Chicago Literature Index — Historical Fiction

  Title Author/Editor Published Categories

© {copyright_year} Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

 1.  The Cliff-Dwellers
Henry Blake Fuller
Henry Blake Fuller link
1893 FNov
 2.  Sweet Clover
Clara Louise Burnham
Clara Louise Burnham link
1894 FNov
 3.  Rose of Dutcher’s Coolly
Hamlin Garland
Hamlin Garland link
1895 FNov
 4.  Luke Walton or The Chicago Newsboy
Horatio Alger 1900 Nov
 5.  Sister Carrie
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser link
1900 FNov
 6.  The Pit
Frank Norris
Frank Norris link
1903 FNov
 7.  An Eye For An Eye
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow link
1905 FNov
 8.  Memoirs of an American Citizen
Robert Herrick
Robert Herrick link
1905 FNov
 9.  The Jungle
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair link
1906 FNov
 10.  A Winged Victory
Robert Morss Lovett
Robert Morss Lovett link
1907 FNov
 11.  The Glory of the Conquered: The Story of a Great Love
Susan Glaspell
Susan Glaspell link
1909 FNov
 12.  The Shadow Men
Donald Richberg
Donald Richberg link
1911 FNov
 13.  New Men for Old
Howard Vincent O'Brien
Howard Vincent O’Brien link
1914 FNov
 14.  The Mucker
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs link
1914 FNovSFF
 15.  The Titan
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser link
1914 FNov
 16.  The Song of the Lark
Willa Cather
Willa Cather link
1915 FNov
 17.  Return of the Mucker
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs link
1916 FNov
 18.  Those About Trench
Edwin Herbert Lewis
Edwin Herbert Lewis link
1916 FNov
 19.  Windy McPherson’s Son
Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson link
1916 FNov
 20.  Fanny Herself
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber link
1917 FNov
 21.  The Homesteader
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux link
1917 FNov
 22.  An American Family: A Novel of Today
Henry Kitchell Webster
Henry Kitchell Webster link
1919 FNov
 23.  The Flail
Newton Augustus Fuessle
Newton Augustus Fuessle link
1919 FNov
 24.  Moon-Calf
Floyd Dell
Floyd Dell link
1920 FNov
 25.  Gold Shod
Newton Augustus Fuessle
Newton Augustus Fuessle link
1921 FNov
 26.  The Girls
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber link
1921 FNov
 27.  The Love Legend
Woodward Boyd 1922 FNov
 28.  Cane
Jean Toomer 1923 FNov
 29.  The Voice of the Seven Sparrows
Harry Stephen Keeler
Harry Stephen Keeler link
1924 FNovMys
 30.  Smiths, The
Janet Ayer Fairbank
Janet Ayer Fairbank link
1925 FNovHF
 31.  Passing
Nella Larsen
Nella Larsen link
1929 FNov
 32.  The Good Red Bricks
Mary Synon
Mary Synon link
1929 FNov
 33.  Saturday Afternoon
Marion Stroebel
Marion Strobel link
1930 FNov
 34.  Who Is the Next?
Henry Kitchell Webster
Henry Kitchell Webster link
1930 FNovMys
 35.  Years of Grace
Margaret Ayer Barnes
Margaret Ayer Barnes link
1930 FNovHF
 36.  Nineteen Nineteen
John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos link
1932 FNov
 37.  Young Lonigan
James T. Farrell
James T. Farrell link
1932 FNov
 38.  The Riddle of the Traveling Skull
Harry Stephen Keeler
Harry Stephen Keeler link
1934 FNovMys
 39.  The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan
James T. Farrell
James T. Farrell link
1934 FNov
 40.  Knock On Any Door
Willard Motley
Willard Motley link
1947 FNov
 41.  Prairie Avenue
Arthur Meeker, Jr.
Arthur Meeker link
1949 FNovHF
 42.  Trumbull Park
Frank London Brown
Frank London Brown link
1959 FNov
 43.  Dream of Kings

Dream of Kings, Harry Mark Petrakis, 1966

Harry Mark Petrakis
Harry Mark Petrakis link
1966 FNov
 44.  Hog Butcher
Ronald L. Fair
Ronald L. Fair link
1966 FNov
 45.  Airport
Arthur Hailey 1968 Nov
 46.  The Thief Who Came to Dinner
Terrance L. Smith 1972 FNov
 47.  Nick the Greek
Harry Mark Petrakis
Harry Mark Petrakis link
1979 FNov
 48.  Windy City
Sam Ross
Sam Ross link
1979 FNovHF
 49.  Headlines
Graham Masterton 1986 FNov
 50.  She’s on First
Barbara Gregorich
Barbara Gregorich link
1987 FNovLS
 51.  Mortal Ruin
John Malcolm 1988 FNov
 52.  Saigon, Illinois
Paul Hoover
Paul Hoover link
1988 FNovHF
 53.  The Case of the Rising Stars

The 87th volume of the Nancy Drew mystery series. 

Carolyn Keene 1989 FNovMysYA
 54.  Wolf Whistle
Lewis Nordon 1993 NovHF
 55.  It Had to Be You

(Chicago Stars #1)

Susan Elizabeth Phillips 1994 FNovRom
 56.  Boy Culture
Matthew Rettenmund 1995 FNov
 57.  Deep End of the Ocean
Mitchard, Jacquelyn
Jacquelyn Mitchard link
1996 FNovRom
 58.  Memory Mambo
Achy Obejas 1996 FNov
 59.  Apollyon
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins 1999 FNov
 60.  Peel My Love Like An Onion
Ana Castillo
Ana Castillo link
1999 FNov
 61.  Grave Peril
Jim Butcher 2001 FNovSFF
 62.  Shadow Ball: A Novel of Baseball and Chicago
Peter Rutkoff 2001 FNovLS
 63.  The Chicago Way

(Michael Kelly #1)

Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2002 FNovMysSMys
 64.  47th Street Black
Bayo Ojikutu
Bayo Ojikutu link
2003 FNov
 65.  Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

The 3rd novel of Artemis Fowl series. 

Eoin Colfer 2003 FNovYA
 66.  Deader by the Lake
Doug Cummings 2003 FNovMys
 67.  Hairstyles of the Damned
Joe Meno
Joe Meno link
2004 FNov
 68.  The Week You Weren’t Here
Charles Blackstone 2005 FNov
 69.  Fort Dearborn: A Novel
Jerry Crimmins
Jerry Crimmins link
2006 FNovHF
 70.  Free Burning
Bayo Ojikutu
Bayo Ojikutu link
2006 FNov
 71.  Good Money After Bad
Donald G. Evans
Donald G. Evans link
2007 FNovLS
 72.  Michael Kelly
Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2007-2015 FNovMysSMys
 73.  Every Secret Crime
Doug Cummings 2008 FNovMys
 74.  The Fifth Floor

(Michael Kelly #2)

The second in the Michael Kelley series, in which the private detective’s investigation into a domestic abuse case surprisingly leads him to a political scandal involving the Great Chicago Fire. Kelley discovers that a hobbyist historian might have a first-edition history of the fire that many, most importantly Chicago’s mayor (a Richard M. Daley clone), badly want. In this fictional account, there is proof that O’Leary’s cow did not start the fire and evidence to indicate that a Daley ancestor did.

Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2008 FNovMysSMys
 75.  206 Bones

Inspired by the real-life Leopold and Loeb trial. 

Kathy Reichs 2009 Nov
 76.  Her Fearful Symmetry
Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger link
2009 FNov
 77.  Innocent
Scott Turow
Scott Turow link
2010 FNovLT
 78.  The Curse: Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Or Do They?
Andy Van Slyke and Rob Rains 2010 FNovLS
 79.  The Third Rail

(Michael Kelly #3)

Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2010 FNovMysSMys
 80.  A Lot Like Love
Julie James
Julie James link
2011 FNovRom
 81.  The Litigators
John Grisham 2011 FNovLT
 82.  We All Fall Down

(Michael Kelly #4)

Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2011 FNovMysSMys
 83.  Following Tommy
Bob Hartley
Bob Hartley link
2012 FNov
 84.  Office Girl
Joe Meno
Joe Meno link
2012 FNovRom
 85.  The Pursuit of Lucy Banning
Olivia Newport 2012 FNovHF
 86.  Dollface: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties
Renée Rosen
Renée Rosen link
2013 FNovMysHF
 87.  Identical
Scott Turow
Scott Turow link
2013 FNov
 88.  The Panty Thief of Bridgeport
Ed Wagemann 2013 FNovMys
 89.  Murder Red Ink
Mord McGhee 2014 FNovMys
 90.  Pointe
Brandy Colbert 2014 FNovYA
 91.  The Hundred-Year House
Rebecca Makkai
Rebecca Makkai link
2014 FNov
 92.  The Governor’s Wife

(Michael Kelly #4)

Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey link
2015 FNovMysSMys
 93.  The Jazz Palace
Mary Morris
Mary Morris link
2015 FNovMysHF
 94.  Dead Man’s Blues
Ray Celestin 2016 FNovMysHF
 95.  Hey, Liberal!
Shawn Shiflett
Shawn Shiflett link
2016 FNov
 96.  Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge
Paul Krueger 2016 FNovSFF
 97.  Midnight Without a Moon
Linda Williams Jackson 2017 FNovYAHF
 98.  No Small Plans
Gabrielle Lyon
Gabrielle Lyon link
2017 FNovYAGN
 99.  Poison Girls
Cheryl Reed
Cheryl Reed link
2017 FNov
 100.  The Hunting Accident: A True Story of Crime and Poetry
David L. Carson and Landis Blair 2017 FNovYAHFGN
 101.  Broken Places

(Cass Raines #1)

Tracy Clark
Tracy Clark link
2018 FNovMysSMys
 102.  Chicago
David Mamet
David Mamet link
2018 FNovHF
 103.  Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes 2018 FNovYA
 104.  Love, Hate, and Other Filters
Samira Ahmed 2018 FNovYA
 105.  The Mortification of Fovea Munson
Mary Wynn Heider
Mary Winn Heider link
2018 FNovYA
 106.  The Verdun Affair
Nick Dybek
Nick Dybek link
2018 FNovRomHF
 107.  Borrowed Time

(Cass Raines #2)

Tracy Clark
Tracy Clark link
2019 FNovMysSMys
 108.  Fate of a Flapper

(The Speakeasy Murders #2)

Susanna Calkins
Susanna Calkins link
2019 FNovMysSMys
 109.  Murder Knocks Twice

(The Speakeasy Murders #1)

Susanna Calkins 2019 FNovMysSMys
 110.  Everywhere You Don’t Belong
Gabriel Bump
Gabriel Bump link
2020 Nov
 111.  The Lost Book of Adana Moreau: A Novel
Michael Zapata
Michael Zapata link
2020 Nov
 112.  What You Don’t See

(Cass Raines #3)

Tracy Clark
Tracy Clark link
2020 FNovMysSMys
 113.  Arsenic and Adobo
Mia P. Manansala
Mia P. Manansala link
2021 FNovMys
 114.  Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason
Gina Frangello
Gina Frangello link
2021 NovMA
 115.  Clark and Division
Naomi Hirahara 2021 FNovMysHF
 116.  Coyote Loop
Charles Fiore
Charles Fiore link
2021 FNovHF
 117.  Refugee High: Coming of Age in America
Elly Fishman
Elly Fishman link
2021 Nov
 118.  Runner

(Cass Raines #4)

Tracy Clark
Tracy Clark link
2021 FNovMysSMys
 119.  The City Beautiful
Aden Polydoros 2021 Nov
 120.  The Kindest Lie
Nancy Johnson
Nancy Johnson link
2021 FNov
 121.  The Lost Girls
Jessica Chiarella
Jessica Chiarella link
2021 FNovMys
 122.  The Upstairs House
Julia Fine
Julia Fine link
2021 FNov
 123.  Wild Women and the Blues
Denny S. Bryce
Denny S. Bryce link
2021 FNovMysHF
 124.  Hollow Fires
Samira Ahmed
Samira Ahmed link
2022 FNovMysYA
 125.  Marrying the Ketchups
Jennifer Close
Jennifer Close link
2022 FNov
 126.  Woman on Fire
Lisa Barr
Lisa Barr link
2022 FNovHF
 127.  The Sound of Rabbits
Janice Deal
Janice Deal link
2023 FNov