Woman in Science: reading level, length and free edition

Name: Woman in Science
Author: J. A. Zahm

Woman in Science by J. A. Zahm is a non-fiction in English. Our team rates it B2. It runs to 146,277 words with 14,387 different word forms, about 12–24 h of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from Project Gutenberg.

By the Readlang Mobile team (an independent app, not affiliated with readlang.com). Updated 31 October 2026.

Author: J. A. Zahm
Language: English
Level: B2
Form: non-fiction
Words: 146,277
Different word forms: 14,387
Forms for 95% / 98%: 7,401 / 11,462
Reading time: 12–24 h
Free edition: Project Gutenberg

"Woman in Science" by J. A. Zahm is a book written in 1913 under the pen name H. J. Mozans. It chronicles women’s contributions to science throughout history, from ancient Greece to modern times. Zahm argues that women’s underrepresentation in science stems not from biological limitations but from lack of educational and career opportunities. The book surveys female achievements across mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, medicine, archaeology, and invention, profiling figures like Hypatia, Caroline Herschel, and Marie Curie while advocating for women’s fuller participation in scientific fields.

Is Woman in Science right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in Woman in Science, you need its 7,401 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 11,462. The median English B2 book in our table needs 3,747 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is harder than most for its level: number 19 of 19, easiest first.

A word form is any spelling that appears in the text, so “walk” and “walked” count twice, and names count too. These numbers are a guide to how much vocabulary the book asks for, not a test. The level itself was set by hand by our team. Before you commit, read one page of the free edition and count the words you do not know: the one-page test takes two minutes.

Which words should you know before you start?

These are the words that Woman in Science uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 309 English books in our library; the number is how many times each appears. Names of people and places are left out. Learning a handful of them first makes the opening chapters easier.

intellectual 181
footnote 160
mathematics 97
medicine 94
achievements 91
quoted 91
sciences 87
literature 84
medical 83
noted 75
astronomy 74
illustrious 73
capacity 73
female 70
devoted 68

How does it begin?

The following pages are the outcome of studies begun many years ago in Greece and Italy. While wandering through the famed and picturesque land of the Hellenes, rejoicing in the countless beauties of the islands of the Ionian and Ægean seas or scaling the heights of Helicon and Parnassus, all so redolent of the storied …

From the Project Gutenberg edition, which is in the public domain. If this paragraph already feels slow, try a book one level lower.

How long does it take to read?

Hours to read *Woman in Science* (146,277 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
146,277	24 h	16 h	12 h	10 h

Learners reading a book at their level often manage 100 to 150 words per minute, and readers in their first language 200 to 250. Where these speeds come from, and a calculator for your own: How long does it take to read a book?

Where can you read it for free?

The free edition is Project Gutenberg eBook #34912. Project Gutenberg publishes books that are in the public domain in the United States, as EPUB, Kindle and plain text, free and without an account. Copyright terms differ by country: if you live outside the United States, check that the book is out of copyright where you are before you download it.

To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.