Reading list · Set-in-place

Books set in Saint Petersburg

The novels that actually unfold in Saint Petersburg — 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 Saint Petersburg locations

What books are set in Saint Petersburg?

6 novels are set in Saint Petersburg on Storyland: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Nose by Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol, The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin, and Petersburg by Andrei Bely — each tied to real Saint Petersburg locations you can visit.

  • Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
  • The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol
  • The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin
  • Petersburg by Andrei Bely

  1. Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    Set there

    Raskolnikov's city is exact — Sennaya Square, the canal embankments, the pawnbroker's stair.

    Maps to: Haymarket (Sennaya) & the canals

  2. White Nights

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    Set there

    Four luminous nights of the city’s famous white-night season, along the canal embankments.

    Maps to: The canal embankments

  3. The Nose

    Nikolai Gogol

    Set there

    A civil servant's nose goes missing and struts down Nevsky — Gogol's absurd imperial city.

    Maps to: Nevsky Prospekt & Kazan Cathedral

  4. The Overcoat

    Nikolai Gogol

    Set there

    A poor copyist and his new coat in the cold, indifferent streets of the imperial capital.

    Maps to: The clerks' quarter

  5. The Bronze Horseman

    Alexander Pushkin

    Set there

    Pushkin's poem of the great 1824 flood, haunted by Peter's statue on Senate Square.

    Maps to: Senate Square & the Neva

  6. Petersburg

    Andrei Bely

    Set there

    Bely's symbolist masterpiece — the capital trembling toward revolution.

    Maps to: The city on the eve of 1905

Reading your way into Saint Petersburg

From Dostoevsky's Haymarket to Gogol's Nevsky Prospekt, Saint Petersburg is the most literary of imperial capitals. The books below are drawn from Storyland's book↔place engine and checked against real locations.

Frequently asked

What books are set in Saint Petersburg?

6 novels are set in Saint Petersburg on Storyland: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Nose by Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol, The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin, and Petersburg by Andrei Bely — each tied to real Saint Petersburg locations you can visit.

What should I read before visiting Saint Petersburg?

Before visiting Saint Petersburg, read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Haymarket (Sennaya) & the canals), White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky (The canal embankments), The Nose by Nikolai Gogol (Nevsky Prospekt & Kazan Cathedral), The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (The clerks' quarter), The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin (Senate Square & the Neva), and Petersburg by Andrei Bely (The city on the eve of 1905). Each is set in Saint Petersburg and maps to real locations you can walk.