‘Theo of Golden’ and its Columbus connection. Read our series of stories here
Harris County resident Allen Levi’s bestselling novel “Theo of Golden,” inspired by his hometown of Columbus, has sold more than 1 million copies and topped The New York Times Best Sellers list for combined print and e-book fiction.
The Ledger-Enquirer has published a series of stories about the novel’s connection to and impact on Columbus, drawing fans from across the country to the real-life places behind the book’s inspiring tale.
Here’s a summary of our series and links to the full articles:
Local business owners say “Golden pilgrims” are traveling from afar to downtown Columbus, with one bookshop reporting up to 50 people a day dropping in because of the novel and a restaurant fielding 15 to 20 book-themed reservations a month. Click here to read the full story.
Columbus artist Garry Pound’s “Fountain City Faces” portraits helped inspire the novel. And now movie producers, Oprah Winfrey’s podcast team and 5,000 new Instagram followers have come calling. Click here to read the full story.
Siblings Jud Richardson and Libba Dillon, who own Fountain City Coffee — the real-life inspiration for the novel’s Chalice — have created a special light roast called “Golden Hour” as a tribute to the book, and readers are buying it by the dozen. Click here to read the full story.
Four Florida book club members who call themselves the “THEO-logians” traveled to Columbus on Memorial Day to visit locations from the novel — and got a mid-meal surprise at Epic Restaurant that left one of them “speechless” and in tears. Click here to read the full story.
From the Promenade to the “Eye of God” to the Fedder, a guide maps the real Columbus landmarks hiding inside Levi’s fictional town of Golden — including one stop tied to a darker chapter of the region’s history. Click here to read the full story.
These summaries were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. All the Ledger-Enquirer articles linked in this recap were reported, written and edited by journalists.
