Richard Walden’s Wife
Kelly, Eleanor
Bobbs 1950
Pioneer days in Wisconsin before and during the Civil War; Southern wife loyal to her husband even after his death. Books set in Wisconsin.
Eleanor Mercein (1880-1968) was born and raised in Milwaukee, and was sent to a Catholic boarding school in Washington, D.C. for high school. In 1901 she married and moved with her husband to Louisville, KY, where she began writing novels, and stories for major magazines. She traveled widely, helping her to set many of her stories in exotic locales.
Black House
King, Stephen and Straub, Peter
HarperCollins 2001
Supernatural murder mystery that takes place in western Wisconsin, by bestselling authors Stephen King and Peter Straub.
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Guardian Angel & other Stories
Latimer, Margery
Feminist Press 1984
“Margery Latimer (1899-1932) knows and understands human beings, particularly those who have been treated none too gently in the course of their lives… The heaviness and world weariness of her stories are balanced by the excellent craftsmanship which is the outstanding feature of her work.” – NY Times.
The Land Remembers – Books Set in Wisconsin Free
Logan, Ben
Perennial Classics 2000
“Here is a journey backward into time, an evocative recollection of summer fishing trips and picnics, the fall harvest, the well-stoked winter stove, the spring planting, and the Logan men and women whose lives were nurtured by the land. It is a world of warmth and honesty, filled with fragrances of country cooking and fresh-plowed fields, where the link between man and nature are strong and direct.” – Publisher. Books based in Wisconsin.
Author Ben Logan (1920-2014) grew up on a farm in southwestern Wisconsin’s Crawford County during the Great Depression. He served in the Navy during WWII, and afterward had a career in broadcasting as well as writing.
The Wisconsin Almanac – Books by Wisconsin Authors
being a loosely-organized compendium of facts, history, lore, remembrances, puzzles, recipes, and both household and gardening advice with which to offer elucidation, assistance, and occasional amusement to the conscientious reader
Minnich, Jerry
North Country Press 1989
The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship
Mitchard, Jacquelyn
Viking 1997
Jacquelyn Mitchard (born 1956) was a journalist in the early 1980s when she began writing a regular column called “The Rest of Us” for the Madison “Capital Times”. In 1984 she moved the column to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In 1997 her novel “The Deep End of the Ocean” became the first selection of Oprah’s Book Club and reached the top of the New York Times’ Best Seller list. “The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship” is a large selection of her newspaper columns.
Birds of America
Moore, Lorrie
Faber and Faber 1998
Contents: Willing; Which is more than I can say about some people; Dance in America; Community life; Agnes of Iowa; Charades; Four calling birds, three French hens; Beautiful grade; What you want to do fine; Real estate; People like that are the only people here: canonical babbling in peed onk; Terrific mother “These stories chart the intersection of the ridiculous and the tragic.. . Moore peers into America’s loneliest perches, but her delicate touch turns absurdity into a warming vitality.” New Yorker
Self-Help; Stories by Lorrie Moore
Moore, Lorrie
Warner 1995
Lorrie Moore (born 1957) taught creative writing at University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1984 until 2013. According to her profile in Wikipedia, she is known mainly for her humorous and poignant short stories.
Dairy Queen – Books Set in Wisconsin Free
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert
Houghton Mifflin 2006
When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league.
“Finally, a football book a girl can love. . . . With humor, sports action and intelligence abundant, this tale has something for everyone.” –Publishers Weekly, starred
“A fresh teen voice, great football action and cows–this novel rocks.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred
From This Condensery: The Complete writing of Lorine Niedecker
Niedecker, Lorine. ed. by Bertholf, Robert J.
Jargon 1985
Lorine Niedecker (1903-1970) spent most of her life on or near Blackhawk Island, near Fort Atkinson, WI. This volume includes many poems, several radio plays, reviews, and some other prose.
Rascal: A memoir of a better era
North, Sterling
E.P. Dutton 1963
“During a difficult year of his boyhood in Edgerton, WI, a raccoon was North’s closest companion and scampish co-star in small-town misadventures.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Books that take place in Wisconsin.
A Man Named Yuma
Olsen, Theodore V.
Thorndike 2010
T. V. Olsen is mainly known as a best-selling author of western-themed novels.
A Prayer for the Dying – Books by Wisconsin Authors
O’Nan, Stewart
Holt 1999
“Soon after the Civil War, Jacob Hansen, a Union veteran, is working as pastor, sheriff, and undertaker in the town of Friendship, Wisconsin; while some resist the intensity of his faith, Jacob sees himself as the town’s spiritual caretaker. When diphtheria breaks out, he takes increasingly harsh measures to prevent it from spreading, and the consequences of his right-minded actions unfold with accelerating horror.” New Yorker. Novels that take place in Wisconsin.
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier
Packer, Ann
Knopf 2002
“A reckless attempt to impress Carrie, Mike’s dive off Clausen’s Pier rendered him paralyzed. Now Carrie finds herself torn between the loyalty she’s expected to feel toward Mike and her need to transform herself. She takes a dive of her own – into adulthood – when she escapes to New York.” -Booklist
The Westing Game
Raskin, Ellen
Scholastic 2002
Newberry medal-winner for teens published in 1978. Takes place in Milwaukee suburbs.
Driftless
Rhodes, David
Milkweed 2008
In his first novel in 30 years, David Rhodes offers a vivid and unforgettable look at life in small-town America.
“Driftless is the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years.”–Chicago Tribune
“Encompassing and incisive, comedic and profound, Driftless is a radiant novel of community and courage.”–Booklist (starred review)
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Jewelweed – Books Set in Wisconsin Free
Rhodes, David
Milkweed 2013
A sequel to “Driftless” (entry above), taking place in the same Wisconsin hamlet.
Harvest Moon: A Wisconsin Outdoor Anthology
Rulsey, Ted, ed.
Lost River 1993
“A collection of 26 evocative stories and essays, all by Wisconsin authors. Thoughtful, well-crafted pieces by beloved outdoor favorites such as Aldo Leopold, August Derleth and Gordon MacQuarrie, contemporary writers like Justin Isherwood and George Vukelich, and even a few gifted newcomers venerate the many ways in which people relate to this beautiful land and how the outdoors has shaped or changed their lives.” -Book cover Other authors represented include: Walt Sandberg – Robert Hillebrand – Jerry Wilber – Scott Bestul – Clay Schoenfeld – Douglas McLean – Richard Yatzeck – Timoth L. Personius – Tom Davis – Larry Van Goethem – Richard Behm – Susan Wendorf – Galen Winter – John Beth – Roger Drayna – Dion Henderson – Don L. Johnson – John Bates – Mel Ellis – Dan Small – Frances Hamerstrom.
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Consequences
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn
ROC 2004
Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, born 1960, lived in Wisconsin from 1967 until the late 1980s. Her school years were spent in Superior, WI, where her father taught at University of Wisconsin-Superior, and she earned her bachelor’s degree at UW-Madison. She fairly quickly became a best-selling author of Science Fiction. According to her biographical entry in Wikipedia, she writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including fantasy, mystery, romance and mainstream.
Elegant Journey – Books by Wisconsin Authors
Selby, John
Rinehart 1944
Southerner frees slaves and starts out anew in Wisconsin; 1840s.
Way Station
Simak, Clifford D.
Old Earth 2004
Science fiction novel that takes place in the secluded back woods of Wisconsin. Winner of the Hugo Award for best novel.
Off Keck Road
Simpson, Mona
Knopf 2000
“When Bea Maxwell returns to her small home town, in 1964, after college and a stint at a big-city ad agency, she wants to believe that this is not the end of her story—that the chapter including ‘the startling redemption’ is still to come. But what follows is less a story than a catalogue of fragile moments that never crystallize into actual events. Bea wrestles with the propriety of a woman telephoning a man, flirts awkwardly with a priest, and deflects a sexual advance from her married boss, to her regret. It’s not easy to write a novel in which the central tragedy is that nothing happens, but the author uses the cumulative power of small details to convince us that Bea’s stalled life is a life worth knowing.” -New Yorker
Bitter Sweet
Spencer, LaVyrle
Putnam 1990
“The untimely death of her husband leaves Maggie Pearson wealthy but emotionally bereft. Two decades after she has left home, Maggie returns to Wisconsin to fortify her spirits and decides to open a bed-and-breakfast despite dire warnings from her tight-lipped mother and the hurt fury of her college-age daughter. Her first love, Eric Severson, is also back in town, running a family-owned charter fishing boat to the great displeasure of his beautiful, ambitious wife.” Publ Wkly
Crossing to Safety – Books Set in Wisconsin Free
Stegner, Wallace
Penguin 1987
Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.
The Hellfire Club – Books by Wisconsin Authors
Straub, Peter
Ballantine 1997
Peter Straub was born in Milwaukee in 1943, where he lived until departing for Ireland in 1969. He has been a best-selling author of Horror Fiction since the mid-1970s.
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Blankets
Thompson, Craig
Drawn & Quarterly 2015
Graphic novel. “Blankets has the thematic sophistication, emotional sweep and beauty of (visual) language that mark the best novels … Part teen romance novel, part coming-of-age novel, part faith-in-crisis novel and all comix, Blankets is a great American novel”. – Time
Orchard
Watson, Larry
Perennial Classics 2000
The author “introduces us to Henry and Sonya House, a couple who have drifted apart after the death of their 4-year-old son. They own an apple orchard that has been in Henry’s family for generations. … One day.. Sonja is approached by Ned Weaver, a local artist with a reputation for sleeping with his models, who asks her to pose for him. She agrees … Weaver becomes obsessed with Sonja, and Henry … becomes increasingly jealous until he confronts Weaver.” -NY Times Book Rev
The Grandmothers
Wescott, Glenway
Harper 1927
Winner of the 1927 Harper Prize. “Based on Wescott’s own life and family, the young Alwyn Tower leaves Wisconsin to travel in Europe, but finds himself haunted by a family of long-dead spirits – his grandparents and great-uncles and aunts, a generation whose young adulthood was shattered by the Civil War. Their images were preserved in fading family albums of daguerreotypes and in his own fragmented memories of stories told to him by his strong and enduring grandmothers.” Book cover
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – Books by Wisconsin Authors
Wroblewski, David
Ecco 2008
Edgar Sawtelle was born mute in remote northern Wisconsin, in a family that raised dogs. He is forced to flee into the wilderness, fighting for his survival and that of the three young dogs with him. Selection of Oprah’s Book Club.
Author David Wroblewski grew up in rural Wisconsin near the site of this novel.