# Business Insider's "Most Famous Novel Set in Every State"... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073 "2013-10-24T01:03:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/1 "2013-10-24T01:03:31Z")
[… And the District of Columbia.](http://www.businessinsider.com/most-famous-book-set-in-every-state-map-2013-10) Any arguments with any? Keep in mind it’s not the _best_ novel set in every state, it’s the _most famous_ novel set in every state. So if you want to say there’s a more _famous_ novel set in Washington than _Twilight_, you’d better have something to back it up other than the book’s quality. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/2 "2013-10-24T01:52:56Z")
I would have gone with _Death Comes for the Archbishop_ for New Mexico, and **The Bridges of Madison County** for Iowa. And **Lonesome Dove** or **Giant** for Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/3 "2013-10-24T02:39:56Z")
They have King’s _The Shining_ for Colorado. I think T\*he Stand \*is more famous, although it is only partially set in Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/4 "2013-10-24T02:43:28Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > And **Lonesome Dove** or **Giant** for Texas. +1 for Lonesome Dove. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/5 "2013-10-24T02:48:12Z")
I would have thought “Cannery Row” would be more famous than “East of Eden.” ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/6 "2013-10-24T02:53:54Z")
I’d say Michener’s _Chesapeake_ is more famous than Anne Tyler’s _Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant_ for Maryland. Even for Tyler, wouldn’t _The Accidental Tourist_ be more famous? The film version got Geena Davis an Oscar. I don’t know, I’ve never read anything of hers. ETA: Plus, there are some Tom Clancy novels that have a lot of Maryland settings, although his novels are literally set all over the world. ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/7 "2013-10-24T03:08:54Z")
I would think Anderson’s “Winesburg, Ohio” would quite easily trump DWF’s The Broom of the System for that state. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/8 "2013-10-24T03:12:54Z")
Where was _Catcher in the Rye_ set? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/9 "2013-10-24T03:22:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Where was _Catcher in the Rye_ set? Partly in New York and partly in Pennsylvania. That may have been why it didn’t get either state. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/10 "2013-10-24T03:26:55Z")
_The Great Gatsby_ is a good choice for New York but I think _Ragtime_ by E.L. Doctorow would have been a better one. While arguably _The Great Gatsby_ is a better novel, I think _Ragtime_ is more “set” in its location. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/11 "2013-10-24T03:43:37Z")
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz for Kansas? Most of it didn’t take place there. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/12 "2013-10-24T03:47:06Z")
I guessed \*Gatsby \*for New York, so one of 51. 🙂 I would put any of Raymond Chandler’s novels over Steinbeck for California. Not even close. Heck, _The Maltese Falcon_ probably would beat out even those. In fact, they made a huge mistake by allowing any genre or bestselling books in at all, because it makes their literary choices nonsensical. _Peyton Place_ should win for New Hampshire, _Love Story_ for Massachusetts, _The Bridges of Madison County_ for Iowa, and I’d agree about \*Chesapeake \*for Maryland. You could also have a real interesting battle for Mississippi between Faulkner and the three novels Grisham set there. The way this is set up is an embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/13 "2013-10-24T03:51:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > In fact, they made a huge mistake by allowing any genre or bestselling books in at all, because it makes their literary choices nonsensical. > > … > > You could also have a real interesting battle for Mississippi between Faulkner and the three novels Grisham set there. The juxtaposition of including John Grisham makes me think I’m somehow misinterpreting the first statement. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/14 "2013-10-24T04:07:51Z")
Aw fuck. I was excited to see the book for my state. I’m in Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/15 "2013-10-24T04:20:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I would have thought “Cannery Row” would be more famous than “East of Eden.” When I quizzed her a few minutes ago, \*\*Rhiannon8404 \*\*guessed it would be _Grapes of Wrath_, and then _Of Mice and Men_. I guess we all know who wrote about life in California 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/16 "2013-10-24T14:14:11Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > +1 for Lonesome Dove. It doesn’t stay in Texas, though, does it? Although it’s certainly more set in Texas than _The Wizard of Oz_ is set in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/17 "2013-10-24T14:21:46Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > … And **Lonesome Dove** … for Texas. Agreed. First thing I thought of. And I would have put **Salems Lot** or **It** in for Maine, as they are more “Mainey” books than Carrie. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/18 "2013-10-24T14:47:38Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > They have King’s _The Shining_ for Colorado. I think T\*he Stand \*is more famous, although it is only partially set in Colorado. _The Shining_ is what I first thought of before seeing the list. I would’ve liked to have seen Michener’s \*Centennial \* instead (it inspired the 1978 miniseries and, to me, it is much more representative of the state), but one really can’t argue that it’s more famous than _The Shining_. I thought of _In Cold Blood_ for Kansas; I’m guessing less than 10 percent of _The Wizard of Oz_ is set in the Sunflower State (but it is somewhat more uplifting than Capote’s book). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/19 "2013-10-24T14:49:41Z")
Is that \*The Secret Life of Bees \*for South Carolina? Really? I’m surprised that beat out all of Pat Conroy’s books. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/20 "2013-10-24T14:51:40Z")
_The Magnificent Ambersons_ for Indiana? Sure. What else is there? _Penrod and Sam_? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073.md?page=2)