Read
Download the free ebook
A free edition from Standard Ebooks, ready for any e-reader, tablet or phone.
Download freeOther places to get the book
At a glance
Novel by Charles Dickens.
- Author
- Charles Dickens1812–1870
- First published
- 1854
- Original language
- English
- Genre
- Literary fiction
- Readers
- Adult
- Length
- Long80,000 to 120,000 words
- Readers' rating
- 3.3 out of 5from 101 ratings on Hardcover
How long it takes to read
About 6 h 53 min at 250 words a minute, or 11 h 7 min as an audiobook.
| Reading speed | Whole book | At 30 minutes a day |
|---|---|---|
| Careful200 words a minute | 8 h 37 min | 18 days |
| Average250 words a minute | 6 h 53 min | 14 days |
| Fast300 words a minute | 5 h 45 min | 12 days |
Hard Times
Read or listen
Hard Times is in the public domain: these editions are free to download, read and share.
Listen
Listen free on LibriVox
A volunteer recording in the public domain, free to stream or download.
10 h 55 minMP3 (ZIP)
Listen freeMore by Charles Dickens
Bleak HouseCharles Dickens355,432 words
Dombey and SonCharles Dickens351,353 words
David CopperfieldCharles Dickens339,112 words
Little DorritCharles Dickens339,059 words
Martin ChuzzlewitCharles Dickens337,951 words
Our Mutual FriendCharles Dickens326,054 words
Nicholas NicklebyCharles Dickens325,379 words
The Pickwick PapersCharles Dickens302,088 words
Compared with other books
The books closest in length, and a few well-known ones for scale.
Counted from the text
Automated estimates from the selected Project Gutenberg text; it may include a preface or notes.
- Words in the text
- 103,780
- Chapters
- 37about 2,805 words each
- Average sentence
- 14.7 words
- Vocabulary
- 419 different words in every 1,000Distinct words in the sampled text; this does not measure writing quality.
Where the numbers come from
The word count comes from the sources below.
- standardebooks.orgword count
- gutenberg.orgword count
- openlibrary.orgcover and record
- wikidata.orgdescription and author
- hardcover.appreaders' rating
The word count is Standard Ebooks’ count of its edition; the figures under “Counted from the text” are Musael’s own count of the Project Gutenberg text.
Checked on 2026-10-27. Page counts change from edition to edition. Cover from Open Library; the edition shown may differ.
Questions
How many words is Hard Times?
Hard Times by Charles Dickens has 103,360 words.
How long does it take to read Hard Times?
About 6 h 53 min at 250 words a minute, or 11 h 7 min as an audiobook.
How many days to read Hard Times at 30 minutes a day?
About 14 days at an average reading speed.
Who wrote Hard Times?
Hard Times was written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1854.
Writing a book of your own?
Musael counts every chapter as you write, keeps the plan beside the draft and checks names and facts across the book.