Whether you’re participating in our Decades Reading Challenge or you’ve stumbled upon this post looking for books about the Roaring Twenties, we know you’ll love the choices.
Literary Themes in Books About the 1920s
We’ve compiled a great list with some of the best historical fiction novels set in the 1920s, as well as several non-fiction 1920s books centered around fascinating, lesser-known events.
The 1920s literature themes represented on our book recommendations reflect a decade that began with a roar and ended with a crash. Among the historical fiction on the list, you’ll find many vibrant jazz age books that capture the essence of the roaring twenties and the prohibition era. However, you’ll also find 1920s novels about individuals and families still struggling to recover from the impacts of WWI.
Major World Events of the 1920s
Before choosing a book, it’s helpful to have some context of the significant events during this decade. If you’d prefer, you can skip straight to our 1920s booklist.
- American troops returned home at the end of WWI, but for many, their experiences in Europe made them want some of the finer things in life for their families.
- For the first time in the 1920s, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. For the young people in America’s big cities, the 1920s were a roaring time, but many other Americans were uncomfortable with this new urban lifestyle, leading to what some historians referred to as a “cultural civil war.”
- Two amendments to the US Constitution helped defined the 1920s. The 18th Amendment, which was ratified at the end of 1919 ushered in the Prohibition Era of the Roaring Twenties, and the 19th Amendment, ratified in August of 1920, gave women the right to vote.
- The Anti-Communist “Red Scare” of 1919 and 1920 led to the National Origins Act of 1924, a very restrictive immigration law that set quotas and excluded people from some countries in favor of others.
- A familiar symbol of the Roaring Twenties, flappers were young women with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked, and were more sexually free than women in previous generations.
- Following the first commercially licensed radio broadcast in 1920, radio quickly became a family experience with everyone gathering around to listen to the news, comedy shows, and music. By 1926, there were over 700 commercial radio stations.
- The Great Migration of African Americas from the south to northern cities led to rising social tensions in the 1920s. With this Great Migration came increased visibility of Black culture, including jazz and blues music.
- Radio stations and phonograph records also helped usher in the Jazz Age. Across the country, Jazz bands played at dance halls and young people were dancing the Charleston.
- The 1920s were a time of rising crime. In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the head of the FBI to reform the Bureau, and FBI investigated Al Capone and other famous gangsters of the era. The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929 was the culmination of the gang war between Al Capone and Bugs Moran.
- At the beginning of the decade cars were deemed luxuries, but by the end of the decade they were necessities. By 1929, there was one car on the road for every five Americans, leading to a rise in businesses like service stations and motels.
- Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo transatlantic flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927.
- Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in Steamboat Willie in 1928.
- The Wall Street Crash of 1929 started the period of The Great Depression in the United States.
Must Read Books Set in the 1920s
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The Light of Luna Park
by Addison Armstrong
Setting: 1926, NYC; 1951
First Published: 2021
This dual-timeline novel tells the little-known history of Coney Island and America’s first infant incubators.
In 1926, Althea Anderson was a nurse at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Her heart breaks each time they cannot save another premature baby's life.
After reading an article detailing the significantly improved survival rates of babies being treated in an incubator sideshow exhibit at Luna Park on Coney Island, Althea inquires of the doctors at Bellevue, who dismiss it as unconventional medicine. Not wanting to see another baby die that could be saved, Althea is forced to make a very difficult choice.
Twenty-five years later, Stella feels like her life is falling apart - her mother recently passed away, she quit the job she loved, and her marriage is struggling. When she discovers a letter, it calls into question everything she thought she knew about herself and her mother.
The Book Girls Say… This historical fiction book is based on the fascinating history of neonatal incubators, which were used in boardwalk sideshows beginning in the late 1800s before finally becoming accepted as a legitimate medical intervention many decades later. After debuting at the 1896 World’s Fair in Berlin, the incubator exhibit at New York’s Coney Island opened in 1903 and ran until 1943, when more hospitals finally began to adopt the technology. Throughout that time, the carnival exhibit, as well as a similar one in Atlantic City, is estimated to have had an 85% success rate and saved as many as 6,500 babies from all over the country.
The Second Life of Mirielle West
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. Reviewers say that the audio version of the book is excellent.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
As of 2/10/23, this book is currently included as part of Kindle Unlimited.
Time's Undoing
by Cheryl A. Head
Setting: 1929 Birmingham & 2019 Detroit & Birmingham
First Published: 2023
In 1929, Robert moved to Birmingham, Alabama for a new job opportunity as a master carpenter. The city was booming, and his young family enjoyed the busy markets and nightlife. However, his success and snazzy car combined with his light-skinned wife make him concerned about attention from the Klan, which is also booming in the region.
Ninety years later, Meghan is the youngest reporter for the Detroit Free Press. She decides to use her position to investigate the murder of her great-grandfather. His body was never found, and no one knows what happened to him. Spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham to uncover the past. However, revealing secrets that span cities and decades may put her own life at risk.
The Book Girls Say…Time’s Undoing is based on true events. While the topics and some events are difficult, the book is also an uplifting story about the community of friends and supporters that rallied together to help with Meghan’s search and to fight together for change.
For a different look at the unfortunate look at history involving the Ku Klux Klan, consider The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, which covers multiple generations of one family from slavery in 1855, a former slave’s life in 1925, and the generational impact to a descendent in 2017.
The Paris Bookseller
by Kerri Maher
Setting: 1920s Paris
First Published: 2022
Just before 1920, American Sylvia Beach opened an English language bookstore called Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris. Soon that bookstore became a second home to prominent writers like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce.
When Joyce’s controversial novel, Ulysses, is banned, Beach decides to take a huge risk and publish it under the name of her bookstore in 1922. The book became one of the most infamous and influential books of the century, but that success ultimately threatened the future of Shakespeare and Company.
This book is based on the true story of the publishing of Ulysses and contains many interesting historical details, including comparisons between life in Paris and US during the 1920s and into the 1930s.
The Book Girls Say… This book is described as a slow-moving but absorbing biographical novel that’s perfect for book lovers who enjoy reading about books. Another important aspect of the book is Sylvia’s loving partnership with French bookseller Adrienne Monnier during a time period when same-sex relationships were far less accepted, even in progressive Paris.
The Masterpiece
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. We 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
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Dreamland Burning
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, and we also suggest Black Birds in the Sky for a YA non-fiction option.
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.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
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.
This book is also featured on our list of Non-Fiction Books About Women in History.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Forty Elephants
by Erin Bledsoe
Setting: 1920s London
First Published: 2022
London was full of criminal activity between the World Wars in the 1920s. Alice’s family has run the Mint, her gritty neighborhood, for decades. However, with her father in jail again and her brother in debt to dangerous criminals, it’s now up to Alice to provide for the family.
Alice received the opportunity to join Mary Carr and her notorious group of lady shoplifters called The Forty Elephants. As she learns to steal from posh department stores, she sees a different kind of life outside the Mint. Soon, she wants more and more, no matter the cost.
The Book Girls Say…This historical fiction is based on the true story of Alice Diamon and the Forty Elephants.
The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
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.
The Book Girls Say... Following a handful of remarkable women who led the charge, this is the gripping non-fiction story of how America's women won their own freedom.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Beautiful Little Fools
by Jillian Cantor
Setting: 1922, Long Island, New York
First Published: 2022
Revisit the glittering Jazz age with this atmospheric novel that reimagines The Great Gatsby from the perspective of three alternating female voices. When Jay Gatsby was found shot dead in his swimming pool in August of 1922, and a local mechanic was found dead in the woods nearby, the police viewed it as an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide.
But then a diamond hairpin is found in the bushes around the pool, and three women suddenly become suspects - Daisy Buchana,n who once thought she’d marry Gatsby; Jordan Baker, who has a secret that could derail both her golf career and her friendship with Daisy; and Catherine McCoy, a suffragette who’s fighting for women’s rights and to protect her own sister from a terrible marriage.
This is a tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately murder.
The Book Girls Say… Reviewers say this entertaining retelling of The Great Gatsby is perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.
In a Field of Blue
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 as 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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights
by Kitty Zeldis
Setting: 1924 Brooklyn, late 19th Century Russia, 1910s New Orleans
First Published: 2022
In 1924 Brooklyn, the lives of three women with very different pasts converge. Beatrice is new to the city from New Orleans and has opened a dress shop. Alice is an orphaned teenage girl who came to New York with Beatrice. Catherine lives down the street from the shop in an elegant brownstone. However, she’s lonely and depressed as she hasn’t been able to have children.
As Bea and Catherine become friends, Alice becomes jealous and runs away. When she leaves, it sets off a series of events that make both women confront the secrets of their past in order to thrive in their future.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
92% Would Recommend to a Friend
Call Your Daughter Home
by Deb Spera
Setting: 1924, South Carolina
First published: 2018
Set in Branchville, South Carolina, in 1924 - shortly after the Boll Weevil Infestation that devastated southern cotton fields - 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.
Warning: Be aware that this book includes some potentially triggering topics, including domestic abuse and child sexual abuse. Additionally, this book includes some racially insensitive language reflective of the era in which it's set.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
One Summer: America, 1927
by Bill Bryson
Setting: 1927, United States
First Published: 2013
In this non-fiction read, Bill Bryson dives deep into the events of the summer of 1927. The summer began with Charles Lindbergh becoming the first man to cross the Atlantic by plane nonstop, instantly making him one of the most famous people on the planet.
Back in the US, Babe Ruth began his run to the home run record, and the first “talking picture” changed the movies forever. While the tabloids spent the summer covering the murder trial of a Queens housewife who murdered her husband, gangster Al Capone tightened his grip on the illegal booze business through his reign of terror. A massive storm flooded the South while President Calvin Coolidge took a three-month vacation. And four of the most powerful bankers on Earth met in secret and made a decision that would lead the future crash and depression.
All these events and more marked a summer that would have a lasting mark on the twentieth century.
The Chaperone
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, 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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
Blind Tiger
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.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Light Between Oceans
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
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
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 Book Girls Say... 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. Author Nina de Gramont also wrote an alternative fictionalized account of this same time period titled, The Christie Affair.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
Jazz
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 literary prose gives this novel the same cadence and rhythm of the era's jazz music.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Radio Girls
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.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
Tisha
by Robert Specht
Setting: 1927, Alaska
First 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 a sign of a great story!
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Before I Met You
by Lisa Jewell
Setting: 1920s + 1990s, Guernsey + London
First Published: 2013
In the 1920s, Arlette was starting a new life in bohemian London when she gets drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. A couple of years later, a tragedy required Arlette to return to her home in Guernsey for good.
Seventy years later, Betty has given up a lot - universities, parties, boyfriends, and summer jobs - to care for her grandmother, Arlette. Arlette lives in a dilapidated, yet charming, home on the British isle of Guernsey. When her grandmother passes away, Betty discovers that her will includes a beneficiary named Clara, whom no one in the family knows. So, Betty travels to London to seek out Clara.
This rich detective story will transport you to London in both the 1920s and 1990s. As Betty investigates her grandmother's life, she’ll uncover secrets that might also help her find happiness in her own life.
The Winter Guest
by WC Ryan
Setting: 1921 Ireland
This historical mystery takes you to the winter of 1921, when a new civil war raged in Ireland after the end of WWI. The formerly grand Kilcolgan House is crumbling, and the Prendeville family is trying to co-exist in a home of ghosts and secrets.
After an IRA ambush goes wrong, eldest daughter Maud is killed. When the IRA declines responsibility and says someone else is to blame, Maud's former fiance is sent to investigate. As he works undercover to investigate inside the gloomy home, he must deal with the ghosts of his own past as well.
Shrines of Gaiety
by Kate Atkinson
Setting: 1926, London
First Published: 2022
This book will transport you to the Roaring Twenties in London. The year is 1926, and England is still recovering from the Great War. Each evening, London’s Soho plays host to a ruckus nightlife where starlets rub shoulders with foreign dignitaries and gangsters.
Nellie Coker owns five successful nightclubs and is ruthless in getting exactly what she wants. Her ambition and shrewdness are driven by her desire to provide the very best for her six children, but it also gets her into trouble. The book opens as she’s being released from a six-month stint in prison due to a liquor license violation. Throughout the novel, she’s surrounded by her blissfully self-absobred adult children and a slew of policemen (some good and some bad).
Speak Easy, Speak Love
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.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Painted Veil
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.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
83% Would Recommend to a Friend
You are welcome to choose any book that you’d like to read for the challenge, but we hope that this list of books has given you a good starting point.
Members of our email list and Facebook group, Read with the Book Girls can log ratings for their monthly challenge reads. The logs provide us with data for the “BGG Reader Ratings” that are added to descriptions for future years. We’d love you to contribute your rating after you’ve finished your read this month.
Join the Decades Reading Challenge
Book Recommendations for Other Decades
- Books Set in the 1950s
- Books Set in the 1940s
- Books Set in the 1930s
- Books Set in the 1920s
- Books Set in the 1900s-1910s: The Turn of the Century
- Books Set in the 1880s and 1890s: The Gilded Age
- Books that Span Multiple Decades
- Books Set in the 2010s
- Books Set in the 2000s
- Books Set in the 1990s
- Books Set in the 1980s
- Books Set in the 1970s
- Books Set in the 1960s
Can you send me a printable list with the book titles but not descriptions?
This was a big request last year that we weren’t able to add to our plates in 2022. New for 2023, readers who support Book Girls Guide through our Buy Me a Coffee membership site will receive special monthly printable journal pages as a thank you bonus. The voluntary members (we call them our BFFs) help cover the cost of running the challenges so we can keep them free for everyone.
We’re so excited to be able to offer this fun perk this year!
The new pages will be pre-filled with every book title for the month, and include space for you to mark your interest level, make notes about whether you’ve requested the book from the library (or any other notes you’d like), and then fill in your rating. We’ll also include blank lines in case you have other books on your TBR (to be read) list that meet the prompt. We’d love you to sign up here!
That said, you’ll always find the most updated version of our recommendations with descriptions each month at no cost on our website. We do update the list and descriptions regularly based on reader feedback. But, we know some of you wanted to print the list to take to the library or bookstore, and we hope this helps.
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Amanda
Monday 27th of February 2023
I would add a book to this 1920's area genre. The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian. It was great! I just finished it. Great story about 2 girls living with their different burdens of that time in Mississippi, bound together by an unexpected event. Would definitely recommend!
Christine
Saturday 18th of February 2023
I highly recommend The Radium Girls! I learned of this book after our local high school theater group performed the play some years ago. I didn’t see it, but had to get the book. Also, The Light Between Oceans is very good. Heartbreaking at times.
Amy Driver
Friday 17th of February 2023
Call Your Daughter Home is one of the best audio books I've ever listened to!
Mystery Books Set in the 1920s - Book Girls' Guide
Friday 10th of February 2023
[…] you’re participating in the Decades Challenge, this list is a great supplement to our main Books Set in the 1920s list, which covers all […]
Nikki Matthews
Tuesday 25th of January 2022
Great list. I have read a few: Radium Girls, The Paris Wife. Going to try out The Light Between Oceans, The Second Life of Mirielle West and The Masterpiece. (Lions of 5th Ave also by Fiona Davis was incredible)