How many words are in Peter Pan?
by J.M. Barrie · 1911 · Fantasy
47,268
Word count
3 hr 19 min
Reading time
190
Est. pages
1911
Published
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie is approximately 47,268 wordslong. At an average reading speed of 238 words per minute, that's about 3 hr 19 min of reading spread across several sittings. First published in 1911, it sits in the Fantasy category.
Typical fantasy novels run 70,000–150,000 words, with a sweet spot around 90,000–120,000. At 47,268 words, Peter Pan comes in below the typical range — closer to a novella in length.
Source: Word count computed from the Project Gutenberg plain-text edition (eBook #16, public domain) · referenceVerified 2026-06-21
Fantasy novels of similar length
| Title | Author | Word count |
|---|---|---|
| The Princess and the Goblin | George MacDonald | 50,960 |
| The Marvelous Land of Oz | L. Frank Baum | 41,878 |
| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | L. Frank Baum | 39,649 |
| A Wizard of Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin | 56,533 |
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | 36,363 |
| The Wind in the Willows | Kenneth Grahame | 58,426 |