Tales of the City
Overview
Tales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin
. The stories from Tales were originally serialized
prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle
, while the fifth appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. The last three titles were never serialized, but were instead originally written as novels.
Tales of the City has been compared to similar serial novels that ran in other city newspapers, such as Tangled Lives (Boston), Bagtime (Chicago), and Federal Triangle (Washington, DC).
Characters from the Tales of the City series have appeared in supporting roles in Maupin's later novels Maybe the Moon
and The Night Listener
.
The series opens with the arrival of Mary Ann Singleton, a naive young woman from Cleveland, Ohio, who went on vacation to San Francisco and impulsively decides to stay.
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
. The stories from Tales were originally serialized
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, while the fifth appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. The last three titles were never serialized, but were instead originally written as novels.
Tales of the City has been compared to similar serial novels that ran in other city newspapers, such as Tangled Lives (Boston), Bagtime (Chicago), and Federal Triangle (Washington, DC).
Characters from the Tales of the City series have appeared in supporting roles in Maupin's later novels Maybe the Moon
Maybe the Moon
Maybe the Moon is a novel written by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin.The story Maupin describes as 'partly autobiographical', despite the main character being a female heterosexual Jewish dwarf...
and The Night Listener
The Night Listener (novel)
The Night Listener is a roman à clef by Armistead Maupin. The novel's plot is based on the real life story of Anthony Godby Johnson, the purported author of a book, A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story, that was later revealed to be a hoax.-Plot summary:Gabriel Noone is a gay writer...
.
- Tales of the CityTales of the City (novel)Tales of the City is the first book in the Tales of the City series by American novelist Armistead Maupin, originally serialized in The San Francisco Chronicle.- Plot :...
(19781978 in literatureThe year 1978 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, a humorous award given annually to books with unusual titles is created. The first winner was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude...
) - More Tales of the CityMore Tales of the City (novel)More Tales of the City is the second book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin, originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle.-Plot:...
(19801980 in literatureThe year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first woman to be elected to the Académie française....
) - Further Tales of the CityFurther Tales of the City (novel)Further Tales of the City is the third book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin, originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle....
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) - Significant OthersSignificant Others (novel)Significant Others is a 1987 novel by Armistead Maupin, the fifth book in the Tales of the City series. It originally was serialized in the San Francisco Examiner.- Plot Summary :...
(19871987 in literatureThe year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...
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) - Michael Tolliver Lives (20072007 in literatureThe year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...
) - Mary Ann in AutumnMary Ann in AutumnMary Ann in Autumn is the eighth book in the Tales of the City series by San Francisco novelist Armistead Maupin. It was released on November 2, 2010....
(20102010 in literatureThe year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
)
The series opens with the arrival of Mary Ann Singleton, a naive young woman from Cleveland, Ohio, who went on vacation to San Francisco and impulsively decides to stay.