How Many Pages Are In The Longest Stories Ever Written?

2026-04-10 18:52:13
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4 Answers

Grace
Grace
Story Interpreter Doctor
From a collector’s perspective, page counts can be deceptive—editions vary wildly. The 'Oxford English Dictionary' totals 22,000 pages, but it’s a reference work. For fiction, 'Mission Earth' by L. Ron Hubbard (10 volumes, ~5,000 pages) is infamous for its divisive reception as much as its length. Meanwhile, Japanese light novels like 'The Familiar of Zero' stretch to 20+ volumes, though single books rarely exceed 300 pages. It’s interesting how serialization affects perception: a 100-page manga chapter feels breezy, but compile 50 into 'One Piece,' and suddenly you’re at 23,000+ pages. Maybe longevity matters more than sheer bulk—after 25 years, Eiichiro Oda’s pirate saga feels endless in the best way.
2026-04-13 22:09:17
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Isaac
Isaac
Favorite read: 1001 Dark Tales
Twist Chaser Teacher
Casual reader here—I once tried tackling 'Infinite Jest' (1,079 pages) and felt accomplished just finishing the footnotes. But the real giants? They’re almost mythical. Take the 'Mahābhārata,' an ancient Sanskrit epic estimated at 1.8 million words (around 5,000 pages). It’s not just length; it’s density, weaving philosophy, war, and genealogy into one sprawling narrative. Modern equivalents like 'The Wheel of Time' series (11,000+ pages total) pale in comparison, though Robert Jordan’s worldbuilding comes close in scope. What grips me is how these works mirror their eras—oral traditions vs. bingeable Kindle series. Honestly, I admire anyone who finishes them without resorting to speed-reading.
2026-04-14 04:49:12
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Bennett
Bennett
Favorite read: Strange short stories
Insight Sharer Worker
Ever held a doorstopper book and thought, 'Who has time for this?' Me neither, but I respect the audacity. 'Jerusalem' by Alan Moore is 1,266 pages of hallucinatory brilliance—dense enough to double as a workout. Then there’s 'The Blah Story' by Nigel Tomm, a 3,277-page experimental novel that’s basically unreadable (intentionally?). Both push boundaries, but for opposite reasons: Moore’s is a meticulous mosaic, while Tomm’s feels like a prank. Makes me chuckle—some writers treat length as a challenge, others as a punchline.
2026-04-14 19:34:06
13
Novel Fan Student
I recently stumbled down this rabbit hole while researching epic literature, and wow—some works are monstrous in length. The undisputed king is 'Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus,' a 17th-century French romance novel that spans roughly 13,000 pages across 10 volumes. Imagine hauling that around! Modern contenders include 'À la recherche du temps perdu' by Marcel Proust, clocking in at around 4,300 pages. What fascinates me is how these tomes reflect cultural shifts—older works like 'Cyrus' were serialized for aristocratic leisure, while Proust’s stream-of-consciousness style demanded patience. Both feel like lifetime commitments, but in totally different ways.

Then there’s fan culture’s contribution: the online 'Super Smash Bros.' fanfic 'The Subspace Emissary’s Conquest' reportedly hits 4 million words (about 8,000 pages if printed). It’s wild how digital platforms let stories balloon beyond physical limits. Makes me wonder if future 'longest works' will even have page counts—maybe we’ll measure in terabytes instead!
2026-04-16 21:41:24
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What are the longest stories ever written in literature?

4 Answers2026-04-10 19:51:38
Ever fallen down a rabbit hole of absurdly long books? I once tried tackling Marcel Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time,' which clocks in at around 1.2 million words across seven volumes. What starts as a meditation on memory becomes this sprawling, poetic universe where a single description of a madeleine cookie unfolds into pages of introspection. Then there's 'Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus,' a 17th-century French romance novel that makes 'War and Peace' look like a pamphlet. At roughly 2 million words, it's basically the literary equivalent of binge-watching 10 seasons of a soap opera—complete with convoluted plots and exaggerated emotions. These works aren't just long; they're immersive experiences that demand you surrender to their rhythm.

How long does it take to read the longest stories ever written?

4 Answers2026-04-10 19:17:11
Tackling the longest stories ever written feels like embarking on a marathon rather than a sprint. Take something like Marcel Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time'—it spans over 1.2 million words across seven volumes. I tried reading it over a summer, but it took me nearly three months of dedicated daily reading, sometimes just 20 pages a night. The dense prose and philosophical tangents demand slow digestion. Then there's 'The Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordan, which clocks in at around 4.4 million words. A friend of mine binge-read it during lockdown, averaging a book every two weeks, but she admitted it was exhausting. These epics aren’t just about time; they test your stamina and emotional investment. I still feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I spot my dog-eared copy of 'Swann’s Way' on the shelf.

Which authors wrote the longest stories ever written?

4 Answers2026-04-10 17:10:22
The world of epic storytelling has some truly mind-boggling giants. Marcel Proust’s 'In Search of Lost Time' clocks in at around 1.2 million words, and it’s not just long—it’s dense, weaving memory and philosophy into every sentence. Then there’s the 'Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordan (and later Brandon Sanderson), spanning 14 books and over 4 million words. I once tried binge-reading it during a summer break and barely made it halfway before classes started! Another contender is the 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' by Steven Erikson, which feels like climbing a literary mountain with its intricate worldbuilding. And let’s not forget fanfiction—some 'Supernatural' or 'Harry Potter' works on Archive of Our Own stretch into millions of words, proving fandom dedication knows no bounds. Honestly, tackling these feels like a badge of honor for readers.
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