How many words are in The First Men in the Moon?
by H.G. Wells · 1901 · Science Fiction
68,391
Word count
4 hr 47 min
Reading time
274
Est. pages
1901
Published
The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells is approximately 68,391 wordslong. At an average reading speed of 238 words per minute, that's about 4 hr 47 min of reading spread across several sittings. First published in 1901, it sits in the Science Fiction category.
Typical science fiction novels run 90,000–125,000 words, with a sweet spot around 100,000–115,000. At 68,391 words, The First Men in the Moon comes in below the typical range — closer to a novella in length.
Source: Word count computed from the Project Gutenberg plain-text edition (eBook #1013, public domain) · referenceVerified 2026-06-21
Science Fiction novels of similar length
| Title | Author | Word count |
|---|---|---|
| A Princess of Mars | Edgar Rice Burroughs | 67,436 |
| Foundation | Isaac Asimov | 64,995 |
| Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | 63,766 |
| Around the World in Eighty Days | Jules Verne | 63,334 |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | 74,861 |
| The Lost World | Arthur Conan Doyle | 75,759 |