An Historical Perspective
The King's Orchard by
Alice Sligh Turnbull, 1963
An old-fashioned historical adventure about the life of James
O'Hara, a Fort Pitt Officer who went on to become a leading Pittsburgh citizen
in the late 1700s.
Rivers to the Sea by
Lucien Hubbard, 1942
A generously fictionalized account of the building of the New
Orleans (the first steamboat to sail from Pittsburgh to New Orleans) in 1811.
Out of This Furnace: A Novel
of Immigrant Labor in America by Thomas Bell, 1941
As the subtitle of this unexpectedly moving novel suggests,
this book follows three generations of Slovak steel workers in Braddock,
Pennsylvania, from 1881 to the 1930s.
The Valley of Decision by
Marcia Davenport, 1942
This novel tells of the life of Irish-born maid Mary
Rafferty and her life with a family of mill-owners.
Neighborhoods
I Can't Wait on God by
Albert French, 2003
Homewood is the setting for this collection of vignettes
about five summer days in 1950.
Where Love Leaves Us by Renee
Manfredi, 1994
The bond between fathers and daughters is the focus of these
nine stories, set in the South Side in the 1960s.
Everyday People by Stewart O'Nan,
2001
A novel, set in the fall of 1998, about the daily challenges
facing residents of East Liberty.
Mysteries
Steel Ashes by Karen Rose
Cercone, 1997
This mystery set in Pittsburgh's South Side in 1905
introduces the characters of Detective Milo Kachigan and social worker Helen
Sorby; they also appear in Cercone's Blood Tracks and Coal Bones.
Cranks and Shadows by K.C.
Constantine, 1995
The first in a series of mysteries set in Rocksburg,
Pennsylvania, and featuring Police Chief Mario Balzic.
Time Release by Martin J. Smith,
1997
The first in a series of thrillers featuring psychologist and
single father Jim Christenson, who in this installment reluctantly takes on
the "Pittsburgh painkiller poisonings."
General Interest Novels
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by
Michael Chabon, 1988
Before he won a Pulitzer Prize for The Amazing Adventures
of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon delivered an acclaimed update of the
coming-of-age novel, set in none other than Pittsburgh.
From These Hills, From These Valleys: Selected Fiction
About Western Pennsylvania by David P. Demarest, Ed., 1976
If you're feeling non-committal, check out these selections;
the title says it all.
Christine by Stephen King, 1983
Did you know that this classic cautionary tale about a
certain car with another kind of baggage was set in Pittsburgh? King's novels are perfect for reading
during an afternoon thunderstorm!
Young Adult Novels
Checking on the Moon by Jenny Davis, 1991
Thirteen-year old Cab spends the summer in the fictional
neighborhood of Washco, working at her grandmother's diner and pitching in
with the neighborhood crime watch.
Duffy's Rocks by Edward Fenton,
1999
In this young adult novel published by the University of
Pittsburgh Press (with a foreword and afterword by our very own Maggie
Kimmel), a young man named Timothy Brennan searches for his father in
Depression-era Pittsburgh.
I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia
Rylant, 1993
Fifty years after World War II, narrator John Dante
reflects on his dreams of a life beyond Pittsburgh and how that life was
shaped by his experiences at war.
This list is only a starting point. Visit the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's "Pittsburgh Fiction" page at www.clpgh.org/locations/humanities/reading/booklists/pgh.html or stop in at the Pennsylvania Department of the Carnegie's main building (4400 Forbes Ave.) . There is a large collection of circulating books, both fiction and nonfiction, that are rooted in Pennsylvania.
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University of Pittsburgh
135 N. Bellefield Avenue
Pittsburgh , PA 15260
biblio@mail.sis.pitt.edu