Book cover of Paradise Falls

Book description

"...encompasses thirty-five years in the life of the small Ohio town of Paradise Falls, from the end of the Civil War to the tumultuous opening of the twentieth century."

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Paradise Falls as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Two volumes, nearly a thousand pages—but don’t let that put you off. This is the background story of the Gilded Age in small-town America, a microcosm of all that was best and worst in the era. Coal mines—a theme running through much Gilded Age tale-telling—and vast riches, sexual misadventures in a time when Victorian straitjackets were loosening, neighborly battles, far-reaching strikes, religious convulsions, political shenanigans. They’re all here. You’ll get lost in them.

If you love Paradise Falls...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Paradise Falls?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Paradise Falls.

Browse books like Paradise Falls

Book cover of The Age of Innocence
Book cover of Germinal
Book cover of The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Paradise Falls, you might also like...

Book cover of Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South

Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South by William D. Auman,

Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify..., takes the reader on a time-traveling odyssey featuring 345 bodies of water in six states within the historical context through which they unfold.

Journey into remaining Colonial-era wilderness with stories of pirate treasure, epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, and Revolutionary…

Book cover of A Winter's Disgrace

A Winter's Disgrace by Kathleen Buckley,

Cyprian, a marquess’s heir, will not let his mother choose his next bride. Leaving a house party in a blizzard to avoid her stratagems, he finds a woman trudging half frozen toward the London road. Rosamund fled disgrace, hoping to reach the one person who might shelter her, but even…

5 book lists we think you will like!