Technically this is a play, not a novel. But it very much can be read and enjoyed like a book. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, written in 1953, is a powerful dramatic work set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials of 1692. It was written as a direct allegory for the anti-communist “Red Scare” […]
“The Lost Summers of Newport,” a collaborative historical fiction novel by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, weaves together three storylines spanning over a century, centered on the crumbling Sprague Hall in Newport, Rhode Island. The narrative alternates between 1899, 1957, and 2019, revealing layers of family secrets, scandal, and murder within a Gilded
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This is a memorable story that can, at times, be dirty, sappy, and heavily nostalgic. It also paints a fascinating picture of the New England home-front in the war-ravaged year 1942. One could also argue about whether this quasi-novel belongs on our list of New England based novels, because it’s based on the semi-autobiographical screenplay
John Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire, published in 1981, is a sprawling, darkly comedic, and eccentric family saga that explores the resilience of love, the necessity of illusions, and the chaotic nature of fate. Narrated by John Berry, the novel follows the unorthodox lives of the Berry family, led by their optimistic yet delusional father,
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A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a great example of a New England prep school story. It’s a coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the early 1940s at the Devon School, an all-boys boarding school in New England, while World War II rages abroad. The story is narrated by Gene Forrester, who returns
Esther Forbes’s Johnny Tremain is a coming‑of‑age historical novel set in the charged atmosphere of pre‑Revolutionary Boston. It follows the transformation of a proud, talented young apprentice silversmith into a committed participant in the struggle for American independence. Through Johnny’s personal trials and encounters with key historical events, Forbes blends fiction and history to illuminate
Kathleen Kent’s The Heretic’s Daughter is an interesting take on the Salem witch trials. It is told through the eyes of a young girl caught in the storm of fear, suspicion, and betrayal that unfolded during that time period, which lasted from February 1692 through May 1693 in colonial Massachusetts. Written in 2008, the novel
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Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River is an intense and eye-opening piece of historical fiction set in the brutal winter of 1789, in the town of Hallowell, Maine. It’s a suspenseful mystery based on the real-life diary of Martha Ballard—a well-known and respected midwife, healer, and self-appointed community investigator. We appreciate novels that are meticulously researched
Unlike our other entries, this 2025 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid in not set in New England. But I recently read it, and wanted to mention it. It’s an emotionally resonant, high-stakes drama set against the backdrop of NASA’s space shuttle program in the early 1980s. The novel delves into the lives of the first
This one is a true classic. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 work, The Scarlet Letter, is considered by many to be a masterpiece of its time. The book remains a popular assignment in high school and college, and is a cornerstone of American literature, providing a haunting look into the heart of 17th-century Puritan Boston. Often cited
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