The best books set in Taos include John Nichols's The Milagro Beanfield War, Frank Waters's The Man Who Killed the Deer, Mabel Dodge Luhan's Winter in Taos, and the New Mexico writings of D.H. Lawrence. For a town of a few thousand people, Taos has an outsized literary footprint — the legacy of the art colony that Mabel Dodge Luhan assembled in the 1910s and 1920s, and of Taos Pueblo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. This is a focused reading list for Taos country; for the whole state, see Best Books Set in New Mexico.
Published June 2026 · Curated by Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project
The Milagro Beanfield War — John Nichols
When Joe Mondragón illegally taps an irrigation ditch to water his beanfield, he ignites a comic, political, deeply humane fight over land and water. The first book of Nichols's New Mexico Trilogy, written from his longtime home in Taos, and the beloved novel of acequia country. Later a Robert Redford film.
The Man Who Killed the Deer — Frank Waters
Martiniano, torn between Pueblo tradition and the white world after killing a deer out of season, anchors Waters's lifelong meditation on Pueblo spirituality. Set at a lightly fictionalized Taos Pueblo, it is the classic Pueblo novel and a touchstone of Southwestern literature.
Winter in Taos — Mabel Dodge Luhan
The salon host who lured Lawrence, Cather, O'Keeffe, and Ansel Adams to New Mexico wrote her own quiet masterpiece — a year on the land in Taos, married to Tony Lujan of Taos Pueblo. The essential book for understanding why the art colony took root where it did.
Lorenzo in Taos — Mabel Dodge Luhan
Luhan's account of luring D.H. Lawrence ("Lorenzo") to Taos and the volatile friendship that followed. A primary document of the most famous literary episode in the town's history, and the companion to Lawrence's own New Mexico writing below.
...and Now Miguel — Joseph Krumgold
The Newbery Medal–winning novel of Miguel Chávez, a boy in a Hispano sheep-ranching family near Taos who longs to join the men driving the flock into the Sangre de Cristos. The classic children's book of Taos-country ranching life. (More for young readers in Best Books for New Mexico Kids.)
The New Mexico writings — D.H. Lawrence
Lawrence spent stretches of the 1920s at Kiowa Ranch in the mountains above Taos — the only property he ever owned — and called New Mexico "the greatest experience from the outside world that I have ever had." His New Mexico essays and the surrounding fiction shaped how the world imagined the high desert; his memorial chapel still stands on the ranch.
Where to find them in Taos
Taos has long supported independent bookselling; Moby Dickens Bookshop was a landmark on the plaza for decades, and the town's shops keep the art-colony titles in steady circulation. For the wider map of writers and bookstores, see the New Mexico Literary Atlas.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous book set in Taos?
The Milagro Beanfield War (Nichols, 1974) is the most famous and beloved novel of Taos country; The Man Who Killed the Deer (Waters) is the classic Taos Pueblo novel.
What did D.H. Lawrence write in Taos?
Living at Kiowa Ranch above Taos in the 1920s, Lawrence wrote essays and fiction inspired by New Mexico, which he called his greatest experience of the outside world.
Who was Mabel Dodge Luhan?
The Taos salon host who drew Lawrence, Cather, O'Keeffe, and Ansel Adams to New Mexico; her memoir Winter in Taos is the essential art-colony book.
Cite This Guide
Eldred, J. (June 2026). Best Books Set in Taos. New Mexico Literacy Project.
https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/best-books-set-in-taos
Original curation by Josh Eldred. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.