How long does it take to read Murder in the Cathedral?
Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot takes about 1 hour 37 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 1 hour 37 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1934. 88 pages, about 24,200 words.
4 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 2 hours 41 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 1 hour 37 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 1 hour 1 minute |
The page count is the median across 98 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
A dramatization in free verse and with features derived from ancient and medieval theatre of the killing of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury under King Henry II. Eliot used the device of a chorus, an ancient Greek invention, to express certain concerns and observations, and the killers take their turn to justify their action. When I read this play as a grammar school student in England, I was struck by the way the violence echoed the rise of fascism in Europe when the play was being written. My English master was somewhat mocking in class regarding my views, but later as a college student I read Eliot's own words confirming my experience.
Subjects: Drama, Canterbury Cathedral, Christian martyrs, Christian saints, History, Murder victims
