Jeffrey Coogan

Staten Island in Fiction 1896-2015 Jeffrey Coogan

Staten Island, the insular and idiosyncratic "Forgotten Fifth Borough" of New York City, is not often thought of as a literary setting but, in fact, the island has been the inspiration for a surprising number of fictional works- novels, plays, short stories, and children's books- since the late nineteenth century. In this original and highly detailed study, over 140 works of fiction set in Staten Island have been identified and their plots, characters and themes described. With genres ranging from mystery to romance, historical fiction to fantasy, from social realism to science fiction, the stories that comprise the canon of Staten Island literature are as varied as its people.