Books set in Massachusetts
Books set in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts 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.
Little Women
- Author: Louisa May Alcott
- Published: January 1, 1868
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
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Make Way for Ducklings
- Author: Robert McCloskey
- Published: January 1, 1941
- Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Classics, Fiction
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The Scarlet Letter
- Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Published: March 16, 1850
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, School
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Walden
- Author: Henry David Thoreau
- Published: August 9, 1854
- Genres: Classics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Nature
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Mystic River
- Author: Dennis Lehane
- Published: January 1, 2001
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
- Author: Gabrielle Zevin
- Published: April 1, 2014
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Books About Books, Adult
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A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro, #1)
- Author: Dennis Lehane
- Published: November 1, 1994
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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The Bell Jar
- Author: Sylvia Plath
- Published: January 1, 1963
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Feminism, Mental Health
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The Crucible
- Author: Arthur Miller
- Published: January 22, 1953
- Genres: Classics, Plays, Fiction, Historical Fiction
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The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (The Physick Book, #1)
- Author: Katherine Howe
- Published: June 9, 2009
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery
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Shutter Island
- Author: Dennis Lehane
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Horror
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On Beauty
- Author: Zadie Smith
- Published: June 4, 2005
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Literary Fiction
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The Heretic's Daughter
- Author: Kathleen Kent
- Published: September 3, 2008
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Witches
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Love Story (Love Story, #1)
- Author: Erich Segal
- Published: February 14, 1970
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Classics, Contemporary
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Summer
- Author: Edith Wharton
- Published: January 1, 1917
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Romance, American
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The Boston Girl
- Author: Anita Diamant
- Published: December 9, 2014
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical
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The House of the Seven Gables
- Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Published: March 1, 1851
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Gothic, Literature
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Defending Jacob
- Author: William Landay
- Published: January 31, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
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Summer of '69
- Author: Elin Hilderbrand
- Published: June 13, 2019
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Chick Lit
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Johnny Tremain
- Author: Esther Forbes
- Published: January 1, 1943
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Young Adult
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Illumination Night
- Author: Alice Hoffman
- Published: August 5, 1987
- Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Fantasy
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Run
- Author: Ann Patchett
- Published: January 1, 2007
- Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction
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Thoreau at Devil's Perch (Henry David Thoreau Mystery #1)
- Author: B.B. Oak
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction
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The Wedding
- Author: Dorothy West
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, African American, Classics
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The Chocolate War (Chocolate War, #1)
- Author: Robert Cormier
- Published: January 1, 1974
- Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Classics, Realistic Fiction
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The Giant's House
- Author: Elizabeth McCracken
- Published: June 1, 1996
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Adult Fiction
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The Wolves of Andover
- Author: Kathleen Kent
- Published: January 1, 2010
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance
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Ethan Frome
- Author: Edith Wharton
- Published: January 1, 1911
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature, Romance
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Bowlaway
- Author: Elizabeth McCracken
- Published: February 5, 2019
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult, Audiobook
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The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (The Penderwicks #1)
- Author: Jeanne Birdsall
- Published: June 14, 2005
- Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction
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Gone, Baby, Gone (Kenzie & Gennaro, #4)
- Author: Dennis Lehane
- Published: July 22, 1998
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Wicked Appetite (Lizzy & Diesel, #1)
- Author: Janet Evanovich
- Published: September 14, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal
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Girl, Interrupted
- Author: Susanna Kaysen
- Published: January 1, 1993
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology, Mental Health
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Townie
- Author: Andre Dubus III
- Published: January 1, 2011
- Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography
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Tuesdays with Morrie
- Author: Mitch Albom
- Published: August 18, 1997
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Inspirational
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I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
- Author: Maryse Condé
- Published: January 1, 1986
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Witches, Feminism
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Magic Lessons (Practical Magic, #0.1)
- Author: Alice Hoffman
- Published: October 6, 2020
- Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Magical Realism
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So Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847
- Author: Barry Denenberg
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction
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See What I Have Done
- Author: Sarah Schmidt
- Published: May 2, 2017
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Historical
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A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Walden / The Maine Woods / Cape Cod
- Author: Henry David Thoreau
- Published: January 1, 1849
- Genres: Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Nature
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The Art Forger
- Author: Barbara A. Shapiro
- Published: October 23, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Art, Historical Fiction
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Alice's Restaurant
- Author: Arlo Guthrie
- Published: January 1, 1968
- Genres: Memoir, Music
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Summer Sisters
- Author: Judy Blume
- Published: January 1, 1998
- Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Young Adult
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The Sinner (Rizzoli & Isles, #3)
- Author: Tess Gerritsen
- Published: August 19, 2003
- Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction
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Being Henry David
- Author: Cal Armistead
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary
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High Strangeness
- Author: Eric Bickernicks
- Published: December 14, 2018
- Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction
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Emily Upham's Revenge: A Massachusetts Adventure
- Author: Avi
- Published: January 1, 1978
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult
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The Other Daughter
- Author: Lisa Gardner
- Published: July 1, 1999
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense
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The Bostonians
- Author: Henry James
- Published: January 1, 1886
- Genres: Classics, Fiction, 19th Century, Literature
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Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things (Alvin Ho, #1)
- Author: Lenore Look
- Published: January 1, 2008
- Genres: Realistic Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Childrens
- Read more on Goodreads