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by G. Sax, (Twitter: @gsax)

In 2001, Jonathan Franzen wrote what I now safely consider my second-favorite work of fiction, The Corrections (The Great Gatsby still claims the top spot). It was an astounding book made more provocative to me because of his discomfort with being chosen for Oprah Winfrey's book club. Franzen is now a regular contributor to The New Yorker.

Last week, I received a call from a fact-checker at The New Yorker who asked me a series of questions about historical housing prices in the Twin Cities in general and pointed questions about the Ramsey Hill neighborhood of St. Paul. I was able to field her questions with verifying answers for a new work of fiction available in The New Yorker this week, "Good Neighbors" by Jonathan Franzen.

It is described as a short story about animosities and relationships among families living on a gentrifying street in St. Paul, Minnesota. The street name is Barrier Street. I told her there was no such street that I could find, but I understand that some things are better left as fiction. Like "555" phone numbers.

The story begins, "Walter and Patty Berglund were the young pioneers of Ramsey Hill—the first college grads to buy a house on Barrier Street since the old heart of St. Paul had fallen on hard times three decades earlier. The Berglunds paid nothing for their Victorian and then killed themselves for ten years renovating it."

Anyone interested in St. Paul, particularly St. Paul real estate, should be hooked by that opener. Other notable local area references include Linwood Park, St. Catherine's, 3M, Garrison Keillor, Kirby Puckett and Prince. All this from a guy who hails from St. Louis.

Franzen did his research. He knew that Ramsey Hill was a trouble spot in the 1980s and that its revival has strengthened since. The Ramsey Hill neighborhood is noted for its Victorian architecture. The Ramsey Hill Association claims that it is the "second-largest contiguous Victorian District in North America." It's a lofty claim, and maybe the word "district" is the key to its boldness. Quick research shows that several cities boast large Victorian neighborhoods.

Toronto lays claim to the largest and best-preserved set of Victorians, specifically in the Cabbagetown neighborhood. The Fan neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia, is pretty darn Victorian. The Old West End of Toledo, Ohio, has a stake in Victorian lore. Boston's South End is officially the oldest Victorian neighborhood in the U.S. And Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, touts itself as the largest Victorian neighborhood in the country.

You can get a look inside some of the homes of St. Paul's Victorians at the 2009 biannual Ramsey Hill House Tour on Sunday, September 13. That's a ways off from this writing, so read the Franzen short story for now and mark your calendar to see the realities of the fictitious Walter and Patty Berglund.