Rules of Civility: A Novel

By Amor Towles

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.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Jun 26, 2012

368 pages

Average rating: 7.72

633 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Rules of Civility* offers a glamorous, vivid portrait of 1930s New York with sharp dialogue and a richly layered social setting akin to *...

Sue Dix
Mar 14, 2026
10/10 stars
This was an astoundingly wonderful book. I couldn't put it down.
Cresta McGowan
Dec 25, 2025
8/10 stars
Tried this back in 2015 and didn’t love it. Just reread it this week and found it wonderful. Sometimes the timing needs to be right. A great story.
boyleschris
Jul 21, 2024
Chris's pick. 👍🏻 Fiction. A Fitzgerald-like story of three people reinventing themselves in late 30s NYC.
Khris Sellin
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...

AnnetteTodd
Jun 18, 2026
8/10 stars
Amor Towles is now among of my "Top Two Authors" along with Alexander McCall Smith. They both write beautifully and mix in a lot of philosophy in their books. However, I fall in love with Alexander McCall Smith's characters; but, in this book, I didn't really like any of the central figures. That's not necessary in a book with great writing; but it does keep me from getting emotionally attached.

This is a good companion book to The Great Gatsby. None of the central players in that book were very likable or relatable either but, still, Gatsby is an amazing book I've read three times.

I find images and ideas from this book popping into my mind now a few days after finishing it -- so that's a good sign that "hit the spot". I would have a lot to discuss with other readers.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.