Inspiration for the Netflix Limited Series, Tales of the City A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick The first novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin's best-selling San Francisco saga. For almost four decades Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed its own trail through popular culture-from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of nine novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live.