Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

One of my favorite finds from a couple of years ago was The Girls at the Kingfisher Club which is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses fairy tale set in the speakeasies of 1920's New York. I loved it!

Listopia link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

A Certain Age is set in the 20s

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is what I'm planning to read for this prompt

Fiction:
Gods of Jade and Shadow
The Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood start in the 20s
The Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L. Sayers are set in the 20s

Nonfiction:
The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (it's about Prohibition, so extends beyond the 20s, but the bulk of it is set in the 20s)

Nonfiction:
Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Fiction:
Vile Bodies
Cocaine Blues

Nicole wrote: "Nonfiction:
Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern
[book:The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Ag..."

The Poisoner's Handbook is phenomenal! Highly recommend :D

Christie's first two Tommy & Tuppence books are set in the 20's.
The Secret Adversary
Partners in Crime

The Roman Hat Mystery - First Ellery Queen novel

Winnie-the-Pooh
The Velveteen Rabbit

Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago
The Great Swim

Radio Girls
Jazz Moon
The Ringmaster's Wife
A Certain Age

Wow, I have a bunch that I've either read or want to read...


Nonfiction:
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago
For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Chicago
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Fiction:
China Blues
Passing
The Painted Veil (such a great, and short, book!!)
The Green Hat
The Chaperone

I haven't read it, but based on the summary, it looks like A Gentleman in Moscow could be a contender for this prompt!

I had this on my ATY rejects challenge so happy to see it here.

Here is a list of Historical Fiction Books Set in the 1920s from Bookbub:
Radio Girls
The Girl from the Savoy
A Fine Imitation
A Certain Age
The Light of Paris
Jazz Moon
The Ringmaster's Wife
Moonlight over Paris
Platinum Doll
Leaving Lucy Pear

I love Beatriz Williams and saw Cocoa Beach and The Wicked City on another list. Wicked City is really good.

Can anyone tell me if The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie is set in the 20s? It looks like it could be. Thanks.

Therese wrote: "Can anyone tell me if The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie is set in the 20s? It looks like it could be. Thanks."

Written in 1924 if that helps?

1920's setting options ~

The Secret Adversary

The Secret of Chimneys

I think I will use this as a nudge to start the Phryne Fisher series.

Yes. The Man in the Brown Suit was published in 1924. One character is described as someone "who fought in the Great War." Since the book was written in the early 20s, and most of Christie's work was set in then-contemporary times, I'd say it's safely a 1920s book.

KF-in-Georgia wrote: "Yes. The Man in the Brown Suit was published in 1924. One character is described as someone "who fought in the Great War." Since the book was written in the early 20s, and most of Christie's work w..."

I had seen when it was published but I didn't want to check it out too much although I thought that it could be. Thanks for verifying this for me.

Maisie Dobbs is set in 1929 according to its description.

Sujata Massey's books work!

I enjoyed Speak Easy, Speak Love, which is a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing.

I am choosing between these four:
The Diviners
Bright Young Things
The Paris Wife
Speak Easy, Speak Love

This is the only category where I have nothing on my TBR physical shelf or wish list and the only book I had any interest in I have re-read recently (Gatsby) so if anyone knows something really short and painless that would be fab.

Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay is set in the 1920s.

Looks like 2020 may be the year I finally read some Potter (vision prompt and now this the world seems to be telling me it is time).

Jessica Fellowes' 'Mitford Murder' series has 3 titles so far and each mystery is set in the 1920's. In order they are:

1. The Mitford Murders
2. Bright Young Dead
3. The Mitford Scandal

@Jen, someone else mentioned that the early Phryne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries was based on them) are set in the 1920s.

Thank you. Mitford Murders might be fate I was in Mitford manor as my house at school.

The blurb for Gods of Jade and Shadow says it takes place during the Jazz Age, so I'm going to use that one.

Yay - Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Jen wrote: "This is the only category where I have nothing on my TBR physical shelf or wish list and the only book I had any interest in I have re-read recently (Gatsby) so if anyone knows something really sho..."

My classics book club just read The Painted Veil by Somerser Maugham. It is set in the 20s in China and I really liked it. For me, it was a quick read (and one I had trouble putting down).

Edie wrote: "Jen wrote: "This is the only category where I have nothing on my TBR physical shelf or wish list and the only book I had any interest in I have re-read recently (Gatsby) so if anyone knows somethin..."
Thanks for giving me another option!

found some more on Listopia

1920s Historical Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Jazz Age Historical Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
YA set in the 1920s https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Fiction Set in 1920s https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
World War One + 1920s Ghost Stories https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
1920s WLW https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

This books spans the 20s and mainly starts in 1929.

Would “Radium Girls” count? I think it’s late 1910s-early 1920s

Found one sitting on my shelf and forgotten Lady Chatterley's Lover so not me but since it is short and I already own it, plus it is a category I'm not keen on, it will save trying to find/buy/borrow something else I'm not keen on.

10 books that defined the 20s

1920s bookish lineup


set in prohibition-era Chicago




(It's called Martin's Summer in English, though it's not that famous...)


Quite a lot of OZ books are set in the 20s, as are Doctor Dolittles
Also some Tarzan books :-D
And Edgar Wallace's books

Edith Maud Hull wrote The Sheik 1919, and then continued writing desert romances through 20s - there's quite a lot of oriental erotic fantasies written in the 20s, and... well...
I suppose A Rose in the Banyan Tree fits... can't remember when it was supposed to happen, but I read it at the "great Indian revival" of the 80s :-D together with A Passage to India
There's also The Ginger Tree, The Lover and The Russian Concubine






- it ends in the 20s


"The novel received negative reviews. Commentators have characterised it as fascist and an attack on Christianity, and seen it as expressing Lawrence's fears about the decline of the white race and belief in women's submission to men. It has also been interpreted as an expression of his personal political ambition and as having homoerotic aspects."

The Snow Child takes place in Alaska during the 1920s.
Also found these two lists https://www.bustle.com/articles/16137... https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/t...

There seems to be an uprise of 20s lady detective novels:
Miss Fisher has been mentioned several times.
Daisy Dalrymple
Lady Eleanor mysteries; A Poisoning In Piccadilly and A Burglary In Belgravia
High Society Lady Detective series

historical mysteries set in the 20s

I really liked the other typist which is set in the 20s. Renee Rosen‘s doll face could also work.

I'm only reading LGBTQ+ books this challenge, and I also strongly favour contemporary fiction, so I feel like I'm picking from a pretty limited pool for this one (unless I cheat, which is a strong possibility).

Does anyone have any suggestions that might fit for me? I've seen that Libba Bray has a book set in the 20s, but I'm not a big fan of hers, and beyond that I'm stuck.

Or alternatively, what Keep It Simple options are there?

Danii wrote: "I'm only reading LGBTQ+ books this challenge, and I also strongly favour contemporary fiction, so I feel like I'm picking from a pretty limited pool for this one (unless I cheat, which is a strong ..."

If you're okay with stretching the prompt a bit, Amberlough might work. It appears to take place in a 1920's-ish fantasy world.

Jennifer W wrote: "Wow, I have a bunch that I've either read or want to read...


Nonfiction:
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
[book:Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin..."

My dad 'urged me to read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI last year. This prompt looks like the perfect reason to pull it off my shelf and dive in. Plus it will fill my goal to read more non-fiction this year.

Michelle wrote: "Sujata Massey's books work!

"
Thanks for that!

I read The Widows of Malabar Hill last year and enjoyed it. Sounds like The Satapur Moonstone is a solid option for this year. :)

Mirawyn wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Sujata Massey's books work!

"
Thanks for that!

I read The Widows of Malabar Hill last yea..."

I liked The Satapur Moonstone even better.

Just came across A Criminal Magic in my goodreads feed. It's urban fantasy set in 1926 in Washington D.C. and deals with sorcerers in crime syndicates.

Danii wrote: "I'm only reading LGBTQ+ books this challenge, and I also strongly favour contemporary fiction, so I feel like I'm picking from a pretty limited pool for this one (unless I cheat, which is a strong ..."

There's some LGBTQ+ content in Mrs. Dalloway (set in 1923) - one female character reflects on a kiss shared with a female friend before the start of the story, and a male character is repulsed by heterosexual sex. It's not blatant, because of the period the book was written in, but I thought I'd mention it.

Rachel wrote: "Would “Radium Girls” count? I think it’s late 1910s-early 1920s"

Much of it is in the 1920s. The first factory starts in 1917, but I am not sure if more than half of it is in the 1920s. I usually go for more than 50 percent in some challenges, or, if the challenge seems easy for me, over 75 percent.

is set in 1929 Newfoundland before and after the earthquake that hit the island.. it's a sweet story about an orphan boy and a dog.

I read The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey for this prompt.