These 10 must-read novels set in Washington DC bring the nation’s capital to life, from the White House to the streets of Georgetown, featuring romance, political drama, and daily life in the city, as well as historical fiction. and reimagined stories of past presidents of the united states and important moments in american history. Take a trip to Washington DC, our nation’s capital, with these novels that take place in Washington DC.
1. heartburn by nora ephron
“seven months pregnant, rachel samstat discovers that her husband, mark, is in love with another woman. the fact that the other woman has “a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs” is no consolation. However, food sometimes is, as Rachel writes cookbooks for a living. And between trying to win Mark back and wishing him dead out loud, Ephron’s irrepressible heroine offers up some of her favorite recipes. Sourness is a sinfully delicious novel, as comforting as mashed potatoes and as airy as a perfect soufflé.”
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2. king suckerman by george pelecanos
“In the summer of 1976, the nation’s capital prepares for the bicentennial. Captain Beefheart is on the eight track, and the hot new movie ‘King Suckerman’ has everyone talking. Two guys named Clay and Karras are asking for trouble when they stumble upon a drug deal gone bad and end up with a ton of money that doesn’t belong to them. When the well-armed dealer starts shedding blood for the money, Clay and Karras must take a stand, go straight and get justice, or maybe just some sweet revenge.”
3. the applicants by jennifer close
“beth, a newlywed from new york, supported her when her husband, matt, decided to follow his political dreams to washington. However, shortly after moving to D.C., Beth realizes that she hates everything: the rotundas, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends every summer, and most of all, the lonely dinner parties where anyone but the work in politics is politely ignored. Things start to change when the couple meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh. the four become inseparable, coordinating lunches, birthdays and long weekends. But as Jimmy’s star rises higher and higher, the pair’s friendship – and Beth’s relationship with Matt – is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumours.”
4. lincoln in the bard by george saunders
“February 1862. The civil war is less than a year old. the fight has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize that it is in for a long and bloody fight. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son Willie lies gravely ill upstairs in the White House. Within days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. ‘my poor boy, he was too good for this earth,’ says the president at the time. ‘god has called him home’. Newspapers report that a heartbroken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold the body of his son.
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“From that seed of historical truth, george saunders weaves an unforgettable story of family love and loss that breaks free of its historical and realistic setting into a supernatural realm that is both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, complain, pity, fight, and perform strange acts of penance. Within this transitional state, called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo, a monumental struggle breaks out for the soul of young Willie.”
5. when washington was hot by edward christopher williams
“almost lost after its anonymous publication in 1926 and recently rediscovered, when washington was all the rage,” is an acclaimed love story written and set during the harlem renaissance. Back when short hair flippers were all the rage and Harlem was buzzing, Washington, D.C., was roaring too.”
6. the beautiful things that heaven brings by dinaw mengestu
“seventeen years ago, sepha stephanos fled the ethiopian revolution to start anew in the united states. Now she finds herself running a bankrupt grocery store in a poor African-American section of Washington, DC, her only companions are two African immigrants who share her bitter nostalgia and longing for their home continent. years ago and on worlds far away, sepha could never have imagined a life of such isolation. as her surroundings begin to change, hope comes in the form of friendship with new neighbors judith and naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter. but when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, she sepha may lose everything again.”
7. creatures passing through morowa yejide
“with echoes of toni morrison’s beloved, yejide’s novel explores a forgotten quadrant of washington dc and the ghosts that haunt it”.
8. the lost diary of m by paul wolfe
“a gripping debut novel that cleverly reimagines the extraordinary life and mysterious death of bohemian georgetown socialite mary pinchot meyer: jfk’s secret lover, ex-wife of a cia boss, sexual adventurer, lsd explorer, and feminist early living alone rules.”
9. red, white & amp; royal blue by casey mcquiston
“When his mother became president, alex claremont-diaz was quickly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. handsome, charismatic, genius, his image is pure millennial marketing gold for the white house. There’s just one problem: Alex is in trouble with the royal prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an altercation between Alex and Henry, relations between the United States and Britain take a turn for the worse.
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“The heads of families, the state and other officials devise a plan to control the damage: establish a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as an unspeakable, fake friendship turns deeper and more dangerous than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself plunged into a secret romance with a surprisingly laid-back Henry that could derail the campaign and turn two nations upside down and begs the question: can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage and power to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine? red, white & by casey mcquiston royal blue proves: true love is not always diplomatic.”
10. henry and clara by thomas mallon
“on the afternoon of good friday 1865, henry rathbone and clara harris joined the lincolns in the presidential box of the ford theater, becoming eyewitnesses to one of the great tragedies in american history.
“In this riveting novel, Thomas Mallon recreates the unusual love story of this young couple whose fateful encounter with history profoundly affects the rest of their lives. Lincoln’s murder is just one part of the remarkable life they share, a dramatic story of passion, scandal, heroism, murder and madness, all based on Mallon’s in-depth investigation of the fascinating history of the Rathbone and Harris families. Henry and Clara not only tells the amazing story of its leading figures; it also illuminates the culture of 19th-century Victorian America: a rigid society that barely conceals repressed impulses and undercurrents that only grew stronger as the century progressed.”
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