How long is it?
345 pages in the University of Georgia Press 1998 paperback edition.
Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction
Scarlet Sister Mary
Highly regardedPulitzer Prize for Novel (pre-1948), 1929Reading facts
✓ Checked- Reading effort
- 44 / 100Moderate
- Length
- 345 pagesUniversity of Georgia Press · 1998
- Reading time
- 7 hat 50 pages an hour ·
- Pace
- Measured
- Emotional intensity
- 3 / 5
About 7 h · at 30 minutes a day, about 14 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
Raised by Maum Hannah and her son Budda Ben on an abandoned plantation in South Carolina’s Low Country, Mary wants to marry July and remain in good standing in her Gullah community’s church. Her pregnancy and dancing at her wedding draw the congregation’s disapproval, and July’s abandonment leaves her supporting herself and her child under her neighbors’ scrutiny.
Reader notes
Church meetings, cotton-field work and visits to a conjurer fill out the novel’s community life beyond Mary’s household. Much of the dialogue uses closely rendered Gullah dialect, which can take time to get used to; religious judgment and Mary’s choices remain closely entangled with everyday work and survival.
How it reads
- Writing style
- Descriptive
- Tone
- Intimate · Reflective
- Structure
- Linear
- Driven by
- Character · Relationships
- Point of view
- Third person, omniscient
- Setting
- South Carolina Low Country
Reading complexity
- Writing
- 4 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Themes
- Gender
- Sexuality
- Religion and faith
- Community
- Marriage
- Parenthood
Content notes
- Violence
- Mild
- Sexual content
- Mild
- Swearing
- Mild
- Substance use
- Mild
- Abuse
- Mild
- Self-harm or suicide
- Mild
Standing and awards
Highly regarded
- Pulitzer Prize for Novel (pre-1948), 1929
Questions readers ask
Which edition is shown here?
University of Georgia Press · 1998 · Paperback. ISBN 9780820319568.
How long does it take to read Scarlet Sister Mary?
About 7 hours at 50 pages an hour, based on the 345-page University of Georgia Press edition. Dense books can take longer.
If you liked this
Edition and details
- Publisher
- University of Georgia Press
- Publication year
- 1998
- Format
- Paperback
- Pages
- 345
- ISBN
- 9780820319568
- Edition language
- English
- Original language
- English
- First published
- 1928
- Genres and form
- Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction · Social novel
- Editions
- 9
- Languages
- 1 (English)
The catalog does not yet include a matching edition. Details may differ between editions.