Fiction_L Archives Zeitgeist Novels Dates: 2/25/00,4:40 PM  through  3/20/00,4:11 PM  (26 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2011-current     2009-2010     2004-2008    1995-2003    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to February 2000 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Ridgefield Library Fiction Room" <[removed]@biblio.org>
REC'D: 2/25/00, 4:40 PM

Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
I will post the compiled list.

TIA

Mary Rindfleisch
Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
Ridgefield Library
Ridgefield, CT
[removed]@biblio.org

FROM: "Sarah Flowers" <[removed]@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
REC'D: 2/25/00, 6:45 PM

What an interesting question. Two very different books spring instantly
to mind. The first is Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, set in
mid-nineteenth-century Canada and the U.S. I found it very evocative of
time and place. The other, believe it or not, is The Dead Zone, by
Stephen King. Part of it is that the main character wakes up after
four years in a coma, and so is rediscovering his own era (the mid-'70s).
Part of it is the whole political aspect--the lead-in to the 1976
election.


Sarah Flowers, Community Librarian
Morgan Hill Public Library
17575 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill CA 95037-4128
[removed]@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us
*** All standard disclaimers apply ***

FROM: "Susan" <[removed]@uia.net>
REC'D: 2/25/00, 7:02 PM

Two I have recently read and recommend highly are:

The Blue Afternoon by William Boyd
The Flaming Corsage by William Kennedy

-----------------------------------

At 05:56 PM 2/25/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
>sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
>absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
>
>TIA

FROM: "Diana Tixier Herald" <[removed]@wic.net>
REC'D: 2/25/00, 8:45 PM

I really thought that Sabbathday River by Jean Hanff Korelitz captured
the 1980s very well. Here is my review from the Genreflecting page:

After nine years in Goddard, New Hampshire, recently divorced Naomi Roth
is still an outsider even though as a Vista volunteer she organized the
women into a profitable needlework cooperative. When she finds a dead
infant in the Sabbathday River she is the first suspect but soon the
police arrest Heather Pratt a Hester Prynne of the 1980's who
unashamedly has a daughter by a married man. When a false confession is
coerced from her she is set to be tried for murder When Naomi, believing
that Heather's baby had been stillborn and hidden in a small pond finds
the second child the trial turns into a media circus with Heather
accused of bearing twins and murdering them both.

Lots of grist for book discussion groups in this compellingly period
perfect piece.

--
Happy reading,
Di Herald
[removed]@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
<A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
tastes."

FROM: <[removed]@aol.com>
REC'D: 2/25/00, 9:08 PM

One that reflects Brooklyn in the 1940s - if it can be that specific - is
"Snow In August" by Pete Hamill.
roben in Virginia

FROM: <[removed]@aol.com>
REC'D: 2/26/00, 7:10 AM

In a message dated 2/25/2000 5:53:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[removed]@biblio.org writes:

<< Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
I will post the compiled list. >>

I suggest Elswyth Thane's QUEEN'S FOLLY, in which QE the first is a presence
throughout 400 years of the novel. Also, Spider Robinons's CALLAHAN'S
CROSSTIME SALOON Stories - where (sometimes) historical figures try to make
amends for past misdeeds. And there's always EXODUS by Leon Uris.

Binnie Syril Braunstein
Romance novelist/former librarian

FROM: "Kathleen Martin" <[removed]@gvpl.victoria.bc.ca>
REC'D: 2/26/00, 12:31 PM

One of my favourites that I submit for many lists also fills this bill.
It is -If I never get back- by Darryl Brock. A new age guy finds himself
transported back to 1870's (?) U.S. and becomes involved with the early
days of professional baseball. There are some historical characters
encountered, notably Mark Twain. It gives a great sense of place and
time.

Kathleen Martin
Co-ordinator of Community Services
Greater Victoria Public Library
Victoria, B.C.


On Fri, 25 Feb 2000, Ridgefield Library Fiction Room wrote:

> Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
> sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
> absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
> point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
> Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
> McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
> another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
> recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
> particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
> author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
> I will post the compiled list.
>
> TIA
>
> Mary Rindfleisch
> Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
> Ridgefield Library
> Ridgefield, CT
> [removed]@biblio.org
>
>

FROM: "Dorothy Szczepaniak" <[removed]@wpld.alibrary.com>
REC'D: 2/26/00, 4:29 PM

I suggest Edith Freund's CHICAGO GIRLS (1985) set at the time of the
Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1892, and Lauren Belfer's CITY OF LIGHT
(1999) set in Buffalo, NY., at the time of the Pan American Exposition
in1901 and the first hydroelectric plant.

FROM: "J Heuer" <[removed]@itol.com>
REC'D: 2/26/00, 10:08 PM

I wholeheartedly second the Dead Zone. When you mentioned it I immediately
said, "yes!' because I remember some of those details like the main
character seeing someone writing with a felt tip pen that he was unfamiliar
with. King does this somewhat in other novels too but I think he did it best
in Dead Zone.

--
Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
[removed]@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones
to keep." -anonymous

----------
>From: Sarah Flowers <[removed]@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
>To: Ridgefield Library Fiction Room <[removed]@biblio.org>
>Subject: Re: Zeitgeist Novels
>Date: Fri, Feb 25, 2000, 6:56 PM
>

> What an interesting question. Two very different books spring instantly
> to mind. The first is Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, set in
> mid-nineteenth-century Canada and the U.S. I found it very evocative of
> time and place. The other, believe it or not, is The Dead Zone, by
> Stephen King. Part of it is that the main character wakes up after
> four years in a coma, and so is rediscovering his own era (the mid-'70s).
> Part of it is the whole political aspect--the lead-in to the 1976
> election.
>
>
> Sarah Flowers, Community Librarian
> Morgan Hill Public Library
> 17575 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill CA 95037-4128
> [removed]@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us
> *** All standard disclaimers apply ***
>

FROM: "christine jeffords" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 2/27/00, 2:41 PM

"Time and Again," by Jack Finney. A modern man goes back to the 1870's.
Finney must have done truckloads of research.

Also Michener's novels--"Hawaii," "Texas," "Poland," "Mexico," "Centennial,"
"The Source," etc., etc.--any of the epics that begin in prehistoric times
and go forward from there.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 2/27/00, 3:40 PM

I guess the book that I most often recommend along those lines is AND LADIES
OF THE CLUB by Helen Hooven Santmyer. I remember telling groups when I
booktalked it that I felt like I could navigate that Ohio town like a
resident. I also remember more than one elderly woman telling me that the
book WAS small-town southern Ohio of the post-Civil War to early 1900's..

Georgine Olson
Outreach Services Manager
Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library & Regional Center
1215 Cowles Street
Fairbanks AK 99701

phone: (907) 459-1020
-----Original Message-----
From: Ridgefield Library Fiction Room <[removed]@biblio.org>
To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org <[removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Date: Friday, February 25, 2000 2:03 PM
Subject: Zeitgeist Novels


>Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
>sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
>absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
>point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
>Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
>McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
>another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
>recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
>particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
>author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
>I will post the compiled list.
>
>TIA
>
>Mary Rindfleisch
>Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
>Ridgefield Library
>Ridgefield, CT
[removed]@biblio.org
>

FROM: "Fiction_L" <[removed]@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 2/27/00, 3:40 PM

I believe that Caleb Carr's novel The Alienist might be
appropriate. The sense of place -late nineteenth century
New York City - is so vivid that I've had a number of
people who've read it come back afterward asking for
historical maps so that they could try to track the action
of the story through the streets and sections described in
the book. It has historical figures woven neatly into the
story, so it actually has a slightly realistic basis,
although it is very obviously a work of fiction.


=====
Debbie Walsh
"Never apologize for...reading..."
Rosenberg's First Law (abbrev.)
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
<A HREF="http://im.yahoo.com">http://im.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Kim Rutter" <[removed]@lvdl.org>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 8:03 AM

This reminded me of the mystery series I am reading now by Margaret
Lawrence: Hearts and Bones; Blood Red Roses; The Burning Bride. It is set
in post-colonial New England during the time our country was living under
the Articles of Confederation, with the economic collapse and political
tensions produced by a semi-new system melded with all the old ways. The
main character is also a woman who has had a baby outside marriage and is
the midwife for the area. *She becomes involved in murder cases
because a woman is required to be present at every inquest as a "softening"
influence, since male coroners were known to perform these operations while
drunk and do unspeakable things to the bodies.*
The details about life during this period of our history are
absorbing and amazing.

Kim Rutter
Lake Villa District Library
Lake Villa, IL
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diana Tixier Herald [[removed]@wic.net]
> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 1:52 PM
> [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Subject: Re: Zeitgeist Novels
>
> I really thought that Sabbathday River by Jean Hanff Korelitz captured
> the 1980s very well. Here is my review from the Genreflecting page:
>
> After nine years in Goddard, New Hampshire, recently divorced Naomi Roth
> is still an outsider even though as a Vista volunteer she organized the
> women into a profitable needlework cooperative. When she finds a dead
> infant in the Sabbathday River she is the first suspect but soon the
> police arrest Heather Pratt a Hester Prynne of the 1980's who
> unashamedly has a daughter by a married man. When a false confession is
> coerced from her she is set to be tried for murder When Naomi, believing
> that Heather's baby had been stillborn and hidden in a small pond finds
> the second child the trial turns into a media circus with Heather
> accused of bearing twins and murdering them both.
>
> Lots of grist for book discussion groups in this compellingly period
> perfect piece.
>
> --
> Happy reading,
> Di Herald
> [removed]@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
> <A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
> Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
> tastes."
>

FROM: "Ellen Reynolds (PLS-HQ)" <[removed]@pls-net.org>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 9:31 AM

City of Light by Lauren Belfer, 1999 takes place in Buffalo, NY at the
turn of the century (1900) and seems quite true to the time and place.
The author did extensive research.


--
Ellen J. Reynolds
Information Resources/Adult Services Coordinator
Pioneer Library System
4595 Rt. 21 N. Canandaigua NY 14424
716-394-8260
[removed]@pls-net.org

FROM: "Tom Dillie" <[removed]@wadsworth.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 11:48 AM

Mary,
I have a question about definition in regards to some of the other
responses to your post. I would suggest that if we are to use a novel to show
the spirit of the age, it probably should have been written during that time
period, or at least written by an author who lived through that time period. I
enjoy historical fiction very much, but, no matter how well researched, there
is a difference in the understanding of the modern author (modern in relation
to the historical period he or she is writing about) and the contemporary
author ( contemporary to the period he or she is writing about); that
difference may mean the modern author will be more appealing to us because more
familiar in prose style and underlying attitudes, while the author contemporary
with the period will be less appealing, but more accurate in portraying that
period.
Just a thought.

Tom Dillie, Adult Services Librarian
Wadsworth Public Library
132 Broad St.
Wadsworth OH 44281
www.wadsworth.lib.oh.us

Ridgefield Library Fiction Room wrote:

> Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
> sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
> absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
> point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
> Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
> McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
> another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
> recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
> particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
> author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
> I will post the compiled list.
>
> TIA
>
> Mary Rindfleisch
> Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
> Ridgefield Library
> Ridgefield, CT
> [removed]@biblio.org

FROM: "Raap" <[removed]@sls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 12:21 PM

I thought Grapes of Wrath really made me feel "like I was there." And
Red Adams Lady by Grace Ingram is a historical romance that gave a great
feel for "housekeeping" in a medieval castle. I've remembered the feel
of the castle life for about 20 years.

******************************************************************************
Christine Raap * "The universe is crazy,
Evergreen Park Pub. Lib. * anything else would be
9400 S. Troy * redundant."
Evergreen Park, Il. 60805 * Londo, Baylon 5
[removed]@sls.lib.il.us *
[removed]@ibm.net *
******************************************************************************

FROM: "Indian Prairie Readers Services Dept. INS 630-887-8760" <[removed]@sls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 3:27 PM

Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve, Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, Seventh
Heaven by Alice Hoffman, Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker, Davita's Harp by
Chaim Potok and Saying Grace by Beth Gutcheon.

Naomi Miller, Readers Advisory Assistant
*****************************************************************************
Indian Prairie Public Library Phone: 630/887-8760
READERS' SERVICES FAX: 630/887-8801
401 Plainfield Rd. E-mail: [removed]@sls.lib.il.us
Darien, IL 60561
*****************************************************************************

FROM: "Susan Hawrusik" <[removed]@lmxac.org>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 3:44 PM

Instance of the Fingerpost: Tim Pears

Ridgefield Library Fiction Room wrote:

> Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
> sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
> absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
> point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
> Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
> McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
> another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
> recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
> particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
> author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
> I will post the compiled list.
>
> TIA
>
> Mary Rindfleisch
> Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
> Ridgefield Library
> Ridgefield, CT
> [removed]@biblio.org

FROM: <[removed]@co.wake.nc.us>
REC'D: 2/28/00, 4:23 PM

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Donna Beaver
Wake County Libraries
Zebulon, NC branch

FROM: <[removed]@lib.cnib.ca>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 7:24 AM

Carr's other book in that series "The Angel of Darkness" also fits the bill, as it takes place with the same characters in the
same setting, 19th century New York City..
I might also suggest "Scarlet Women" by J.D. Christilian, which takes place in late 19th century New York City. It follows the
search for a missing society wife through the underbelly of the great city.

I'm reading one right now which falls into this category as well: Iain Pears' "An Instance of the Fingerpost" It takes place
in 17th century England and does in fact have actual historical figures playing a part in the plot. It even has an index of
important people featured in the novel at the end of the book. An excellent mystery.

Another would be 1916 by Morgan Llywelyn. This takes us back to the Easter Rebellion in Ireland and has many historical figures
involved in the story.

I'm sure I can think of some more, as this is one of my favorite genres. It's great when you can read a great story and learn
history as well.

Cheers!

Nicole Patterson
CNIB Library for the Blind
Toronto, ON

>>> [removed]@nslsilus.ORG" 27/02/2000 5:14:39 pm >>>
I believe that Caleb Carr's novel The Alienist might be
appropriate. The sense of place -late nineteenth century
New York City - is so vivid that I've had a number of
people who've read it come back afterward asking for
historical maps so that they could try to track the action
of the story through the streets and sections described in
the book. It has historical figures woven neatly into the
story, so it actually has a slightly realistic basis,
although it is very obviously a work of fiction.


=====
Debbie Walsh
"Never apologize for...reading..."
Rosenberg's First Law (abbrev.)
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
<A HREF="http://im.yahoo.com">http://im.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Jennifer Owens" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 8:22 AM

Mary:
I learned more about the Battle of Gettysburg by reading "The Killer Angels"
by Michael Shaara, than any history book. He puts thoughts, feelings and
characterizations into the real soldiers who fought in that bloody battle.
It was totally inspiring and gave me goose bumps to go there and stand upon
Little Round Top.
The book on tape is equally wonderful.

Jennifer Owens
Grayslake Public Library
Grayslake IL


>From: "Ridgefield Library Fiction Room" <[removed]@biblio.org>
>Reply-To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
>To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
>Subject: Zeitgeist Novels
>Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 17:56:58 -0500
>
>Here's a quest I can't begin to figure how to track through standard RA
>sources, so I am turning to the pros. I am searching for novels which
>absolutely perfectly capture a "zeitgeist" i.e. the feel of a particular
>point in time. Often these have real historical figures woven in (like
>Doctorow's Ragtime and others); sometimes it is brand name dropping (like
>McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City). Bonfire of the Vanities would be
>another example, many of the works of Don DeLillo also; I have heard the
>recent Turn of the Century by Kurt Anderson described this way. The
>particular historical period is not important, just the level to which the
>author really seems to capture the essence of that period. Any suggestions?
>I will post the compiled list.
>
>TIA
>
>Mary Rindfleisch
>Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
>Ridgefield Library
>Ridgefield, CT
[removed]@biblio.org
>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Deb Warner" <[removed]@co.durham.nc.us>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 12:04 PM

FROM: <[removed]@co.wake.nc.us>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 2:03 PM

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

FROM: "Catherine Les" <[removed]@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 2:23 PM

I have found that Cecelia Holland's Great Maria (Norman Italy) and Sharan
Newman's earlier Catherine LeVendeur series (12th century France) give the
reader a good feeling for life in the Middle Ages.

Catherine McCullough Les
Sterling Heights Public Library
Sterling Heights, MI
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: <[removed]@aol.com>
REC'D: 2/29/00, 9:15 PM

For zeitgeist novels with a feel for the middle ages, let's not forget the
Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters.

Binnie Syril Braunstein
Romance writer/former librarian

FROM: "Ridgefield Library Fiction Room" <[removed]@biblio.org>
DATE: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 16:11:19 -0500

Thanks to all for their many great suggestions. I'm sorry to take so long
with posting this, but the recommendations kept coming in, and I didn't want
to miss any. I am looking forward to reading many of the ones I haven't
caught up with already...

Mary Rindfleisch

ZEITGEIST NOVELS

The original query was for books which somehow encapsulate the spirit of a
specific place or group at a particular moment in time and have become
identified with that setting (like The Great Gatsby has become a symbol of
America in the high-flying flapper era). The books suggested tended to be
historical fiction (i.e. written with the advantage of hindsight), although
some were from authors capturing ineffably their own generation. The main
common characteristic seems to be that all of these books bring a particular
place and time so vividly to life that you can believe "you are there."

While I have to the best of my ability indicated the general time and place
where these titles are set, some evoke a very specific neighborhood or
social group (the criminal underworld, professional baseball, the military
in battle, a religious community) which adds to the richness of the reading
experience. Some also are dominated by a particular person, issue, or
location more than an era, but all are guaranteed by Fiction_L participants
to be powerful in evoking a particular milieu. Time will not allow me to add
more detailed annotations, but those who followed the original postings on
this string may remember some of the enthusiastic and detailed descriptions.
Happy Reading!

Alexander, Bruce Sir John Fielding mysteries (Georgian England)
Amado, Jorge Dona Flor and her Two Husbands (Brazil, 1940s)
Anderson, Kurt Turn of the Century (US, 1999)
Atwood, Margaret Alias Grace (Canada, mid-1800s)
Belfer, Lauren City of Light (Buffalo, NY, 1900)
Boyd, William Blue Afternoon (Phillipines, 1902)
Brock, Darryl If I Never Get Back (US, post-Civil War - also a time
travel element)
Carr, Caleb The Alienist; Angel of Darkness (NYC, 1890s)
Chadwick, Elizabeth Love Knot; Wild Hunt (medieval Britain)
Chisholm, P.F. Sir Robert Carey mysteries (Elizabethan England)
Christilian, J.D. Scarlet Women (NYC, 1870s)
Clair, Maxine Rattlebone (all-black Kansas town, 1950s)
DeLillo, Don Underworld; Libra & others (various 20th century
settings)
Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime (NYC & environs, early 1900s) & others
Douglas, Marcia Madame Fate (Jamaica, 20th century)
Duggan, Alfred Rome/Middle East/medieval Europe
Finney, Jack Time and Again; From Time to Time (NYC, 1880s & 1914,
plus time travel element)
Finney, Patricia Firedrake's Eye; Unicorn's Blood (Elizabethan England)
Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Great Gatsby (Long Island high society, 1920s)
Flagg, Fanny Coming Attractions (Mississippi, 1950s)
Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain (US South, Civil War period)
Gabaldon, Diana Outlander series (Scotland, 1740s - US, colonial
period, plus time travel element)
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying (Louisiana, 1940s)
Garrett, George Death of the Fox; others (Elizabethan England)
George, Margaret Autobiography of Henry VIII; Mary Queen of Scotland and
the Isles (Tudor/Elizabethan England)
Golden, Arthur Memoirs of a Geisha (Japanese geisha community,
early-mid 20th century)
Gregory, Phillipa Earthly Joys (England, early 1600s)
Gutcheon, Beth Saying Grace (California "gold coast" day school, late
20th century)
Hamill, Pete Snow in August (working-class Brooklyn, NY, 1947)
Heyer, Georgette many Regency romances
Hoffman, Alice Seventh Heaven (US suburbia, 1950s)
Holland, Cecelia Great Maria (medieval Italy)
Ingram, Grace Red Adam's Lady (medieval Europe)
Kennedy, William Flaming Corsage (Albany & NYC, 1884-1912)
King, Stephen Dead Zone (New England, 1970s)
Korelitz, Jean Hanff Sabbathday River (small town New England, 1980s)
Lawrence, Margaret Midwife Hannah Trevor series (Maine, 1780s)
Lee, Harper To Kill a Mockingbird (Alabama, 1930s)
Liss, David Conspiracy of Paper (London financial world, early 18th
century)
Llewelyn, Morgan 1916 (Ireland, early 20th century)
McInerney, Jay Bright Lights, Big City (NYC, 1980)
Michener, James various epics (more about a place over time than one
moment in history)
Mitchell, Margaret Gone with the Wind (US South, Civil War period)
Morgan, Robert Gap Creek (Appalachia/Carolinas, 1900)
Newman, Sharan Catherine LeVendeur mysteries (medieval France)
O'Brian, Patrick Aubrey/Maturin naval adventures (British Royal Navy at
sea around the world, Napoleonic War era)
Pears, Iain Instance of the Fingerpost (Restoration England, 1660s)
Peters, Ellis Brother Cadfael mysteries (medieval England)
Potok, Chaim Davita's Harp (NYC Jewish & leftist commmunities,
1930s-40s)
Renault, Mary Praise Singer; Mask of Apollo; others (Ancient Greece)
Ross, Kate Julian Kestrel mysteries (Regency England)
Santmyer, Helen Hoover -- And Ladies of the Club (small-town Ohio, 1860s-1920s)
Shaara, Michael Killer Angels (US - Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War
period)
Shreve, Anita Fortune's Rocks (New England, 1899)
Soos, Troy Mickey Rawlings baseball mysteries (various US cities,
early 20th century)
Steinbeck, John Grapes of Wrath (US Dust Bowl & California migrant
worker communities, Depression era)
Thane, Elswyth Queen's Folly (a family estate from Elizabethan times
through modern day)
Treece, Henry various titles (pre-Roman Britain & Ancient Greece)
Tsukiyama, Gail Women of the Silk (China, early 20th century)
Uris, Leon Exodus (Israel, post-WW II)
Walker, Mildred Winter Wheat (Montana wheat country, 1940s)
Willis, Connie Doomsday Book (medieval England, plus a time travel
element)
Wolfe, Tom Bonfire of the Vanities (NYC, 1980s)
Youmans, Marly Catherwood (New York frontier, late 17th century)

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