Jazz was a strong cultural influence on the twenties. Here’s another: Gatsby: The Novel That Gave Us Flappers When I began writing SIRENS I immediately re-read one of my favorite books: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY. It is an iconic vision of the 1920s. Scott Fitzgerald, aspiring writer, met Zelda Sayre, a southern belle… Read more »
SIRENS History
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 10 – The Great Gatsby
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 9 – The Jazz Age
Last time we had a look at spiritualism. Now it’s time for… All That Jazz Jazz was a big part of the scene in the 1920s, especially in New York City. In SIRENS Jo Winter falls for sweet jazz musician Charlie, who moonlights as a waiter at the Algonquin Hotel. The music revolution of “the… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 8 – Spiritualism
The previous post discussed the radicalism that grew in the 20s. Here’s something else altogether: Calling All Ghosts: Ouija Boards, Spiritualism, and Harry Houdini One of the central images of SIRENS is that of ghosts and spirits and magic. I found this facet of the 1920s by accident, but it fit so perfectly into the… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 7 – Radicals
As I discussed in my last post, gangsters were one negative aspect of the Twenties. Here’s another: The Wall Street Bombing of…1920? The Wall Street Bombing of 1920 plays an important role in SIRENS, as the brother of one of the characters died in that blast, and the brothers of two other characters may be… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 6 – Gangsters
Last post I talked about Prohibition. Here we see the result: 1920s: Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Gin Joints Danny Connor, in SIRENS, is a gangster. Lou is his moll, or girlfriend. While both are fictional characters, I could envision that when the very real Al Capone left New York for Chicago in 1921, someone had… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post Five – Prohibition
In my last post I referenced Prohibition. Here’s what it meant: No More Booze! (Really?) Prohibition in the 1920s In SIRENS, Jo Winter’s father is a bootlegger, a middle man for the sale of alcohol. That gets him into big trouble because it means he’s doing something illegal in 1925; and worse yet, he may… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 4. Flappers
My previous post addressed 1920s fashion. Here’s what happened to behavior: New York City in 1925: Up All Night In one scene in SIRENS Jo goes to a New York speakeasy. She can see that Melody is “up all night” most nights. So were most young people in the cities, which is one reason they… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know: Post 3. The Women’s Fashion Revolution
In my previous post, I addressed women’s suffrage. Now let’s look at another impact on behavior. Fashion really took a turn in the 1920s, due in part to the influence of Coco Chanel… Kicking Up Their Heels: The Women’s Fashion Revolution of the 1920s Flappers were defined in part by how they looked. When in… Read more »
The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know, Post 2
In my previous post, I addressed the impact of World War 1 on the Roaring Twenties. Now let’s see what happens…. When Women Got the Vote and Left Their Corsets Behind Both Jo and Lou in SIRENS are conflicted about their roles as women. The men in their lives don’t value them as individuals. In… Read more »
A New Series: The “Roaring Twenties” You May Not Know, Post 1
As a follow-up to my research on SIRENS (Penguin, 2012) I wrote a series of ten articles that summarize different aspects of the 1920s. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting them here so that they’ll be available in my archives. Here’s the first in the series… Home From World War 1: Returning From… Read more »