San Francisco
San Francisco in the decades after the gold rush was a city of newcomers, and its novels are about what people will do to stay. Frank Norris set McTeague among its dental surgeries and boarding houses; Jack London put a scholar aboard a sealing ship and had him learn violence in The Sea-Wolf before writing Martin Eden about a sailor who educates himself.
The public library's San Francisco History Center holds the photographic and manuscript record of the city, including material on the 1906 earthquake. For the literary period, the California Historical Society and the university libraries in Berkeley and Stanford hold the larger research collections.
A library to check
- San Francisco Public Library — catalogues and digital collections, open to readers online
Books connected to San Francisco
- McTeague — Frank Norris, 1899. American naturalism at its most extreme, with an ending that is impossible to forget.
- Martin Eden — Jack London, 1909. The best novel about becoming a writer, and the worst one to read if you are looking for encouragement.
A note on accuracy
We describe literary connections and public collections, not street addresses, opening hours or ticket prices. Those change and we cannot verify them for every reader. Follow the institution's own site for current visiting information.