Joan Didion’s NYC Apartment Is For Sale For $7.5 Million

Doesn't look like a bad place to write at all

Joan Didion
American author Joan Didion speaks at the College of Marin, Kentfield, California, February 1977.
Janet Fries/Getty Images

The late Joan Didion launched an entire genre of essays with 1967’s “Goodbye to All That,” which detailed her reasons for leaving New York City. That being said, Didion didn’t abandon New York forever — and came to own an apartment in the city as of decades later. In the wake of her 2021 death, Didion’s living space in New York City is now going on the market — and if you have $7.5 million, it could be yours.

As a House Beautiful article on the listing explains, this is also the space in which Didion wrote her acclaimed book The Year of Magical Thinking. The listing, from Serena Boardman at Sotheby’s, has even more details about the apartment — 11 rooms total, four of which are bedrooms, along with what the listing describes as “a semi-private elevator landing.” It’s located on East 71st Street and Madison Avenue.

The building itself dates back to 1928 and is, as per the listing, “one of Manhattan’s finest white-glove cooperatives.” The hardwood floors, private library and fireplace all are especially compelling details; so too are the bedrooms that overlook East 70th Street.

Building amenities including a fitness center and a pet-friendly policy are some of the other selling points of the apartment. Living here might not inspire you to write the Great American Novel — but if you are so inspired, you’ll have plenty of space in which to do so.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.