Forests in Fiction Collection

The Forest History Society's Forests in Fiction Collection consists of nearly 400 works of fiction published from the late 19th century through the present that range in genre from westerns to romance novels to mysteries and whose settings and story lines focus on forested environments in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Canada. Some of the novels were national bestsellers written by prominent authors, and some served as the basis for films, but most works were less popular. Subjects featured in the novels include lumbering, forest fires, the U.S. Forest Service, and conservation issues such as clearcutting and grazing. In some books, the forest simply serves as the setting for the fictional story that unfolds. We have compiled an electronic catalog of the collection that is searchable through our web site.

Provenance of the Forests in Fiction Collection

Harold K. "Pete" Steen, a forest historian and former executive director of the Forest History Society, amassed the majority of this unique collection over the course of his professional career. Dr. Steen donated the core of this collection on the portrayal of the forest in popular twentieth-century fiction to the Society in 1999. We have added other works since then. Students of literature, American history, or the environment should all find fascinating points of interest in the Forests in Fiction Collection.

Conducting Research in the Forests in Fiction Collection

The novels in this collection are available for research at the Forest History Society Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Researchers of this collection may be eligible for the Society's Alfred D. Bell Travel Grant program. For further information or assistance, please contact librarian Cheryl Oakes via email at coakes@duke.edu, via telephone at 919-682-9319, or via mail: Forest History Society, 701 William Vickers Avenue, Durham, North Carolina, 27701-3162.