Chicago

To ground the fantastical elements of The Time Traveler's Wife, Niffenegger paints a vivid picture of Chicago and its main attractions. Early in the novel, an older Henry visits his younger self at the Field Museum of Natural History. Founded in 1893, the museum once was known as the Chicago Natural History Museum and is located on Chicago's famous Lake Shore Drive.

As the story progresses, Clare creates and shows her work at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Institute, both a museum and a school, was constructed in 1879 from the rubble left after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Henry's mother, Annette Lyn Robinson, sings for the Lyric Opera, housed in Chicago's famous Civic Opera House with its elegant Art Deco-style interior. Niffenegger provides another notable locale when Henry and Gomez eat at Ann Sather's Swedish Restaurant, established in 1945 on Belmont Avenue. Another unmistakable Chicago symbol since the turn...