City of Dreams

Why it’s on the list: A novel of Manhattan from Nieuw Amsterdam forward, following two families of surgeons and apothecaries as the Dutch trading post becomes an English city — building and trade, which is what the question asked for.

Ambiguity: “City of Dreams” is also the title of Tyler Anbinder’s 2016 history of immigrant New York. The thread asked for historical fiction, which points to Swerling’s novel; if Kyle meant Anbinder, this card should be retitled.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @moseskagan’s question, “What historical fiction should I read next? (Bonus points for something involving building or trade, rather than violence)” (April 13, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What historical fiction should I… (tweet). It was listed there as “City of Dreams”.

Connections

• Historical Fiction — The genre the thread was asking about.
• New York City — The city the novel is about.
• City Building — The register the thread was asking for.
• What historical fiction should I… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.