• “The Shad Treatment” by Garrett Epps (1977). Epps, a native of Richmond, uses a fictionalized version of Virginia’s bitter and narrow 1973 gubernatorial contest between Mills Godwin and Henry Howell to examine politics and its human costs.

• “Union Dues” by John Sayles (1977). The story of a working-class father from West Virginia and his 17-year-old runaway son, this novel is set in 1969 and tells a story of politically radicalized youth in the ’60s.

• “Primary Colors” by Anonymous, later revealed to be Joe Klein (1996). Based — and not loosely — on Bill and Hillary Clinton and his 1992 campaign for president, “Primary Colors” created a stir, not only by the initial mystery surrounding its author but also by its gritty and deep depiction of the world of political insiders.

• “Protect and Defend” by Richard North Patterson (2000). Patterson specializes in political suspense and deals with numerous topical issues in his many works. In “Protect and Defend,” he spins a gripping yarn about abortion and the nomination of the nation’s first female chief justice.