Books Set in the 1920s

By Amanda Skenandore
Setting: 1927 Los Angeles & Louisiana
First published 2021

Mirielle West lives a glamorous life in LA as the wife of a silent film star. When a doctor sees a small spot on her hand, she’s quickly whisked across the country to what feels like a different world. She hopes to have only a brief visit to the Louisiana Leper Home, but when she arrives, there is barbed wire, a curfew, and little chance of ever returning to her everyday life.

As Mireille is assigned work inside the home, she must come to terms with both the illness and its perception in the outside world. The Book Girls Say… Based on the true story of Carville Leper's home in Louisiana, this historical fiction pick will introduce you to a little-known slice of American history.

As of 1/18/22, this book is currently included as part of Kindle Unlimited.

by Paula McLain
Setting: 1920s, Chicago, Paris, Pamplona (Spain)
First published 2011

This work of historical fiction paints a vivid portrait of the 1920s and the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley. Hadley lived in Chicago and had all but given up on love when she met Hemingway, who would change her life forever.

Together, they set sail for Paris, where they became the golden couple living among such famed friends as Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, the couple was not prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of the Jazz Age in Paris. Eventually leading to challenges for each individual, and ultimately to a marriage in crisis.

The Book Girls Say... Angela read this book years ago and was captivated by the atmosphere of post-war Jazz Age Paris. Having previously only experienced Hemingway as required reading in college, The Paris Wife provided color and context to appreciate his writings in a new light.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
92% Would Recommend to a Friend

by Jennifer Latham
Setting: 1921 & Present Day, Oklahoma
First published 2017

This YA dual timeline read is a fictionalized account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Rowan is a present-day 17-year-old about to start her important summer internship when workers discover a skeleton on her property during the renovation of a building that began as slave quarters.

Her story alternates with William Tillman, a 17-year-old in 1921, whose misguided attempt to "protect" a girl he had a crush on triggers more death, destruction, and division than he could have predicted.

The Book Girls Say... For decades, the story of what happened in Tulsa in 1921 was buried. Despite living 20 minutes from the site, Melissa was never taught about it in school. So she was horrified 10 years ago when she learned about what was then referred to by a less accurate name, the Tulsa Race Riot. She asked around at that time(~2010), and few locals knew about it. So Melissa turned to books to learn more and highly recommends Hannibal B. Johnson's Black Wall Street if you'd like a well-researched non-fiction read.

Johnson's follow-up, Black Wall Street 100, covers what has happened since 1921.

Watch the sidewalk if you're ever in Tulsa near the ballpark downtown. You'll see location markers with the names of businesses and business owners who had their livelihood destroyed. The markers indicate who rebuilt and who never reopened and give a good sense of the impact to the formerly successful community members.

By Fiona Davis
Setting: New York, 1928 and 1974
First published 2018

For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is a masterpiece of architectural design, but for Clara and Virginia, it represents something entirely different.

For Clara, in 1928, teaching at the Grand Central School of Art was the stepping stone to her future. In a time when there was public disdain for a "woman artist," Clara is determined to succeed in her dream of creating cover art for Vogue. But she and her friends will soon be blindsided by the looming Great Depression that may destroy the entire art scene.

By 1974, Grand Central had declined to a dangerous place full of pickpockets and drug dealers, and it was at the center of a lawsuit that would decide if the terminal should be preserved or demolished. Virginia, who had recently taken a job in the Grand Central information booth, stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor that opens her eyes to the elegance beneath the decay. She sets out to find the artist and finds herself drawn into the battle to save Grand Central.

The Book Girls say... We both LOVE New York City, the beauty of Grand Central Station, and art, so it's like Fiona Davis wrote this book for us. Melissa read it and enjoyed the combination of history, mystery, and even a little romance. The characters are based on real people, and it was interesting to walk in the shoes of a female artist in the 20s. We think those who enjoy reading about art history, 20s Manhattan, or women's equality will all love this one.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Kate Moore
Setting: America, 1917 through the 1920s
First published 2017

The newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty and the wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of World War I.

Across the US, hundreds of girls toiled in the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covered their bodies from head to toe; they lit up the night like industrious fireflies.

With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. This shocking non-fiction book explores the radium craze and its lasting aftermath.

The Book Girls say... We have both read this book, and both highly recommend it! It is heartbreaking and, at times, hard to read because of the terrible illnesses that the women suffer. Still, it's a riveting account of a little-known and important piece of American history.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Lee Strauss
Setting: 1923 Cross-Atlantic journey
First published 2017

This short, 168-page novella is the kick-off to the Ginger Gold series of 1920s cozy mysteries. Ginger is stylish, a war widow, and a former British Secret Service Agent!

As she travels from Boston to London with her dog and a good friend, the captain of their ship is found dead. Soon, she’s entangled in the case and must outwit the murderer before becoming a victim. There are 17 books in the series, all set in the 1920s! 

The Book Girls Say…For another 1920s cozy mystery series, check out Murder at Melrose Court, the first book in the Heathcliff Lennox series by Karen Baugh Menuhin.

This entire book series is currently included with Kindle Unlimited.

By Elaine Weiss
Setting: 1920 Tennessee
First published 2018

In 1920, after a seven-decade crusade for the right of women to vote, thirty-five states had ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, twelve have rejected or refused to vote, and one last state - Tennessee is needed. The suffragists face vicious opposition from politicians, clergy, corporations, racists who don't want black women to vote, and even the "Antis" - women who oppose enfranchisement, fearing the nation's moral collapse.

Following a handful of remarkable women who led the charge, this is the gripping story of how America's women won their own freedom.

By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Setting: Long Island, New York, 1922
First published 1925

Though not initially the most popular of the books written in the 1920s, a century later, The Great Gatsby is considered a classic of 1920s literature and a quintessential novel of the Jazz Age.

The mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby, who is obsessed with the beautiful and unattainable debutante, Daisy Buchanan, plays host to lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted: "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession." The book paints a portrait of the Roaring Twenties, with all of its excess, idealism, and social upheaval.

The Book Girls say... Despite being published in the 1920s, as you read, you'll find references that still come up in pop culture today.

By Eva Ibbotson
Setting: Wiltshire, England, 1919 into the 1920s
First published 1981

This YA historical romance is perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. After the Russian Revolution turns her world upside down, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England with nothing. She is forced to hide her aristocratic background and takes a job as a servant.

Desperate to keep her past a secret, she is overwhelmed by her new duties but finds herself attracted to the handsome Earl of the house. He appears to be falling for her as well, but there's also the matter of his nasty fiance.

by Gemma Liviero
Setting: England, 1922
First published 2020

Four years after Rudy lost his eldest brother, a British soldier, to the battlefields of France, Rudy's family is still torn apart by grief and secrets in the aftermath of WWI.

When Mariette arrives claiming to be Edgar's widow, and the mother of his child, Rudy urges her to stay in hopes that she'll shed light on unanswered questions. But Mariette's revelations lead to more questions than answers, and suspicions threaten to further divide Rudy's family. Rudy sets out on a quest for the truth that takes him from England to France and beyond.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

By David Grann
Setting: 1920s Oklahoma
First published 2017

This is a true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

In the 1920s, thanks to oil discovered beneath their land, the members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma were the richest people per capita in the world. The Osage rode in chauffeured cars, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. But then, one by one, the Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances, and virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings was murdered.

As the death toll continued to rise, the newly created FBI took up the case as their first major homicide investigation. But even the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Finally, the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery with the help of an undercover team that included one of the only Native American agents in the bureau.

The Book Girls say... This is a non-fiction read. While many sections will have you turning pages like you're reading a best-selling novel, others are slower-paced. It's a perfect pick for those who love little-known US history!

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
92% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Somerset Maugham
Setting: England & Hong Kong, the early 1920s
First published 1925

Kitty is a middle-class British woman who loves playing the field. But as she is now 25, her best prospects at a good life require marriage. When her younger sister gets engaged, she feels like she must also make a decision and lands on Walter, a boring bacteriologist who bores her, but also adores her.

Walter’s work takes them to Hong Kong, where Kitty finds a suitor prompting Walter to give the adulterous duo an ultimatum. Either Charles leaves his wife and marries Kitty, or Kitty can join Walter in rural China as he tries to stop a cholera epidemic. But Walter isn’t always a sympathetic character either. The book is about both betrayal and growth, all packed into a short 246 pages.

The Book Girls Say... This book was originally published in 1925 and contains colonialist and xenophobic language that was prevalent at the time. 

by Deb Spera
Setting: 1924, South Carolina
First published 2018

Set in Branchville, South Carolina, in 1924, this historical fiction novel tells the story of motherhood and womanhood. The story centers around three women at a crossroad - Gertrude, Retta, and Annie.

Gertrude, a mother of four, must make a difficult decision to save her daughters. Retta is a first-generation freed slave who comes to Gertrude's aid. And Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude a job.

Despite having seemingly nothing in common, these three women unite to stand up to injustices long plaguing the small town. This book is a timeless story about the power of family, community, and the ferocity of motherhood.

By Laura Moriarty
Setting: Kansas and NYC, 1922
First published 2012

In 1922, only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks left Wichita to make it big in New York. But, much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by Cora Carlisle, a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend.

Cora is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she's in for. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together in 1920s New York City will change both of their lives forever.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Sandra Brown
Setting: 1920s Texas
First published 2021

In the 1920s, Prohibition created more problems than it solved, especially in the heart of Texas. Tired soldier Thatcher Hutton finds himself in trouble when he returns to Texas because a local woman goes missing the same day he arrives. Meanwhile, Laurel Plummer is willing to do anything to improve life for herself and her young daughter. This includes helping her father-in-law expand his moonshine production.

Soon, Thatcher and Laurel find themselves on different sides of prohibition, but being at odds is hard when you’re also drawn to each other.

The Book Girls Say… This is a slow-burning suspense, true to Sandra Brown’s style despite it being a rare historical fiction from her.

Warning: Book contains some graphic crimes, including a rape scene. 

By Laini Giles
Setting: Hollywood, 1920s
First published 2017

Having left her abusive husband, Daisy DeVoe finds herself at Paramount Pictures styling hair for actress Clara Bow. Clara - the "It" Girl of the Jazz Age - is a handful and personifies the new woman of the 1920s both onscreen and off, smoking, drinking, and bursting with sex appeal.

When Clara persuades Daisy to become her personal secretary, Daisy hopes to impose some order on Clara's chaotic life. This biographical fiction paints a vivid picture of the Golden Age of Hollywood, including the problems that arose when films went from silent to sound.

The Book Girls say... If you love the opulence of Hollywood and New York in the Roaring 20s, you may also like Giles' two other books, The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas and Bathing Beauty: A Novel of Marie Prevost.

By Marlowe Benn
Setting: 1924, Manhattan
First published 2019

Julia Kydd is a sophisticated book lover living in Manhattan with aspirations to launch a new private press. She views women's suffrage as old news and believes life is too short for politics, but as a woman, she still must fight for what is hers, including the inheritance that her estranged half brother, Philip, is challenging.

Julia is skeptical when another woman, Naomi, an ardent suffragist from a wealthy family, dies of an apparent suicide. Philip is unsure but proposes a wager - if Julia can prove that Naomi was murdered, he'll drop his claims to Julia's inheritance. However, Julia soon discovers just how turbulent Naomi's life was, and as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes there is much more at stake than her inheritance.

As of 1/12/22, this is currently included free with Kindle Unlimited

By M.L. Stedman
Setting: Australia, 1926
First published 2012

After years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home and takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on an isolated island, a half a day's journey from the west coast of Australia where supply boats only come once a season. Tom and his wife, Isabel, suffer two miscarriages and a stillbirth during their years on the island. Then, a boat washes up onshore carrying a dead man and a crying baby.

Against Tom's judgment, the couple claims the baby is their own and raise her on the island. Two years later, when they return to the mainland, they must face the reality of their choice.

The Book Girls say... We've both read this book and loved the beautiful writing, compelling characters, and the moral complexities of good people making bad decisions with the best intentions.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

*As of 1/14/22, this is currently included free with KindleUnlimited

by Marie Benedict
Setting: England 1912, 1926
First published 2020

On a frigid night in December of 1926, mystery writer Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. A more extensive search was launched after investigators found her car, which only contained her fur coat, near a pond. The only clues were some tire tracks nearby. Both her husband and daughter were questioned but claimed not to know her whereabouts.

The questions about where she went and what she was doing have persisted for nearly a century. In this historical fiction novel, Benedict imagines what may have occurred in a story filled with twists fitting of a Christie mystery.

The Book Girls Say... While the average rating of this book from our readers was a little lower than we expected at 3 1/2 stars, 100% said they would recommend the book to a friend.

By Renee Rosen
Setting: Chicago, 1920s
First published 2013

Vera Abramowitz is determined to leave her gritty childhood behind and live a more exciting life. Bobbing her hair, showing her knees, and doing the Charleston in nightclubs, she earns the nickname “Dollface.”

As the ultimate flapper, Vera captures the attention of two high rollers, a handsome nightclub owner and a sexy gambler. On their arms, she gains entrée into a world filled with jazz, speakeasies, and money to burn. She thinks her biggest problem is choosing between them until the truth comes out. Her two lovers are mobsters from rival gangs during Chicago’s infamous Beer Wars, a battle Al Capone refuses to lose.

When the good times come to an end, Vera becomes entangled in everything from bootlegging to murder as Chicago hurtles toward one of the most infamous days in its history, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

By Toni Morrison
Setting: 1926, Harlem, New York
First published 1993

Jazz is the story of Joe Trace, a middle-aged door-to-door salesman who murders his 18-year-old mistress, Dorcas. His wife, Violet, attacks the girl's corpse at the funeral.

Providing a different view of the time than many other books set in 1920s New York, this passionate story of love and obsession is filled with the emotions, hopes, fears, and profound realities of black urban life in Harlem. Toni Morrison's prose gives this novel the same cadence and rhythm of the era's jazz music.

by Sarah-Jane Stratford
Setting: 1926, London
First published 2016

After WWI, change is in the air. American-raised Maisie Musgrave is thrilled to land a job at London's upstart British Broadcasting Company. Still new, strange, and electrifying, the BBC's use of radio was captivating the nation. Maisie was seduced by the work. As she arranges broadcasts by the most famous writers, scientists, and politicians in Britain, she gains confidence in her career, but she also finds herself caught in a growing conflict between her two bosses who have very different visions of what radio should be.

When Maisie unearths a shocking conspiracy, she joins forces with one of her bosses - Hilda Matheson - to make sure their voices are heard both on and off the air despite the dangerous consequences of telling the truth for a living.

The Book Girls Say... The audio version of this book is currently included free with an Audible membership.

by Robert Specht
Setting: 1927, Alaska
Originally published 1976

This is the true story of Anne Hobbs, who arrived in harsh and beautiful Alaska in 1927, at the young age of nineteen. She quickly discovered that running a ramshackle schoolhouse would expose her to more than just the elements. After allowing Native American children into her class and falling in love with a half-Inuit man, she learned the meanings of prejudice and perseverance, irrational hatred, and unconditional love.

“People get as mean as the weather,” she discovered, but they were also capable of great good.

The Book Girls Say... Reviewers say that this memoir reads like fiction, which is the sign of a great story! If you found the challenges after the year was underway and also wanted to complete the Book Voyage Challenge, this is a great option to mark off the Arctic and 1920s in one read!

By Greg Grandin
Setting: 1927, Brazilian Amazon
First published 2009

In 1927, Henry Ford, the richest man in the world, bought a tract of land twice the size of Delaware in the Brazilian Amazon. He planned to grow rubber, but the project rapidly evolved into a more ambitious attempt to recreate small-town America in the heart of the Amazon.

Fordlandia, as the settlement was called, quickly became the site of an epic clash between the car magnate and his knack for industrialized production and the Amazon - the most complex ecological system on the planet. Ford's early success in imposing time clocks and square dances on the jungle soon collapsed, as indigenous workers rejected his midwestern Puritanism and turned the place into a ribald tropical boomtown.

By McKelle George
Setting: 1920s New York
First published 2017

This YA fiction set on Long Island in the Roaring Twenties is a jazz age retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. After getting kicked out of boarding school, 17-year-old Beatrice goes to her uncle's estate on Long Island, where her cousin runs a struggling speakeasy in the basement. Told from multiple points of view, this is the story of six teenagers whose lives intertwine during a summer of romantic misunderstandings and dangerous deals.

Described as "hilariously clever and utterly charming," this YA novel set in the 1920s is filled with quick and hilarious banter that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages.