Reading list
New York City in Books
Books with scenes in New York City, each with places marked on the map.
6 books · 6 with New York City scenes, 0 chosen for their mood · New York City places on the map
What books are set in New York City?
6 books on Storyland have scenes in New York City: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Jazz by Toni Morrison, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — each pinned to a New York City location you can visit.
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
- Jazz by Toni Morrison
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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The Catcher in the Rye
New York City scenes
Holden's lost weekend across Manhattan, from the Natural History museum to the carousel in the park.
Places: Manhattan — Midtown & Central Park
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
New York City scenes
A girl grows up poor and hopeful in early-1900s Williamsburg.
Places: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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The Age of Innocence
New York City scenes
Wharton's Gilded Age New York of opera boxes and Fifth Avenue drawing rooms.
Places: Old-money Manhattan
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Jazz
New York City scenes
Morrison's Harlem in the Jazz Age — migration, music, and love turned violent.
Places: 1920s Harlem
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A Little Life
New York City scenes
Four friends' decades in New York, anchored in a Lispenard Street loft downtown.
Places: Lower Manhattan — Chinatown & SoHo
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The Great Gatsby
New York City scenes
The Eggs are Long Island, but the novel's turn is Manhattan: the confrontation in a suite at the Plaza, and the drive into town over the Queensboro Bridge.
Places: Manhattan — the Plaza Hotel & the Queensboro Bridge
Reading your way into New York City
From Wharton's Gilded Age drawing rooms to Morrison's Jazz-Age Harlem, New York holds more stories per block than anywhere. The books below are drawn from Storyland's book↔place engine and checked against real locations.
Frequently asked
What books are set in New York City?
Storyland lists 6 books with scenes in New York City: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Jazz by Toni Morrison, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Their New York City places are marked on the map.
What should I read before visiting New York City?
Before visiting New York City, read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Manhattan — Midtown & Central Park), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Williamsburg, Brooklyn), The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Old-money Manhattan), Jazz by Toni Morrison (1920s Harlem), A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Lower Manhattan — Chinatown & SoHo), and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Manhattan — the Plaza Hotel & the Queensboro Bridge). Each has scenes in New York City, with the places marked on the map.