Books Set in the 1950s

By Amor Towles
Setting: Multiple US States, 1954
First published 2021

This new novel takes place entirely within ten days in 1954. Eighteen-year-old Emmett has finished his term on a work farm, where he was sent after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The warden drives him home to Nebraska, where he plans to pick up his 8-year-old brother before heading west for a fresh start.

However, Emmett discovers that two friends, Duchess and Wooly, from the work camp have stowed away in the trunk. The three teens and 8-year-old Billy adjust their plans and set out across the country together. The book is told from alternating points of view.

The Book Girls Say… This was voted as one of our reader’s overall favorite books of 2021. But, keep in mind that it’s on the long side at 576 pages, so you may need to allow a bit of extra time!

By Rebecca Skloot
Setting: 1950s, Maryland and Virginia
First published 2010

For more than half a century, scientists knew her as HeLa, but the story of Henrietta Lacks deserves to be heard.

When Henrietta fell ill, she was treated in the "colored" ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital. While hospitalized, she had a tissue sample taken, without her consent. Those cells became the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture. Still alive today, the HeLa cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine, discover cancer treatments, advance gene mapping, and much more.

It wasn't until more than 20 years after Henrietta's death that her family learned of her "immortality." With the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the news was devastating to the Lacks family.

The Book Girls' Say... For some reason, Angela resisted reading this book when it was recommended by a close friend years ago, but when she finally read it she was blown away by both the science and the story of Henrietta's life and family. It raises so many important lessons about history, as well as ethical scientific questions that persist today.

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

By Ivan Doig
Setting: Wisconsin & Montana, 1951
First published 2015

Eleven-year-old Donal lives deep in the Montana Rockies with his grandmother. However, when she needs surgery, she decides to send Donal to her sister in Wisconsin. Sadly, Aunt Kate is a tough woman to live with, unlike Gram. And it’s not just Donal that finds her difficult. Her husband, Herman the German, is also getting tired of her tyrannical nature.

When Kate sends Donal back to Montana on the bus, Herman the German decides to travel with him. Along the way, they meet an interesting cast of characters and find themselves in all kinds of misadventures.

By Fiona Davis
Setting: 1952 & 2016, New York City
First published 2016

In 1952, the glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women was home to a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors living side-by-side while trying to claw their way to the top.

But when Darby, one of the residents, befriends a Barbizon maid, she comes to know a different, much seedier side of the city.

In a split timeline format, you'll also see the Barbizon in 2016. It has turned into condos, but the elderly Darby still lives in her rent-controlled apartment. Darby's upstairs neighbor - a journalist - can't help but seek answers about the rumors that Darby was involved in a deadly altercation with the maid all those years ago.

The Book Girls Say...A classic and early feminist novel set in the 1950s, The Bell Jar, was written by real Barbizon resident Slyvia Plath.

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

By Ruta Sepetys
Setting: New Orleans, Louisiana 1950
First published 2013

Despite her rough start to life as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, 17-year-old Josie has big dreams of escaping New Orleans to attend an elite university. However, her careful plans are turned upside down after a mysterious death in the French Quarter. She becomes tangled in the investigation, which will test her conscience, allegiance to her mother, and the madam of Conti Street.

Like the author's other historical fiction, you’ll find a strong female character trying to make the best of a difficult situation and a great supporting cast. As you read, you’ll be transported to 1950s New Orleans.

By Marjan Kamali
Setting: 1953, Tehran, Iran
First published 2019

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Coup, Roya, an idealistic teenage girl finds a literary oasis in the neighborhood book and stationery shop.

The owner introduces her to his favorite customer, the handsome Rumi, who has a passion for justice and poetry. The two fall in love, but are separated on the eve of their marriage. Reunited sixty years later when both are living in America. Together they discover the truth of what really happened all those years ago in the town square.

By JD Salinger
Setting: 1950, Pennsylvania and New York City
First published 1951

Sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield leaves his prep school to go underground in New York City for a few days. This is a classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion that has been challenged in court many times over the years for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality, but it has endured as one of the best novels of the 20th century.

Today, it's interesting to see what rebellion looked like in the 1950s.

The Book Girls' Say... If you love coming-of-age stories and moody characters, this is a must-read. Melissa finds it hard to re-read books when there are so many unread books waiting for her, but this one has been really interesting to read during different decades of life. Her thoughts reading it in her late 30s was much different than when she was closer to Holden's age, but she still enjoyed it.

By Ana Johns
Setting: Japan 1957 & US present-day
First published 2019

Naoko’s family expects her to marry the son of her father’s business associate, but her heart is attached to an American sailor. When she becomes pregnant with the sailor’s child, she’s expelled from her family and forced to make impossible choices with long-lasting consequences.

Over sixty years later, Tori finds a letter while caring for her dying father. It makes her question everything, and she travels to a remote Japanese village to learn more.

By David Guterson
Setting: 1954, Puget Sound, Washington
First published 1994

When a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, a Japanese American is charged with his murder. Haunted by the memories of the Japanese internment camps during WWII just a decade before, events during the trial make it clear that much more is at stake in this community than one man's guilt or innocence.

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

By Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Setting: 1955-56, Monaco
First published 2019

At the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, Grace Kelly seeks refuge in a small boutique to escape the flash-bulbs of the press. She becomes fast friends with the shop owner, Sophie Duval, and even creates a plan to help Sophie's struggling perfume business.

James Henderson, a British press photographer following Grace Kelly, also likes Sophie. The following year, James is assigned to cover Grace Kelly's wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. James hopes he'll also have the opportunity to be reunited with Sophie. This sun-drenched journey along the Cote d'Azur is filled with romance, friendship, and tragedy.

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

By Louise Erdrich
Setting: North Dakota & Minnesota, 1953
First published 2021

In 1953, a new “emancipation” bill was being considered in the US Congress. However, the Chippewa Council knows that the bill isn’t about freedom; it’s a threat to their rights and land. Thomas is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant near the reservation and serves as a Council member.

Valedictorian Patrice also works at the plant, using all her money to support her mother and brother. Her older sister, Vera, left the reservation to live in Minneapolis, but the family hasn’t heard from her in months. Eventually, she travels to Minnesota, trying to track down Vera.

The lives of Thomas and Patrice interact with many other memorable characters on and off the reservation as they encounter the best and worse of human nature.

The Book Girls Say…This novel is based on the real-life of the author’s grandfather and won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

By Jenny Wingfield
Setting: 1956, Arkansas
First published 2011

Each June, the members of the Moses family gather for a family reunion at a hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. Young preacher Samuel Lake always brings his wife, Willadee Moses, and their children back for the celebration.

Just as the 1956 reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, setting the stage for a summer of crisis and change. Much of the story is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl named Swan.

The Book Girls Say... What stands out in the reviews of this book are the comments about how REAL it is - the realism of the characters and the conversations.

By Melba Beals
Setting: 1957, Little Rock, Arkansas
First published 1994

Three years after the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, nine black teenagers were chosen to integrate Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas.

The author of this memoir, Melba Beals, and her eight classmates were known as the Little Rock Nine. As they walked up the steps to the school flanked by the heavily armed Arkansas National Guard, surrounded by a rampaging mob, they became reluctant warriors on the battlefield of the civil rights movement.

The Book Girls' Say... If you enjoy this book, you may also want to pick up March Forward, Girl - another Beals memoir of her earlier years, which is written in language that's appropriate for younger readers, but with an important story that is just as captivating to adults.

By Julia Kelly
Setting: England 1958
First published 2022

In 1958, the royal family announced that it would be the final year for debutantes to be presented to the queen. Thousands of mothers and daughters sent letters hoping to be included in this last, prestigious tradition of young women coming out into society at Buckingham Palace.

Lily agrees to become a debutante to please her traditional mother and meets two unique friends during the Season of balls of cocktail parties. Leana is perfect on the outside but has a dark streak. Katherine dreams of a career of her own. As the friendships evolve, Lily learns a secret that could destroy her family.

The Book Girls Say…This is a fun pick if you’re interested in the transitional period between the traditional 50s and feminist 60s.

By Chanel Cleeton
Setting: 1958, Havana; 2017, Miami
First published 2018

Growing up in Miami, Marisol heard romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother, Elisa.

In 1958, nineteen-year-old Elisa was a member of Cuba's high society as the daughter of a sugar baron. Her family's position largely shields her from the growing political unrest, at least until she embarks on a forbidden affair.

In 2017, Marisol arrived in Havana for the first time to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish of having her ashes spread in her birth country. Marisol tries to reconcile the contrast of Cuba's timeless beauty with its political climate, all while uncovering the story of her grandmother's past.

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

By Lorraine Hansberry
Setting: 1950s, Chicago
First published 1959

Following the life of one black family on Chicago's south side, this play examines their hopes and aspirations, as well as the struggles of the working class.

"Never before, in the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on the stage," observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959.

The Book Girls' Say... This is one of the most powerful plays you'll ever experience on stage, but this uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work offers even more than you've seen before.

By Delia Owens
Setting: North Carolina, 1952 and 1969
First published 2018

Young Kya, who was left to fend for herself in the North Carolina marsh in the 1950s, will steal your heart from the beginning. For two decades, Kya has been known to locals as the "Marsh Girl." She lives away from other humans and has only attended one day of school, but finds companions in nature all around her.

The book has a split timeline between Kya's formative years in the 1950s and an incident in 1969. A handsome boy from town is found dead, and the locals immediately suspect Kya.

The Book Girls Say... If you've already read this one and love it as much as we did, check out our list of books for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

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

By Amy Sue Nathan
Setting: 1951, Michigan + Present
First published 2020

Betty Stern turned 18 in 1951 and was looking forward to her last summer at her grandparent's Jewish summer resort before heading off to college. She had big dreams of becoming a fashion editor in NYC.

During that life-changing summer, Betty collapses at the end of the beauty pageant, which ends up being the last time the pageant is held. In 2020, a financially-struggling manicurist decides to bring it back. By this time, Betty is in her late 80s, and no one knows she was the last winner or why the pageant ended.

The book alternates between Betty's life that summer and a present-day gathering of her best friends from that summer. It's a great look at societal expectations between the two time periods.

By Karma Brown
Setting: 1950s and current day, New York suburbs
First Published 2020

Alice leaves her publicity career to become a writer and follows her husband to the suburbs of New York. Learning to fill her days in a big, empty house, she comes across a vintage cookbook in the basement. Within the book, she discovers hidden notes left by the home's previous owner, Nellie - a quintessential 1950s housewife. Alice cooks her way through Nellie's recipes, and she starts to uncover clues about her life.

Juxtaposing Alice's life against Nellie's, this is a story of how everything has changed, but in some ways nothing has changed.

By Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Setting: New York 1953
First published 2016

Simultaneously sad and uplifting, Nora and Kettle are two teenage neighbors, each facing their own hardships. Kettle is a Japanese American orphan trying to survive after a period of internment. Despite his young age of 17, he’s determined to help other orphans.

Nora has a much different life as the daughter of a prominent civil rights attorney. Everything looks privileged from the outside, but she endures abuse to protect her sister Frankie behind closed doors. When Nora is nearly killed, her path crosses with Kettle’s, and they learn to lean on each other.

The Book Girls Say…As you read this YA novel, you may notice connections to the story of Peter Pan. It’s not exactly a retelling, but the book was very much inspired by Peter Pan and Wendy.

By Melanie Benjamin
Setting: 1950s, New York City
First published 2016

This novel tells the story of two dynamic historical figures' scandalous and heart-wrenching friendship. Truman Capote is a playwright, actor, and author of Breakfast and Tiffany's, while Babe Paley is a New York City socialite and style icon named to the International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame.

This book is filled with gossip, scandal, and betrayal set in New York's high society's glamorous, perfumed, and smoky atmosphere.

By Jan Moran
Setting: Napa Valley & Italy 1956
First published 2020

Mother-daughter winemakers Ava and Caterina are as skilled at guarding different family secrets as they are at running the family vineyard. In the 1950s, Caterina’s secret illegitimate child could ruin her chances for a normal life. But, when she receives an inheritance from her grandmother in Italy, she has an opportunity for a new start.

While she’s in Italy, she meets extended family members and begins to unravel mysteries of the past.

The Book Girls Say…This family drama is also part romance and part mystery. Readers are split on how much they enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the character's clothing. If you’re a fashion lover, this is a great bonus!

By Lynda Cohen Loigman
Setting: 1950s and 60s, Brooklyn, NYC
First published 2016

In a two-family brownstone in Brooklyn, two babies are born two minutes apart to two women - sisters by marriage. This moving family drama opens on that fateful night in the late 1940s and spans the two following decades.

Over the years, cracks begin to form in their relationship, and their friendship begins to unravel. The book is described as an "emotional but dreamy novel" that will have you both sobbing and smiling.

By Ann Petry
Setting: 1950s, Connecticut
First published 1953

When a twenty-six year old, Dartmouth-educated African-American man falls for a married white woman, the quiet town of Monmouth, Connecticut will never be the same.

Written and set in the early 1950s, this book offers a window into class, race, and love in middle of the Twentieth Century.

By Fiona Davis
Setting: 1950s, New York City
First published 2019

Playwright Hazel Riley and actress Maxine Mead aim to put up a Broadway show, and they plan to use the Chelsea Hotel - a hot spot for creatives and artists - to get the ball rolling. But they soon discover that the greatest obstacle to producing a Broadway show isn't the art, but the politics.

This story spans the 1940s-60s, but it's centered around the era of McCarthyism. As the Red Scare is sweeping the country, those in the entertainment industry are in the cross-hairs, and there is pressure to point fingers.

The Book Girls' Say... Fiona Davis is a master of New York City historical fiction. She writes in a way that paints a picture of the visual scenery and the emotion of her characters. You'll step back in time and experience a disturbing era in our country that is rarely talked about today. Thankfully, that history lesson is told through a page-turning novel. This is an excellent pick for any lover of the arts.

By Dorothy West
Setting: 1950s, Martha's Vineyard
First published 1995

The Cole family is gathered on Martha's Vineyard for the wedding of their daughter, Shelby. She could have had her pick of black men from the Oval - a proud community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast's black bourgeoisie - but she fell in love with a white Jazz musician from New York.

Set on Martha's Vineyard, this novel offers an intimate look into the lives of the African American middle class in the 1950s.

By Bill Bryson
Setting: 1950s, Iowa
First published 2006

Bill Bryson is famous for his humorous travel writing, but in this nostalgic and hilarious memoir, he reflects on growing up in middle-America in the 1950s in the middle of the baby boomer generation. Using his childhood imaginary super-hero persona to tell his story, he tells his story of growing up in Des Moines, bringing to life his loving but eccentric family.

The Book Girls' Say... Readers report that this book is a lot more entertaining and laugh-inducing if you listen to the audio version!

By Donna Van Liere
Setting: 1950s, Tennessee
First published 2012

Ivorie Walker is only in her early 30s, but single and unmarried, she is considered an old maid by those in her Tennessee town. But when a feral, dirty-faced boy begins sneaking onto her land to steal food from her garden, she starts on an unlikely path to motherhood.

Every time he flees her garden and heads back into the hills, she has more questions about where he came from and how she can help him. But, as she begins to uncover the answers, she angers many in town who would rather she let secrets stay secret.

The Book Girls Say... Angela's IRL book club read this book last year, and while it didn't make it onto the list of her all-time favorite, many others in the book club considered it a five-star read!

By Toni Morrison
Setting: 1950s, Georgia
First published 2011

Frank Money is an angry and self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who returns to a racist America with more than just the physical scars of the front lines. He barely recognizes his home or himself, but when he hears that his younger sister is in danger, his life has a new purpose.

Together, they return to their rural Georgia hometown. After spending years trying to escape, he learns what it means to come home.

The Book Girls Say...This book jams many atrocities and emotions into its short 147 pages, so be sure you're in the right mental space before tackling it.