Rules of Civility: A Novel

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

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Published Jun 26, 2012

368 pages

Average rating: 7.63

512 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

boyleschris
Jul 21, 2024
Chris's pick. 👍🏻 Fiction. A Fitzgerald-like story of three people reinventing themselves in late 30s NYC.
Anonymous
Jul 05, 2024
10/10 stars
I LOVED this book. Could not put it down. Set in New York in the late 1930s, it evokes images of old black & white movies, where everyone and everything is glamorous, even the poor folk.

Brooklyn-born Katey Kontent and her roomie, Evey Ross, a Midwestern transplant, are single girls living it up in NYC. As they are ringing in the New Year of 1938, they meet dashing Tinker Grey and they become an inseparable threesome.

As we move through 1938 with Katey, we get to meet all the people who weave in and out of her life and see how they influence her, and how some of them may not be exactly as they appear...

MindiL
May 23, 2025
9/10 stars
A shear joy to read. Beautiful descriptions of that era in NYC.
Anonymous
Apr 19, 2025
10/10 stars
Best book I have read all year! Amor's words sounded like music. I loved the rhythm of this book. Such a satisfying book.
wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
10/10 stars
Enjoyed every minute of this NYC frolic.

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