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