Decade by Decade: Books That Capture the 20th Century

Amanda Flower’s historical mystery inspired by the real-life sister to the Wright Brothers takes readers back to the early 1900s! Join Katharine Wright as she returns home in Decemer 1903 and gets pulled into a mystery when her brothers’ as-yet-unpatented flyer plans are stolen…and her prime suspect in the theft is murdered.

1910s

Based on the true story of the Fortune sisters, three young women each at a crossroads when they boarded the RMS Titanic in the spring of 1912 –and how that maiden voyage would transform their lives in profound and unexpected ways.

1920s

In Denny S. Bryce’s newest novel, she takes readers back to the 1920s. Inspired by a real-life scandal that was shocking even for the tumultuous Roaring Twenties, this captivating novel tells the story of a pioneering Black journalist, a secret interracial marriage among the New York elite, and the sensational divorce case that ignited an explosive battle over race and class.

1930s

Discover where it all began with Mary Monroe’s Depression era series set in the Deep South. The respectable family Maggie has built means everything to her, and she’ll do anything to keep them. But the more she tries to take control, the more obstacles are thrown in her way. And when it seems like the one person she always expected to be there is starting to drift away, Maggie will play one final, merciless game to secure what she’s fought so hard to earn.

1940s

Set in the Carolinas in the 1940s, this riveting novel of historical fiction from the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Saints of Swallow Hill is a beautifully written, evocative account of a young woman reckoning not just with the unforgiving landscape, but with the rocky emotional terrain that leads from innocence to wisdom.

1950s

The City of Light is surging back to life in the wake of war, and its citizens are seizing every opportunity to raise a glass or share a delicious meal. But as American ex-pat Tabitha Knight and chef-in-training Julia Child discover, celebrations can quickly go awry when someone has murder in mind.

1960s

This sophisticated, atmospheric debut spins a bewitching web of ruthless ambition, family secrets, and the consequences of forbidden love, as an ambitious American actress snags the starring role in a mysterious horror movie shooting on location in a crumbling medieval castle outside Rome.

1970s

Drawing on the little-known true story of one tragic night at an Ozarks dance hall in the author’s Missouri hometown, this beautifully written, endearingly nostalgic novel picks up 50 years later for a folksy, character-driven portrayal of small-town life, split second decisions, and the ways family secrets reverberate through generations.

1980s

In an arrestingly vivid novel spanning seven decades and two continents – from a cloistered 1950s Mississippi town founded by freed slaves to the striking diversity of Paris and Rome in the 1960s and 70s, through the glamor of 1980s Wall Street, to present day New York – bestselling author Rochelle Alers chronicles one woman’s remarkable journey through some of history’s most turbulent eras—and the four men who impact her life along the way. 

1990s

Back to the Future meets 10 Things I Hate About You as the past, the present, and two hearts with unfinished business collide in the most epic, hilarious, and downright poignant way. Up-and-coming screenwriter Beatrix and A-list actor Rocco (who once jilted Beatrix on New Year’s Eve) are taken back to December 1999 after a car accident. Their mission? They’ll have to work together to correct their old mistakes—which just might bring them closer than either expects.