How long does it take to read Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing?
Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing by May Sarton takes about 4 hours 2 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 4 hours 2 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1965. 220 pages, about 60,500 words.
9 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 6 hours 43 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 4 hours 2 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 2 hours 31 minutes |
The page count is the median across 18 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Sarton’s most important novel tells the story of a poet in her seventies, whose life is retold episodically during an interview with two writers from a literary magazine Hilary Stevens’s prolific career includes a provocative novel that shot her into the public consciousness years ago, and an oeuvre of poetry that more recently has consigned her to near-obscurity. Now in the twilight of her life, Hilary, who is both a feminist and a lesbian, is receiving renewed attention for an upcoming collection of poems, one that has brought two young reporters to her Cape Cod home. As Hilary prepares for the conversation, she recalls formative moments both large and small. She then embarks on the interview itself—a witty and intelligent discussion of her life, work, and romantic relationships with men and women. After the journalists have left, Hilary helps a visiting male friend with his anxiety over being gay and imparts wisdom about channeling his own creative passions. From the Back Cover: May Sarton's ninth novel explores a woman's struggle to reconcile the claims of life and art, to transmute passion and pain into poetry. About the Author: May Sarton (1912-1995) was an acclaimed poet, novelist, and memoirist.
Subjects: Fiction, Older women, Women authors, Poetry, Feminism, Lesbians
