Books set in Connecticut
Every state has its hallmark writers. Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford's series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?
What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in "their" state.
Of course, there are certainly exceptions. Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard's "In Zanesville," respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.
Stacker compiled a list of books set in Connecticut from Goodreads. Whether you're looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you're looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you're already familiar with, we've got you covered.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
- Author: Elizabeth George Speare
- Published: January 1, 1958
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Classics
- Read more on Goodreads
The Ice Storm
- Author: Rick Moody
- Published: January 1, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
Share the Moon (Blue Moon Lake #1)
- Author: Sharon Struth
- Published: August 1, 2014
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
- Read more on Goodreads
True Blend
- Author: Joanne DeMaio
- Published: March 4, 2014
- Genres: Fiction, Womens Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit
- Read more on Goodreads
Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes
- Author: Joanne DeMaio
- Published: October 15, 2013
- Genres: Christmas, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Before I Fall
- Author: Lauren Oliver
- Published: February 14, 2010
- Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
I Know This Much Is True
- Author: Wally Lamb
- Published: June 14, 1998
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Literary Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Revolutionary Road
- Author: Richard Yates
- Published: December 31, 1961
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Novels
- Read more on Goodreads
The Hundred Dresses
- Author: Eleanor Estes
- Published: January 1, 1944
- Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Middle Grade
- Read more on Goodreads
The Stepford Wives
- Author: Ira Levin
- Published: September 1, 1972
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Books Can Be Deceiving (Library Lover's Mystery, #1)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: July 5, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Books About Books
- Read more on Goodreads
Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans
- Author: Joanne DeMaio
- Published: March 11, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
Whole Latte Life
- Author: Joanne DeMaio
- Published: March 7, 2012
- Genres: Womens Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
The Other
- Author: Thomas Tryon
- Published: January 1, 1971
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads
Until the Robin Walks on Snow
- Author: Bernice L. Rocque
- Published: September 8, 2012
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Holiday, Fiction, Christmas
- Read more on Goodreads
Due or Die (Library Lover's Mystery, #2)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: March 6, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution
- Author: Wally Lamb
- Published: February 1, 2003
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Short Stories, Essays
- Read more on Goodreads
A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)
- Author: Madeleine L'Engle
- Published: January 1, 1962
- Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Classics, Young Adult
- Read more on Goodreads
Book, Line and Sinker (Library Lover's Mystery, #3)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: December 4, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
Dearest of Geniuses: A Life of Theodate Pope Riddle
- Author: Sandra L. Katz
- Published: May 30, 2003
- Genres: Nonfiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Author: Joan D. Hedrick
- Published: January 13, 1994
- Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, American History
- Read more on Goodreads
Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman
- Author: Anne Edwards
- Published: January 1, 1985
- Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film, Biography Memoir
- Read more on Goodreads
Read It and Weep (Library Lover's Mystery, #4)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: November 5, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
On Borrowed Time (Library Lover's Mystery, #5)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: January 1, 2014
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
Love Gone Mad
- Author: Mark Rubinstein
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Thriller, Romance, Mystery, Drama
- Read more on Goodreads
Silver Lake
- Author: Kathryn Knight
- Published: August 18, 2012
- Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Ghosts, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
Brass
- Author: Xhenet Aliu
- Published: January 23, 2018
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Family
- Read more on Goodreads
Brotherhood in Death (In Death, #42)
- Author: J.D. Robb
- Published: February 2, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Crime
- Read more on Goodreads
Since You've Been Gone
- Author: Morgan Matson
- Published: May 6, 2014
- Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- Author: Mark Twain
- Published: January 1, 1889
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Most Wanted
- Author: Lisa Scottoline
- Published: April 12, 2016
- Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads
A Likely Story (Library Lover's Mystery, #6)
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: November 3, 2015
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes, #1)
- Author: Brittany Cavallaro
- Published: March 1, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Vision in White (Bride Quartet, #1)
- Author: Nora Roberts
- Published: April 28, 2009
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Winterbound
- Author: Margery Williams Bianco
- Published: January 1, 1936
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens
- Read more on Goodreads
The Barbarians are Coming
- Author: David Wong Louie
- Published: January 1, 2000
- Genres: Fiction, China, Contemporary, Asian Literature
- Read more on Goodreads
Magical Blend (Paramour Bay #1)
- Author: Kennedy Layne
- Published: October 2, 2018
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
The World's Most Haunted House: The True Story of the Bridgeport Poltergeist on Lindley Street
- Author: William J. Hall
- Published: August 25, 2014
- Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Horror, Ghosts
- Read more on Goodreads
365 Days to Alaska
- Author: Cathy Carr
- Published: January 19, 2021
- Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Family, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
Wishin' and Hopin'
- Author: Wally Lamb
- Published: November 1, 2009
- Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Humor, Holiday
- Read more on Goodreads
Gentle Rogue (Malory-Anderson Family, #3)
- Author: Johanna Lindsey
- Published: December 1, 1990
- Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Pirates
- Read more on Goodreads
American Beauty
- Author: Edna Ferber
- Published: January 1, 1931
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics
- Read more on Goodreads
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Author: Ocean Vuong
- Published: June 4, 2019
- Genres: Fiction, Poetry, LGBT, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman: An Autobiography
- Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Published: February 6, 2013
- Genres: Biography, Memoir, Feminism, Nonfiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted
- Author: Justin Martin
- Published: May 31, 2011
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Architecture
- Read more on Goodreads
Nightmare Session (Private School #1)
- Author: Steven Charles
- Published: September 1, 1986
- Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Paranormal
- Read more on Goodreads
The Courage of Sarah Noble
- Author: Alice Dalgliesh
- Published: January 1, 1954
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Historical
- Read more on Goodreads
An Acceptable Time (Time Quintet, #5)
- Author: Madeleine L'Engle
- Published: October 1, 1989
- Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club, #1)
- Author: Ann M. Martin
- Published: August 1, 1986
- Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade
- Read more on Goodreads
My Brother Sam Is Dead
- Author: James Lincoln Collier
- Published: January 1, 1974
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical
- Read more on Goodreads