Anne Tyler, the novelist who has chronicled Baltimore lovingly in more than a dozen books, has put her longtime home on the market. But never fear -- she'll remain safely in Charm City.

Tyler's handsome, 5-bedroom French Country-style house in Homeland was put up for sale on Feb. 19 for $599,900. That's eight days after she closed on an upscale  condominium located a few miles away.

The 66-year-old novelist grew up in North Carolina, but moved to Baltimore in 1967 as a young wife, mother and up-and-coming writer. She has penned 17 novels for adults, and Baltimore's neighborhoods have become an integral part of her stories, from well-heeled Roland Park to bohemian Charles Village to the marble porch stoops of East Baltimore.

Tyler's obvious affection for her quirky adopted city long has been a bragging point for locals. It's hard to imagine her taking root anywhere else. Luckily, we won't have to.

1999 photo of Anne Tyler by Diana Walker