# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/41 "2013-10-24T19:59:16Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Is that \*The Secret Life of Bees \*for South Carolina? Really? I’m surprised that beat out all of Pat Conroy’s books. Seriously, I was sure it would be _The Prince of Tides_. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/42 "2013-10-24T20:06:45Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > _ **Peyton Place** _ is more famous than _ **Hotel New Hampshire.** _ I cannot agree with this. I didn’t even know it was a novel until just now, when I googled it. The TV show was once pretty famous, but I bet few Americans under the age of 40 have ever seen an episode. ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/43 "2013-10-24T20:18:12Z")
_ **East of Eden** _ isn’t even John Stenibeck’s most famous novel. MANY California novels are more famous, including (my nominee) _ **The Maltese Falcon** _. I’d pick _ **From Here to Eternity** _ for Hawaii. ---
**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, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/44 "2013-10-24T20:19:16Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, I was sure it would be _The Prince of Tides_. That’s a much better choice- I haven’t read either , but Conroy’s work is far more famous. ---
**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, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/45 "2013-10-24T20:21:59Z")
For FAME… I can think of several Arizona novels better known than anything by Barbara Kingsolver. How about Terry McMillan’s _ **Waiting to Exhale** _, or Louis L’Amour’s _ **Hondo** _? ---
**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, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/46 "2013-10-24T20:26:38Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > 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. I really doubt they did that much legwork. A few editors sat around for an hour or so, and for the states they blanked on, they used Wikipedia. ---
**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, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/47 "2013-10-24T20:31:56Z")
For Connecticut… I’d substitute _ **The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.** _ ---
**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, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/48 "2013-10-24T20:34:25Z")
_A Confederacy of Dunces_ for Louisiana, over _Interview with the Vampire_. ---
**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, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/49 "2013-10-24T20:36:46Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > One could argue that _The Wizard of Oz_ takes place **entirely** within the state of Kansas… Not the novel. ---
**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, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/50 "2013-10-24T20:38:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, I was sure it would be _The Prince of Tides_. I would have said _The Great Santini_. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/51 "2013-10-24T20:39:59Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > 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”? Yeah, that was an absurdly bad choice for New Jersey. Your suggestions are much better. Or “Garden State,” which was a novel before it was turned into a movie of the same name. Second the recommendations for “Lonesome Dove” for Texas and “Scarlet Letter” for Massachusetts. ---
**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, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/52 "2013-10-24T20:43:34Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > _A Confederacy of Dunces_ for Louisiana, over _Interview with the Vampire_. I can’t remember if Robert Penn Warren ever spelled out what state \*\*\*All the King’s Men \*\*\*was set in. Willy Stark was obviously supposed to represent Louisiana Governor Huey Long, but I don’t remember if it was ever established that Stark lived in Louisiana. This WOULD be the most famous Louisiana novel if it is, in fact, a Lousiiana novel. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/53 "2013-10-24T20:54:25Z")
**The Adventures of Tom Sawyer** as the most famous novel set in Missouri? I suppose only because **Huckleberry Finn** isn’t\* entirely\* set in Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/54 "2013-10-24T21:30:55Z")
In the novel _Wizard of Oz_, Dorothy “leaves for Oz” on page 2 and returns in time for the last three paragraphs. Maybe. It’s set in Kansas the way Spain is set in Morocco. I believe Wilder’s _Little House on the Prairie_ is set in Kansas–a strip of land that at the time was “Indian Territory” but later was joined up with KS rather than OK. If so, that’d be my choice. Third the _Scarlet Letter_ over Walden, and most things by Steinbeck over _East of Eden_, where fame is concerned anyway. ---
**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, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/55 "2013-10-24T22:22:16Z")
I too wonder about the means they used to come up with the list, although I suspect **bup** ’s guess is correct. > [@bup](#): > > A few editors sat around for an hour or so, and for the states they blanked on, they used Wikipedia. I also wonder about the rules they used to determine what books qualify. For one thing, the title of this thread is inaccurate: the article clearly says “Most famous **book** ,” not “Most famous **novel**.” Most but not all of the books listed are novels (_Walden_, for example, is not). They _may_ have excluded books set in the area before it became a state (which would rule out _The Scarlet Letter_, but would also be at least problematic for _Hawaii_). And it’s not clear _how much_ of the book has to be set in the state in question for it to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/56 "2013-10-24T23:29:36Z")
> [@The Severed Head of Prof. P](#): > > _The Magnificent Ambersons_ for Indiana? Sure. What else is there? _Penrod and Sam_? ?the Hackman basketball film. ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/57 "2013-10-25T01:31:10Z")
I think “The Stepford Wives” would be better for Connecticut – much more famous than Revolutionary Road. ---
**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 25, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/58 "2013-10-25T01:51:32Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > ?the Hackman basketball film. _Hoosiers_, but it was never a book, it was an original screenplay. ---
**Author:** ![Eman\_Resu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Eman\_Resu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eman_Resu)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/59 "2013-10-25T02:06:37Z")
> [@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_. I kind of figured a John Irving book would take the New Hampshire spot, but you’re right–the Hotel New Hampshire in the book is actually located in Austria. I would have thought _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ would get it, since it’s not only a more New Hampshire-y book, but a much more well-known John Irving book. It seems like the only way _Hotel New Hampshire_ has it beat is that the state’s name is in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073/60 "2013-10-25T02:54:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > \*\*\*The Scarlet Letter \*\*\*is probably a better choice for Massachusetts than _ **Walden** _. There are a number to choose from, but this was the first one I thought of as well. I’ll bet a lot more high schoolers have to read the former rather than the latter (at least I did, as a high schooler in MA). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-insiders-most-famous-novel-set-in-every-state/672073.md?page=4)