CITY · UNITED STATES

Books set in Chicago

41.878, -87.630

64 books · 54 authors · 1900–2026

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64 books here

Most-set authors

Jim Butcher (3) · Nelson Algren (3) · Scott Turow (2) · Sandra Cisneros (2) · Aleksandar Hemon (2) · Joe Meno (2)

Genres

literary fiction (29) · mystery & crime (6) · thriller & suspense (4) · science fiction (2) · romance (1) · fantasy (1) · historical fiction (1)

Books set here

Set in Chicago (57)

12 Months

Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden's city; recovering from the Battle of Chicago, ghouls prowling the streets

47th Street Black

Bayo Ojikutu

South Side gangster underworld

Chicago

David Mamet

1920s Prohibition gangland Chicago

Clark and Division

Naomi Hirahara

Near North Side Japanese American neighborhood at Clark & Division; 1944 resettlement hub after WWII internment camps

Dark Matter

Blake Crouch

protagonist physicist home city

Dark Princess

W.E.B. Du Bois

Primary US setting; Matthew works in Chicago Black Belt political activism

Death of the Author

Nnedi Okorafor

Zelu's home and family

Hello Beautiful

Ann Napolitano

multi-generation family saga

Knock on Any Door

Willard Motley

immigrant youth crime story

Maud Martha

Gwendolyn Brooks

Bronzeville South Side Black life

Never Come Morning

Nelson Algren

Polish Triangle neighborhood of Chicago (Division, Ashland, Milwaukee); 1930s Polish immigrant slums where Bruno Bicek d

Peel My Love Like an Onion

Ana Castillo

Flamenco dancer Chicago

Presumed Guilty

Scott Turow

fictional Kindle County

Presumed Innocent

Scott Turow

Fictional Kindle County (modelled on Cook County/Chicago, Illinois) where assistant prosecutor Rusty Sabich is accused o

Rewind It Back

Liz Tomforde

Windy City series setting

Spoonbenders

Daryl Gregory

Telemachus family home; psychic dynasty falls and tries to rebuild in suburban Chicago

The 42nd Parallel

John Dos Passos

industrial America hub

The Future of Another Timeline

Annalee Newitz

1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition — a key historical node where time-traveling Tess rewrites women's history

wheat pit Chicago Board of Trade

The Warmth of Other Suns

Isabel Wilkerson

Destination of Ida Mae Gladney's Great Migration journey from Mississippi — one of three real stories traced

Twelve Months

Jim Butcher

Chicago (Dresden Files)

The House on Mango Street

Sandra Cisneros

Real-life inspiration for Mango Street

Studs Lonigan

James T. Farrell

Hub of Studs Lonergan world

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansberry

Real-life inspiration for the Younger familys move

The Great Believers

Rebecca Makkai

Heart of the LGBTQ+ community in 1980s Chicago

The Cliff-Dwellers

Henry Blake Fuller

Setting; fictional Clifton Building on LaSalle St

Hard Times

Jeff Boyd

South Side high school where English teacher Buddy Mack faces violence, loyalty, and community crisis

The Lazarus Project

Aleksandar Hemon

Site of the 1908 shooting of Lazarus Averbuch

The Nix

Nathan Hill

Site of the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots

There Are No Children Here

Alex Kotlowitz

Primary setting of the non-fiction account

Building Stories

Chris Ware

Neighborhood setting for the three-story brownstone

The Great Perhaps

Joe Meno

Primary neighborhood setting for the Casper family

The Devil in the White City

Erik Larson

Primary site of the 1893 Worlds Fair

Caramelo

Sandra Cisneros

Iconic archway of La Villita, central to the familys Chicago home

Hairstyles of the Damned

Joe Meno

Central setting for the characters hangouts and social tensions

Sister Carrie

Theodore Dreiser

Carries first home in Chicago

I Sailed with Magellan

Stuart Dybek

Primary neighborhood setting on the Southwest Side

Chicago: City on the Make

Nelson Algren

Heart of the hustler spirit and Wicker Park area

The Man with the Golden Arm

Nelson Algren

Heart of the Polish-American community and novels action

Humboldt's Gift

Saul Bellow

Frequent location for reflection for Charlie Citrine

The Adventures of Augie March

Saul Bellow

Augie Marchs childhood neighborhood

The Kindest Lie

Nancy Johnson

Upscale neighborhood where the protagonist Ruth Tuttle lives

Becoming

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama's childhood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side

Divine Days

Leon Forrest

Basis for fictional Forest County; bars, churches, barbershops

Hog Butcher

Ronald L. Fair

Setting; police shooting of Black youth and its aftermath

Storm Front

Jim Butcher

Historic Catholic church and frequent refuge for Harry Dresden

The Coast of Chicago

Stuart Dybek

Central focus of the story Nighthawks

Native Son

Richard Wright

Wealthy mansion where Bigger Thomas works

The Death of the Detective

Mark Smith

High-rise apartments representing Chicago high society

The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger

Where Henry works as a librarian

Trumbull Park

Frank London Brown

Central setting; 1950s housing integration struggle

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair

Packingtown entrance and main setting

Letting Go

Philip Roth

Main setting; Gabe Wallach teaches English here

Chicago

Alaa Al Aswany

Egyptian grad students campus

Divergent

Veronica Roth

The Hub, headquarters for the city factions

Nowhere Man

Aleksandar Hemon

Where Pronek works as a parking lot attendant

Also featuring Chicago (7)

A Promised Land

Barack Obama

Obama's political base; early career and 2008 campaign headquarters

Arrowsmith

Sinclair Lewis

Martin medical career stop

Bossypants

Tina Fey

Second City improv years

Passing

Nella Larsen

Drayton Hotel reunion scene

Second City improv training and early career

Notable locations in Chicago

South Side Chicago3Polish Triangle21525 N. Campbell Ave158th Street and Indiana Avenue16140 S. Rhodes Ave1Boystown1Chicago1Chicago Loop1Chicago South Side1George Shippys House1Grant Park1Henry Horner Homes1Humboldt Park1Hyde Park1Jackson Park1Little Village Arch1Marquette Park1Minnie and Hansons Flat1Pilsen1Promontory Point1Saul Bellow Way1South Loop1St. Mary of the Angels1The Art Institute of Chicago1