Reading list · Set-in-place
Books set in New York City
The novels that actually unfold in New York City — plus a few that simply capture its feeling. Every title is verified to exist and tied to real places, so you can read your way there before you go.
6 books · 6 set here, 0 kindred · grounded to real New York City locations
What books are set in New York City?
6 novels are set in New York City on Storyland: 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 tied to real New York City locations 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
Set there
Holden's lost weekend across Manhattan, from the Natural History museum to the carousel in the park.
Maps to: Manhattan — Midtown & Central Park
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Set there
A girl grows up poor and hopeful in early-1900s Williamsburg.
Maps to: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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The Age of Innocence
Set there
Wharton's Gilded Age New York of opera boxes and Fifth Avenue drawing rooms.
Maps to: Old-money Manhattan
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Jazz
Set there
Morrison's Harlem in the Jazz Age — migration, music, and love turned violent.
Maps to: 1920s Harlem
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A Little Life
Set there
Four friends' decades in New York, anchored in a Lispenard Street loft downtown.
Maps to: Lower Manhattan — Chinatown & SoHo
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The Great Gatsby
Set there
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.
Maps to: 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?
6 novels are set in New York City on Storyland: 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 tied to real New York City locations you can visit.
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 is set in New York City and maps to real locations you can walk.