How long should the time span in the novel be?

History, not fantasy!
I've read some historical novels, and they rarely mention the age of the main character in the later stages. I can only guess based on the year number of the country. I feel that the main character is only twenty years old, but if I count it, he's almost thirty.
However, this was considered a short period of time. The entire time span of the full text was less than ten years.
I've always thought that this kind of time frame was the best, but recently, I read a novel. In the end, I realized that it only had a million words and 300 chapters. It was far from the end. The main character seemed to have already gone from fifteen to thirty years old.
So I want to ask, if I were to write a historical novel, how long would it take? Is it better if it's less than ten years? What about ten years or more? Would the protagonist in his thirties be annoying?

Answer 1

The time span in a novel usually depended on the theme, plot, and setting of the novel. But generally speaking, the time span can be as long as decades or even centuries to show people and events from different eras, different societies, and different cultures. For example, historical novels, science fiction novels, and fantasy novels often use long time spans to show different historical events, technological progress, civilization development, and worldviews. However, the specific time span would depend on the needs of the novel.