlet Letter?
About 4 h 22 min at an average adult pace of 250 words per minute (3 h 38 min at 300 wpm, 5 h 27 min at 200 wpm). At 20 minutes a day that is about 14 days.
Is The Scarlet Letter on school reading lists?
Yes. It appears 4 times on the U.S. school reading lists, award lists and curricula in our dataset, in 1 state plus 3 national-curriculum listings, most often in grades 9-12. That ranks it #1,383 of 1,664 listed books.
Related
- The Scarlet Letter: reading level, grades and similar booksOn ReadingList, our sister site for school reading lists.
- Books of about the same lengthThe Crossover (240 pp.) · Matilda (240 pp.) · Dog Man (240 pp.) · Wish (236 pp.)
- The most assigned books, rankedAll 1,664 listed books start here.
- Book length statisticsHow long assigned books are, by grade.
Cite this page
<a href="https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-scarlet-letter/">The Scarlet Letter statistics</a>. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [The Scarlet Letter statistics](https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-scarlet-letter/). Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [url=https://bookstatistics.com/books/the-scarlet-letter/]The Scarlet Letter statistics[/url]. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site.