How long does it take to read The Lancashire Witches, a Romance of Pendle Forest?
The Lancashire Witches, a Romance of Pendle Forest by William Harrison Ainsworth takes about 9 hours 1 minute to read at 250 words a minute.
About 9 hours 1 minute
A week or two of reading
First published 1849. 492 pages, about 135,300 words.
19 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 15 hours 2 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 9 hours 1 minute |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 5 hours 38 minutes |
The page count is the median across 115 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The Lancashire Witches begins in the 16th century, in Lancashire, England. When a Cistercian monk, Borlace Alvetham, is falsely accused of witchcraft and condemned to death by his rival, Brother Paslew, he sells his soul to Satan and escapes. Years later, granted the powers of a warlock, he returns in the guise of Nicholas Demdike to witness Paslew's execution for treason. Dying, Paslew curses Demdike's offspring -- who become the titular 'Lancashire Witches.' The rest of the book set in the 17th century. Mother Demdike, a powerful witch, and her clan face rival witches, raise innocent young Alizon Devi as their own, and try to corrupt Alizon despite her innocent ways. Ultimately, the book becomes a struggle between Heaven and Hell, with Alizon's fate hanging in the balance. Ainsworth's last masterpiece, The Lancashire Witches proved a best-seller in its day and influenced many contemporary authors.
Subjects: Fiction, historical, general, England, fiction, Fiction, History, Witches, Witchcraft
