# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/21 "2013-10-24T14:54:06Z")
I’m surprised by _Lost Symbol_ for DC. Quality aside, i didn’t think it was that famous. I would have pictured Clancy’s _Executive Orders_, or any number of political thrillers, before that. Being from Georgia, I’m ashamed I thought of _Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil_ before I thought of _Gone with the Wind_:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/22 "2013-10-24T14:59:04Z")
They have Revolutionary Road for Connecticut. When the film version was released, the local art theater showing the movie had on the marquee, “What Kate and Leo did after Titanic” to which I mentally added, “Moved to Connecticut and died of boredom.” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/23 "2013-10-24T15:22:26Z")
That list didn’t do much for me. It was no better a list than any random set of three dopers would come up with. ---
**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, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/24 "2013-10-24T16:04:51Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > The juxtaposition of including John Grisham makes me think I’m somehow misinterpreting the first statement. Grisham is a writer of bestsellers, Faulkner a literary writer. They obviously biased the list to include as many literary writers as possible, but Grisham is arguably far more famous than Faulkner is today. They should have stuck to one standard, otherwise you have this unanswerable argument about the relative fame of types of books. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/25 "2013-10-24T16:14:20Z")
If memory serves, only a relatively small part of _Hotel New Hampshire_ is set in New Hampshire. I would have gone with _Our Town_, followed by _Peyton Place_ and _A Separate Peace_. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/26 "2013-10-24T16:14:28Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > 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. I grew up in New Mexico, read _Red Sky at Morning_ for class in high school, and it still wouldn’t be the first novel I’d think of if you asked me to start naming books set in New Mexico. Hell, I didn’t even know until just now that there had even been a movie adaptation. You’d probably get something with a local author from me as well, so something by Tony Hillerman or Rudolfo Anaya would be my first thoughts, since they had some of their stuff turned into television or movies. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/27 "2013-10-24T16:20:07Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > If memory serves, only a relatively small part of _Hotel New Hampshire_ is set in New Hampshire. I would have gone with _Our Town_, followed by _Peyton Place_ and _A Separate Peace_. **Our Town** isn’t a novel, but I agree that the other two would have been better choices for New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/28 "2013-10-24T16:49:32Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > 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. I wonder if they didn’t pick _Death Comes for the Archbishop_ for NM because they already had _My Antonia_ for NE? I noticed there weren’t any repeat authors. Personally I would have picked _Cold Mountain_ for NC, but that’s mainly because I find Nicholas Sparks both twee and boring. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/29 "2013-10-24T17:29:38Z")
Oklahoma should have True Grit, or The Outsiders (and partial credit for The Grapes of Wrath). ---
**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, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/30 "2013-10-24T17:31:14Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I wonder if they didn’t pick _Death Comes for the Archbishop_ for NM because they already had _My Antonia_ for NE? I noticed there weren’t any repeat authors. Stephen King had \*Carrie \*for Maine (because \*one \*of his books had to represent Maine, naturally – it could have easily been _IT_) and _The Shining_ for Colorado. I wonder about the methodology of the list: if the editors surveyed longtime residents/readers of each state. I’d be hard-pressed, for instance, to choose a book for Ohio or South Dakota or about 25 other states. It’s interesting that Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia’s selections are all, to me, no brainers, and share geographical proximity. ---
**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, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/31 "2013-10-24T17:33:43Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > 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. One could argue that _The Wizard of Oz_ takes place **entirely** within the state of Kansas… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/32 "2013-10-24T17:39:35Z")
My first thought for Florida was [The Yearling](http://www.amazon.com/The-Yearling-50th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0020449313). ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/33 "2013-10-24T17:46:04Z")
Ew, really? That melodramatic dreck \*My Sister’s Keeper \*for Rhode Island? No mention of _The Witches of Eastwick_, or any of the really great YA fiction by Avi? (_Something Upstairs_, or _The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle_), or at least _The Case of Charles Dexter Ward_ by Lovecraft? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/34 "2013-10-24T17:58:54Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > - or **Giant** for Texas. Poor Edna Ferber. She made a career by throwing darts at the map then writing best sellers about wherever they stuck. ---
**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, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/35 "2013-10-24T18:11:07Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > One could argue that _The Wizard of Oz_ takes place **entirely** within the state of Kansas… I would never argue that. I assume you’re referring to the “It was all a dream” hooey, but the book never suggests that Oz is all in Dorothy’s head; that was added for the movie. But even if it was “all a dream,” I still don’t think it should qualify. The setting of a book is where the action takes place, not where the frame narrative is set. ---
**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, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/36 "2013-10-24T18:33:03Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Poor Edna Ferber. She made a career by throwing darts at the map then writing best sellers about wherever they stuck. I’ve never read her, but I liked a couple of movies made from her books – Giant and So Big. I like big sprawling crap like that. **The Son** by Philipp Meyer is set in Texas, and the author takes a nice dig at Ferber. He doesn’t name her, but describes a famous author who’s visiting to get local color for a “big novel about Texas”. She stays for dinner and is shocked! shocked I say! to be fed the same food that the ranch hands are eating. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/37 "2013-10-24T18:46:18Z")
Spending most of my life in the states of Hawaii and Nebraska, they got those states correct. Hawaii picking Michener’s book is like asking “Is Bobby Orr the best Bruin ever?” And I knew without even clicking, Nebraska would be one of Willa Cather’s. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/38 "2013-10-24T18:47:25Z")
I like to think I’m reasonably well read but I never heard of the one they picked for NJ. “Drown” by Junot Diaz? How about something by Philip Roth or “Election”? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/39 "2013-10-24T19:13:47Z")
Oregon: absurd. Even if you’re not going to go with Le Guin’s **Lathe of Heaven** , (and if you’re not you’re stupid), why would you pick **One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest** over **Sometimes A Great Notion**?! Baffling. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/40 "2013-10-24T19:58:20Z")
I fully agree that \*\*\*Death Comes for the Archbishop \*\*\*is a better and more famous novel for New Mexico. I don’t know for certain that _ **Carrie** _ is Stephen King’s most famous novel, but the “right” answer for Maine is certainly something by Stephen King, so why NOT that one? There are MANY famous novels set in New York, but I might nominate \*\*\*The Godfather \*\*\* or \*\*\*The Catcher in the Rye \*\*\*as being more famous than _ **The Great Gatsby** _. \*\*\*The Scarlet Letter \*\*\*is probably a better choice for Massachusetts than _ **Walden** _. Even though much of the novel is set in California or on the road to California, I’d nominate _ **The** _ _ **Grapes of Wrath** _ for Oklahoma. _ **Peyton Place** _ is more famous than _ **Hotel New Hampshire.** _ _ **The Exorcist** _ is a better choice for Washington, DC. _ **The Jungle** _ is famous, but more famous than, say, _ **Sister Carrie** _? _ **The Virginian** _ is surely the most famous and iconic book set in Wyoming. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073.md?page=3)