So January 1st ushered in a new decade, and those of us who live and breathe Downton Abbey were 100% ready to welcome the Roaring (20)20’s. Some of us may have even been a little overexcited.
Me, for example. Nothing wrong with that—after all, “a little party never killed nobody.”
But there’s so much more to the 1920s than flapper dresses and champagne towers. At every extravagant, high-society party, there were servants working tirelessly below stairs. While Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table were using irreverent wit and wordplay to poke fun at social norms, others were finding a way to make their voices heard for the first time. The Harlem Renaissance was this incredible creative explosion of African-American art, music and literature that celebrated cultural identity at the same time that it called for social change. The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in the summer of 1920, and the decade saw women not only voting in America but running for public office—and writing about freedom and feminism, too. Society was experiencing huge changes in how it saw class and race and gender, and the books of the 1920’s explore it all.
In honor of the roaring twenties, I’ve put together a list of 20 books to read in 2020. Many of these are popular novels and poems written in the 1920s, while a few are works of historical fiction set during this time frame. I’m excited to cross some of these off my eternally long to-read list. Others will be fun to revisit now that I don’t have to read them for school (looking at you, Faulkner!)
Jazz by Toni Morrison
So not only is there a book by Toni Morrison I haven’t read (yet), but it’s historical fiction set in the jazz age. Clearly, I have to kick off my roaring twenties reading list with Jazz.
“What’s the world for you if you can’t make it up the way you want it?”
2. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The term “Jazz Age” was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, so it’s only fitting to read a collection of his short stories from the twenties. Bonus: this book includes one of his better-known stories, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
3. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
I first read Cheaper by the Dozen in sixth grade and liked it so much I’ve re-read it several times since then. Two of the twelve Gilbreth children recount their experiences growing up in the 1910s and 20s as the children of efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth.
4. Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
The sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen follows the young adult lives and eventual marriages of the Gilbreth children during the Roaring Twenties. I like to read this immediately after Cheaper by the Dozen—the two books flow almost like a single, uninterrupted story.
5. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell
I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan, so when I read that Julian Fellowes was inspired by Margaret Powell’s memoir, I had to add it to my reading list! Powell started out as a kitchen maid—think Daisy from Downton Abbey—and I can’t wait to read her own account of what it was like to work in service in the 1920s.
6. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton is another great book reminiscent of Downton Abbey and all the delicious upstairs/ downstairs drama. Kate Morton is a brilliant writer—her book The Forgotten Garden is another favorite of mine.
7. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
Some poetry just sends chills down your spine, and Langston Hughes’ work is some of the best. I, Too and Mother to Son get me every time—I can’t turn the page until I’ve read it two or three times and really feel each line.
8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Paris Wife has been on my to-read list for ages, so there’s no time like the present to finally dive in to the story! This is a work of historical fiction that explores Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson.
9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
And speaking of Ernest Hemingway…his debut novel The Sun Also Rises made him the so-called “voice of the lost generation.” The story is largely based on his own experience traveling to Pamplona, Spain with Hadley and their friends to watch the bullfighting.
“You are all a lost generation.”
10. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Technically, A Room of One’s Own is an essay, based off of two lectures Virginia Woolf gave on feminism and writing. I’ve read it a few dozen times and I’ll happily do it again: this essay talks about creating space for women to write, both literally and figuratively.
11. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
True confessions: this book is lifted straight off my list of “books I need to read before I let myself watch the movie.” Maybe I’ll plan a weekend to settle in with this book and then watch the Humphrey Bogart movie right after.
12. Complete Poems by Dorothy Parker
I absolutely love Dorothy Parker (and she would have slayed social media, had Twitter been available back in the 1920s). I’ve already read quite a few of these poems so I’m especially excited to read a complete collection of her work.
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”
13. Passing by Nella Larsen
Published in 1929, this novel follows the reacquaintance of two childhood friends—one who is deeply involved in her Black community and the culture of the Harlem Renaissance, and the other who chose to “pass” for white. Nella Larsen reportedly based the themes of the novel off of her own life: Nella was biracial and lived in both Black and white communities during her life.
14. Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald
Even though F. Scott Fitzgerald dubbed his wife Zelda “the first American flapper” and used her (and her diary) as inspiration for his work, their marriage was not a happy partnership. The Fitzgerald’s partying eventually became self-destructive and they both suffered from illness and exhaustion. Save Me the Waltz was reportedly written by Zelda in only six weeks while being treated at Johns Hopkins for schizophrenia. The novel is largely based on Fitzgerald’s life and marriage throughout the Roaring Twenties—enough so that it greatly upset her husband when she sent it to his publisher.
15. The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft was mostly published in pulp magazines during the 1920s, but he’s gone on to inspire generations of writers since then. He combined science fiction and his own mythos in The Call of Cthulu—something fresh and new, even if it was underappreciated in his own time. I haven’t read this in years, so it’s definitely time I pulled it back out!
16. Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset
Like Passing, Plum Bun depicts the life of a young African-American woman who moves to New York and decides to “pass” for white. The book is also about feminism—in New York, the main character struggles to pursue her often conflicting ambitions to marry and to become an artist.
17. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Out of all the Agatha Christie mysteries, why did I choose this Hercule Poirot for my top 20 list? No spoilers, but…I do love a good plot twist.
“The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it.”
18. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Fun fact for those of you who are name nerds like me: Evelyn Waugh’s first wife was also named Evelyn. They were known to their friends as He-Evelyn and She-Evelyn. At any rate, He-Evelyn Waugh’s novel Decline and Fall is definitely a must-read for any Roaring Twenties reading list.
19. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
My opinion of The Sound and the Fury suffered while I was in school since it was used so often as an example of stream of consciousness writing. I’m giving it another shot this year—maybe when I’m reading it on my own terms, I’ll have a different experience with it.
20. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is the third book by the Fitzgeralds, and the second by Scott, to appear on this list, but I just can’t end 2020 without reading The Great Gatsby one more time. It’s a classic!
““Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!””
There you have it: 20 books from the Jazz Age to read in 2020! What books would you add to the list?