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At a glance
Short story collection by Mark Twain.
- Author
- Mark Twain1835–1910
- First published
- 1875
- Original language
- English
- Genre
- Humorous fiction
- Readers
- Adult
- Length
- Long80,000 to 120,000 words
How long it takes to read
About 6 h 32 min at 250 words a minute, or 10 h 32 min as an audiobook.
| Reading speed | Whole book | At 30 minutes a day |
|---|---|---|
| Careful200 words a minute | 8 h 10 min | 17 days |
| Average250 words a minute | 6 h 32 min | 14 days |
| Fast300 words a minute | 5 h 27 min | 11 days |
Sketches New and Old
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Sketches New and Old is in the public domain: these editions are free to download, read and share.
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Listen freeMore by Mark Twain
The Gilded AgeMark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner158,827 words
A Tramp AbroadMark Twain156,772 words
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtMark Twain118,328 words
Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain105,590 words
The Adventures of Tom SawyerMark Twain68,079 words
The Prince and the PauperMark Twain67,538 words
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead WilsonMark Twain53,248 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
- 97,982
- Chapters
- 13about 7,537 words each
- Dialogue
- 31%of the words are inside quotation marks
- Average sentence
- 21 words
- Vocabulary
- 445 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.
- gutenberg.orgword count
- openlibrary.orgcover and record
- wikidata.orgdescription and author
- hardcover.appreaders' rating
The word count is Musael’s own count of the Project Gutenberg text, which can include a preface or notes.
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 Sketches New and Old?
Sketches New and Old by Mark Twain has 97,982 words.
How long does it take to read Sketches New and Old?
About 6 h 32 min at 250 words a minute, or 10 h 32 min as an audiobook.
How many days to read Sketches New and Old at 30 minutes a day?
About 14 days at an average reading speed.
Who wrote Sketches New and Old?
Sketches New and Old was written by Mark Twain and first published in 1875.
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.