Pennsylvania books

Here's a place to talk about fiction/nonfiction set in Pennsylvania.

I read a memoir earlier this year by Annie Dillard called An American Childhood where she talks a lot about growing up in Pennsylvania. It wasn't my favorite, by a long way, but it still counts!

David Liss's newest, The Whisky Rebels is set on the western frontier of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia just after the Revolution. It's a great, rollicking read, and would be an especially good fit with those of you reading the presidents. The first three are characters in the book.

#3 I agree - it was a great historical novel.

The "Rabbit Angstrom" tetralogy, by John Updike

Ten North Frederick (and several other novels), by John OʻHara

By Love Possessed, by James Gould Cozzens

The Red City, By S. Weir Mitchell

o.p., I assume; it is on the poliltics, local and international of Philadelphia in the 1790s. The characters are Anglo (Federalist conservatives and Jeffersonian liberals) ,German, and French, where French immigrants favorable to the Revolution (the "Reds" of the title) clashed with refugees from it.

The "Rabbit Angstrom" tetralogy, by John Updike

Ten North Frederick (and several other novels), by John OʻHara

By Love Possessed, by James Gould Cozzens

The Red City, By S. Weir Mitchell

o.p., I assume; it is on the poliltics, local and international of Philadelphia in the 1790s. The characters are Anglo (Federalist conservatives and Jeffersonian liberals) ,German, and French, where French immigrants favorable to the Revolution (the "Reds" of the title) clashed with refugees from it.

I thought I'd bump up my home state and offer a few suggestions. Mostly history, I've read some, not all, of these.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara--Historical fiction about the Battle of Gettysburg

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult--Fiction about a Lancaster County Amish girl accused of murder

Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life Of Wealth, Empire And Utopian Dreams by Michael D'Antonio--Non-fiction about the man who founded Hershey's Chocolate and Hershey, PA

The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon--Fiction, a coming-of-age novel

Peggy by Lois Duncan--YA historical fiction about a spoiled Philadelphia socialite who goes on to become Mrs. Benedict Arnold

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough--Non-fiction about the flood of 1889

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson--YA historical fiction about a yellow fever epidemic which hit Philadelphia when it was the capital of the US

President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip S. Klein--Non-fiction about Pennsylvania's only president

Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History Of Valley Forge by Thomas Fleming--Non-fiction about the ordeal at Valley Forge

I read Fever 1793 earlier this month. It was a great piece of historical fiction.