It wasn’t all flappers and Great Gatsby-esque parties. We may think of the Roaring Twenties as a time of frivolous fun, but our ideas of sequined dresses and sparkling champagne flutes are tinted by rose-colored glasses. The truth of the 1920s was far grittier — a time of revelry, yes, but revelry to distract from the misfortunes of the early 20th century. The decade was plagued by prejudice and inequality, and Prohibition fueled the flames to bring an influx of organized crime. Is it any wonder, then, that the stories of this time period are so explosive, running hot with emotion?
By traversing their pages, these six books will take you from speakeasies in New York to the streets of London, and even for a dip into Ohio’s Lake Erie. Just be prepared for the full breadth of what the Roaring Twenties have to offer.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
Even years after the Great War’s end, England is still struggling to recover. Londoners guzzle libations in the hopes of drowning out the memories of the past — and entrepreneurial spirits have noticed the lucrative opportunity the city’s new nightlife presents. Amidst all the other trailblazers looking to turn their luck around is Nellie Coker, the reigning queen of London’s glittering new party scene. With six children to support and advance in these difficult times, Nellie’s success isn’t fate or accident — it’s a calculated rise to the top. But Nellie isn’t the only ambitious businesswoman in Soho, and the higher she rises, the more she aggravates her cutthroat competitors … and those in London’s dark underbelly who threaten to pull her under.
Author Kate Atkinson effortlessly whisks us away into the sparkling, hedonistic world of London’s nightclubs — the titular ‘shrines of gaiety’ that patrons flock to worship at. Of course, it’s no surprise that the award-winning author of Life After Life and the newly-released Death at the Sign of the Rook can transport us to days long-gone by in this bright firework burst of a novel.
Read our full review of Shrines of Gaiety here.
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia
By day, Louise Lloyd works at Maggie’s Café. But by night, she tears across the dancefloor at the Zodiac, Harlem’s hottest speakeasy. There, she can let loose and try to forget the kidnapping ordeal of her youth, and the confrontation with her captor that led to the nickname “Harlem’s Hero.”
Reality comes crashing down, however, when there’s a dead girl found at the café’s front door. It’s the third Black girl murdered in just a scant few weeks, and it’s bringing Louise unwelcome flashbacks to the past she’d rather ignore. But after an altercation with police lands her in custody, she’s given an offer that can’t be refused: solve the murders or end up staying imprisoned. Louise has no choice but to plunge into a dangerous investigation — one that threatens to undo everything she’s done to reclaim her own life.
In the first of her Harlem Renaissance Mysteries series, author Nekesa Afia looks beyond the glamor of the Roaring Twenties and shows the raw reality of the time — that in the face of racism and prejudice, marginalized people had to look to themselves to protect their communities.
The Last Tale of Norah Bow by J.P. White
When it comes to stories set in the 1920s, the depiction of Prohibition is often a glamorized one; think champagne towers and overflowing punch bowls. There’s something enticing about reveling in the forbidden, a kind of guilty pleasure that fueled the liquor-soaked parties of the time. But to obtain that alcohol, there had to be bootleggers — and that was a dangerous profession.
It’s a danger that fourteen-year-old Ohioan Norah Bow comes face to face with when her rumrunner father is abducted in the middle of the family dinner. It’s a rude awakening to the world of crime her father inhabits — but Norah isn’t about to back down. Determined to save her father, she allies herself with Ruby Francoeur, a street-smart woman with mysterious motivations. The two cross Lake Erie from Ohio into Canada, where liquor flows free and legal, and Norah’s father might be found … if he’s not already beneath the water’s surface.
Both a thrilling historical novel and a timeless coming-of-age story, The Last Tale of Norah Bow takes readers on a wild adventure filled with complex, unforgettable characters and powerful storytelling chops. To learn more about this riveting story, read the full review here.
The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau
It’s 1923, and Zia De Luca is picking up the shattered pieces of her life. After her husband died in the Great War, Zia’s been living with his parents in Little Italy, carving out a small existence with her work at the public library. But when a patron is murdered just outside the library, Zia becomes the police’s top suspect. Then another victim joins the first — a victim Zia knew personally. With the pressure on, Zia takes matters into her own hands to save herself from the brig and to avenge her lost loved one. She soon learns that both deaths had to do with the newest speakeasy in Greenwich Village, The Orchid Hour. But in order to further her investigation, it means she’ll have to infiltrate the club without letting the heady atmosphere drag her further in.
Easier said than done — as she brushes shoulders with the movers and shakers of New York’s undercity, part of her wonders what it’d be like to change her own lot in life. Nancy Bilyeau’s immersive mystery harkens back to the very real history of New York City, from the struggles of immigrant communities to the ways that crime pervaded life in New York, promising opportunity for a lucky few — at a very high price.
Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman
We’ve covered the dazzling nights of the Roaring Twenties — the shimmer of sequins as flapper girls danced, the light playing off the band’s brass instruments. But during the day, things were far less glamorous. While those of privilege looked on, the working class toiled away in sweatshops for meager wages. Racial tensions were fraught with Jim Crow laws in full force, the Ku Klux Klan on the rise and anti-immigrant fervor so popular it was codified into legislation with the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act. Amidst all this suffering, it’s no wonder people of every class and creed turned to nightclubs for a welcome respite from daily suffering. And in the halls of the Nightingale, New York’s hottest speakeasy, the main characters of Katharine Schellman’s bestseller plan to do just that.
There’s Irish seamstress Vivian Kelly, who sneaks out of her tenement house to dance all night. Then there’s Bea Henry, a Black waitress hoping for a big break in her singing career. Their companion is the club’s bartender Danny Chin, who helps his parents with the family Chinese restaurant. But when Vivian discovers a dead body in the alley behind the club, the trio’s fragile happiness is fractured — and their lives may very well be in danger.
Read our full review of Last Call at the Nightingale here.
The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe
Organized crime flourished during the 1920s, emboldened by the unique opportunity that Prohibition provided. But the day-to-day of life on the edge was no party — something Alice Diamond, The Forty Elephants’ protagonist, can attest to. Her family has run the Mint for generations — a rough, hard-fought neighborhood of London that’s prime for seizing now that her father’s been imprisoned again. When Alice’s brother makes enemies with the wrong crime syndicate, Alice has no choice but to take control of things herself. Breaking her father’s edict to never become involved in the organized crime world, Alice joins the Forty Elephants — an infamous group of lady shoplifters who flit through the fanciest department stores London has to offer.
At first, Alice dives into the fray simply to protect her father’s territory, even in a way he could never stomach. But soon, the allure of the Forty Elephants and the high-class world they temporarily inhabit catches Alice in its grip. She needs to be careful, because the law is coming for her from one direction — and an entirely different kind of authority from another. This slick novel proves to be as beguiling as the world it portrays, with a razor-sharp edge that keeps readers on their toes.
