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How long does it take to read The Essence of Style?

Joan DeJean

The Essence of Style by Joan DeJean takes about 5 hours 33 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.

About 5 hours 33 minutes

A weekend read

First published 2005. 303 pages, about 83,325 words.

12 days at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.

At other speeds

Slow, 150 words a minute 9 hours 16 minutes
Average, 250 words a minute 5 hours 33 minutes
Fast, 400 words a minute 3 hours 28 minutes

The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.

About the book

One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides an account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today. DeJean explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style decided to make both himself and his country legendary. When the Sun King's reign began, his nation had no particular association with elegance, yet by its end, the French had become accepted as the world's arbiters in matters of taste and style. DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafés, nightlife, and fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited confines of court circles--and Paris was its magical center. --From publisher description.

Subjects: Social life and customs, French Cooking, Fashion, Influence, History, Fashion, history

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