7 Answers
I’ve always loved cataloging little oddities in political fiction, and the case of a fictional President Coolidge is one of those micro-curiosities. Start by separating two categories: works that fictionalize the real Calvin Coolidge (which you’ll find in alternate-history novels and historical mash-ups) and works that invent an unrelated modern president who just happens to be named Coolidge. The first category is fairly common — authors reimagine real leaders to explore 'what if' scenarios — while the second is surprisingly rare among major novels.
Writers who invent presidents tend to pick names that sound fresh or neutral; think of the way 'Watchmen' uses a fictionalized Nixon to build tone. So if you want a fictional President Coolidge, you’re more likely to hit paydirt in short fiction, political satire collections, or indie thrillers rather than the bestseller list. I’ve found a few throwaway references while combing through older pulps and online anthologies: a paragraph here, a cameo there — enough to be amused but not enough to claim a literary tradition. It’s a small, entertaining gap in the landscape of political fiction that I enjoy poking at when I’m browsing used bookstores.
Not many novels give us a made-up President Coolidge as a dramatic centerpiece — the surname tends to either point to the real Calvin Coolidge in alternate-history fiction or shows up as a minor name-drop in satire. I’ve dug through a lot of political thrillers and alt-history shelves and what I find is that authors usually either use the actual historical Coolidge or invent completely different surnames for their fictional leaders. Big-name books that invent presidents more often go with names like Nixon in 'Watchmen' or wildly different invented surnames in techno-thrillers rather than reuse Coolidge.
If you’re hunting for a fictional President Coolidge specifically, your best bets are small-press novellas, pulp-era short stories, and online serials where authors play with familiar-sounding names for comedic or uncanny effect. I enjoy poking through those little corners of the web and zine collections — it’s where odd choices like a President Coolidge crop up, usually as a wink or satire rather than the central conceit. Personally, I find the way modern writers either canonize or rehearse old presidential names fascinating — it says a lot about how we mythologize politics, and those fringe appearances always make me smile.
My quick take is that a fictional President Coolidge is not a common fixture in major novels. Most appearances of the name Coolidge in fiction refer back to the actual historical president, or else authors invent new surnames when they need a wholly fictional commander-in-chief. If you read alternate-history novels and thrillers you’ll see plenty of invented presidents, and examples like '11/22/63' and 'The Man in the High Castle' show how authors choose to rearrange history or create stand-ins — but they don’t usually recycle a name like Coolidge for a modern fictional leader.
So unless you’re searching indie zines, short-story anthologies, or fan fiction archives, you probably won’t run into a well-known novel built around a President Coolidge. I kind of like that scarcity — it makes spotting one feel like finding a hidden postcard in a used-book store.
I’m not aware of any widely read mainstream novels that center on a fictional President Coolidge as a major character. Most of the time, writers who want to explore an alternate presidency either fictionalize a completely new name or directly use real historical figures like Calvin Coolidge if they’re doing a true alternate-history riff. For example, in alternate-history fiction you’ll see authors build worlds around changed presidencies, and works like 'The Plot Against America' or 'The Man in the High Castle' show how different authors handle real leaders or invent new ones.
From my time scouring forums and indie presses, references to a President Coolidge usually pop up in short satire pieces or web fiction — little standalones rather than full-length novels. If someone wants a deep, polished novel starring a President Coolidge, you’d likely be looking at a niche indie writer or a fanfic piece. I enjoy those discoveries because they’re quirky and feel like secret easter eggs in political fiction.
Okay, this is the kind of tiny fandom mystery I love poking at: novels that feature a fictional President named Coolidge are surprisingly rare. From my reading, the surname usually appears in two flavors—either it’s the real Calvin Coolidge showing up as a historical figure in fiction, or authors use the Coolidge name in alternate timelines and short pieces rather than as the central invented president in a standalone novel. That means if you’re hunting for a substantive novel where “President Coolidge” is a major, invented character, you’ll probably come up empty-handed among mainstream titles.
On the bright side, this scarcity opens up fun possibilities. Alternate-history writers and political satirists sometimes sprinkle in modified historical names, and anthologies focused on presidential fiction or speculative politics occasionally host short stories where a Coolidge-ish leader takes the stage. If you enjoy hidden gems and cameos, those collections are a better bet than the typical bestseller shelf. I kind of like imagining an author giving Coolidge a modern spin—reserved in public but scheming behind the curtain—so the lack of famous examples feels more like an invitation than a dead end.
I’ll keep this tight: there aren’t many prominent novels that invent a President Coolidge as a fictional, standalone head of state. Most appearances of that surname are either the historical Calvin Coolidge being used as a character in period fiction and alternate histories or quick background cameos in political stories. The result is that a fully fictional President Coolidge is a niche rarity rather than a recurring trope in modern novels. If you want to find uses of the name, look to alt-history anthologies, speculative presidential fiction, and short-story collections—those are where authors tend to experiment with reusing or reimagining historical surnames. For me, the idea of an invented Coolidge is fun to imagine—a cool, laconic leader with unexpected depths—and that’s probably why I’d love to see a fresh novel take that premise seriously.
I did a deep look into this because the idea of a fictional President Coolidge is oddly specific and kind of fun to trace through modern fiction. Short version: there aren’t a lot of well-known novels that invent a President with the surname Coolidge as a brand-new, wholly fictional figure. More often, authors either use the real Calvin Coolidge as a historical character in period fiction or they rework the Coolidge era in alternate-history pieces where the real man shows up in a different light. In other words, you’re more likely to encounter the Coolidge name in historical novels, biographies, or alt-history anthologies than as a starring invented president created purely for a thriller or mainstream novel.
Where you will sometimes see a fictional president named Coolidge is in shorter works, background mentions, or in sprawling alternate-history universes where a recognizable surname like Coolidge is repurposed. Political thrillers occasionally drop familiar presidential surnames into cameo roles to give the worldbuilding a touch of realism, but they rarely center a whole novel around a newly created President Coolidge. If you like digging through examples, check out alt-history and presidential speculative-fiction lists—those are the places that most often remix real names into fictional offices. Personally, I find the scarcity neat: it makes any appearance of a Coolidge-figure feel deliberate and a little wink-y.