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Flapper Flapper

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 1,094 ratings · 176 reviews

Blithely flinging aside the Victorian manners that kept her disapproving mother corseted, the New Woman of the 1920s puffed cigarettes, snuck gin, hiked her hemlines, danced the Charleston, and necked in roadsters. More important, she earned her own keep, controlled her own destiny, and secured liberties that modern women take for granted. Her newfound freedom heralded a r...more Blithely flinging aside the Victorian manners that kept her disapproving mother corseted, the New Woman of the 1920s puffed cigarettes, snuck gin, hiked her hemlines, danced the Charleston, and necked in roadsters. More important, she earned her own keep, controlled her own destiny, and secured liberties that modern women take for granted. Her newfound freedom heralded a radical change in American culture.
Whisking us from the Alabama country club where Zelda Sayre first caught the eye of F. Scott Fitzgerald to Muncie, Indiana, where would-be flappers begged their mothers for silk stockings, to the Manhattan speakeasies where patrons partied till daybreak, historian Joshua Zeitz brings the era to exhilarating life. This is the story of America's first sexual revolution, its first merchants of cool, its first celebrities, and its most sparkling advertisement for the right to pursue happiness.
The men and women who made the flapper were a diverse lot.
There was Coco Chanel, the French orphan who redefined the feminine form and silhouette, helping to free women from the torturous corsets and crinolines that had served as tools of social control.
Three thousand miles away, Lois Long, the daughter of a Connecticut clergyman, christened herself "Lipstick" and gave New Yorker readers a thrilling entreeacute;e into Manhattan's extravagant Jazz Age nightlife.
In California, where orange groves gave way to studio lots and fairytale mansions, three of America's first celebrities-Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, and Louise Brooks, Hollywood's great flapper triumvirate-fired the imaginations of millions of filmgoers.
Dallas-born fashion artist Gordon Conway and Utah-born cartoonist John Held crafted magazine covers that captured the electricity of the social revolution sweeping the United States.
Bruce Barton and Edward Bernays, pioneers of advertising and public relations, taught big business how to harness the dreams and anxieties of a newly industrial America-and a nation of consumers was born.
Towering above all were Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, whose swift ascent and spectacular fall embodied the glamour and excess of the era that would come to an abrupt end on Black Tuesday, when the stock market collapsed and rendered the age of abundance and frivolity instantly obsolete.
With its heady cocktail of storytelling and big ideas, "Flapper" is a dazzling look at the women who launched the first truly modern decade. "From the Hardcover edition."(less)

ebook, 352 pages

Published February 11th 2009 by Three Rivers Press (CA) (first published March 14th 2006)

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Feb 01, 2009 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: womens-interest

Quick read on an amazing era... What an effect these rebel women had on things! Advertisements, movies, music, sports and women's rights were all touched by the "Flapper Age." Thank you, ballsy women, for getting us out of corsets and allowing us to enjoy a drink if we choose. Damn you, Flappers, for putting the focus on appearances.

This book had too much information on Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was interesting, but I won't be revisiting The Great Gatsby anytime soon. The book also gave...more

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Dec 14, 2007 Dixie Diamond rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, 1920s

I thought this was a load of fun, and I thought it brought up some interesting points that don't always come up when reading about life in the Twenties (such as the question of miserable wages for women and minorities even as ready-made clothes became available and standards of living improved), but from the perspective of the Twenties aficionado and armchair historian, I would have liked more depth.

My two minor complaints were that--and this is mostly a matter of taste--I wanted a little more i...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Joshua Zeitz has the reader walk a mile in the satin dancing slippers of these revolutionaries. Zelda Fitzgerald disobeyed her Lie-Still-and-Think-of-the-Empire Victorian mother, and her husband Scott made her a trend-setter. Lois Long (a.k.a. “Lipstick”) held New Yorkers in thrall. Coco Chanel made clothes that made women stronger. Clara Bow and Louise Brooks cast a spell on the country’s new crop of working women with their own money to spend.

Zeitz paints a picture as compelling as a cupid’s b...more

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Apr 01, 2008 Kristi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who's interested in knowing more about the 1920's

A fairly informative read and a pretty good view of the big societal shake-up that happened from the late 1800's to the late 1920's.

I've always had a huge crush on the Jazz Age anyway, from Dorothy Parker to F. Scott Fitgerald and all the shenanigans and acerbic wit (would that I could have eavesdropped on the Algonquin Round Table), from fashions to music to design, but it was interesting to read how the monumental cultural changes actually came about. Perhaps it's just me, but I found the sec...more

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Dec 11, 2007 Kirk rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 20s fans

Shelves: medium-warm

An enjoyable though not necessarily deep book. I came to it looking for something new about Zelda Fitzgerald and really found nothing I hadn't already heard a dozen times before. In fact, it says something about Zeitz's awareness of critical histories of the 20s that he cites Sara Mayfield's EXILES FROM PARADISE, a book generally viewed as a hatchet job on Scott Fitzgerald. That said, FLAPPER has some good pictures and interesting factoids. Ultimately, it's an example of how nonfiction books aim...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Molly Willis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The most entertaining piece of non-fiction I have had the pleasure to read.

I read this book last summer after developing a fascination with the Jazz Era. This book forged in me a boundless appreciation for the unapologetic, free-spirited women of the 1920s. Despised by feminists for their frivolous and often promiscuous behaviour, feared and desired by men for their fearless attitudes and revered by the modern-day woman for their absence of agenda that unwittingly pushed America and the global s...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, popular-culture

The 'Roaring Twenties' was such a wild, fascinating decade in American history: the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, the emergence of the 'talkies', Art Deco, Prohibition, gangsters, 'It' girls, the latter exemplified, of course, by the 'flapper'. We all know what we picture when we hear the word 'flapper' - tall, willowy women, with knife-edge cheekbones, rouged lips and cheeks, a black bob, in loose-fitting tube dresses, dropped waists, low backs. She smoked, she drank, she slept around, and...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Branden William rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern' is a brief encounter with the symbolic representation of the Roaring Twenties. The flapper-- "the notorious female character type who bobbed her hair, smoked cigarettes, drank gin, sported short skirts, and passed her evenings in steamy jazz clubs, dancing in a shockingly inmodest fashion with a revolving cast of male suitors." She became the female archetype and stood for everything immoral during a period...more 'Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern' is a brief encounter with the symbolic representation of the Roaring Twenties. The flapper-- "the notorious female character type who bobbed her hair, smoked cigarettes, drank gin, sported short skirts, and passed her evenings in steamy jazz clubs, dancing in a shockingly inmodest fashion with a revolving cast of male suitors." She became the female archetype and stood for everything immoral during a period of luxury and unapologetic glamour. If Oscar Wilde's famous paradox that life imitates art and not the other way around is true, then the self-indulgent flapper is its living proof.

Joshua Zeitz analyzes the history of the flapper by discussing the people who made and embodied its image. From French designer Coco Chanel, to F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, writer Lois Long (aka Lipstick) and the three great flapper actresses that graced the silver screen in the 1920s: Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, and Louis Brooks, artists Gordon Conway and John Held, to other lesser mentioned but equally significant players that came together to create a passing phase in history. The actual originator of the flapper will forever remain under historical scrutiny, though less mysterious is the anointing of F. Scott Fitzgerald as the "king of the flappers and spokesperson of the so-called "Lost generation." Ironically however, Fitzgerald never even used the term 'flapper' in the whole of the text. Zelda soon became the prototype of the American flapper, bringing chaos and excitement with them wherever they went, leaving behind a trail of broken champagne bottles and fantastic stories. Zelda was a product of this new culture, with the New Woman as its role model. She belonged to the first generation of Americans who were raised on advertisements, amusements, and self-indulgent glory that was a staple of flapperdom and a central feature of 1920s culture, rather than religion and restraint. These women rejected many-- if not all--Victorian-era values and redefined the pursuit of pleasure as a noble goal unto itself.

There were several early varieties on the femme fatale, none of which could be properly termed "flapper." The "vamp," commonly associated with actress Theda Bera, was an exotic sexually charged creature who left behind a trail of ruined lives and craven men. Bera and other played this role expertly, and to wide acclaim, between 1914 and 1920. If Colleen Moore was Hollywood's archetype of the safe flapper-- unthreatening, endearing, hapless, more bark than bite-- and if Clara Bow represented the naughty flapper who flirted and smoked a lot but could always be counted on to see the error of her fast-living ways, Louis Brooks was the real deal. "I like to drink and fuck," she would tell friends. She lived the life of the New Woman in ways which made Zelda Fitzgerald seem like a conservative schoolgirl. Every woman of the generation, no matter what her background or means, wanted to be a flapper.

With the passing of the jazz age however, came the passing of the flapper. For the Hollywood flappers, it wasn't so much that the talkies killed them, more likely, the 1930s killed the public's taste for actresses typecast as flappers. And it's no wonder too. Experts agreed that it would cost the average working girl at least $117 -- more than $1,200 of to-day's money-- to affect the flapper look with a passing success. Even then, "she must have good taste, practice self denial and steer away from the impractical garments." The author goes on to analyze the nationwide criticism that the flapper received, concluding with the flapper's unraveling during America's descent into the Great Depression.

The flapper was, however, in effect, the first thoroughly modern American. To-day, as Americans debate same-sex marriage, they are picking up where the flapper left off. In the same way, contemporary consumerism hearkens back to the flapper and her era, as the mass purchasing power that came under public scrutiny in the 1920s, Americans to-day are living among rising economic inequality. So many people purchase things for reasons of entitlement. People believe that consumption-- purchasing a bigger car or fancier suit, even at cost of an eternal debt-- is the great social leveler. It was never clear whether Scott Fitzgerald created the flapper, discovered her, or exploited her. However, as ordinary people struggle to identify themselves in an increasingly impersonal, prefabricated world, millions o flappers embraced a controversial lifestyle in a bold attempt at self-definition. The flapper surely embraced Oscar Wilde's paradox.

On all accounts, this is a well-documented piece of history. My only complaint is the limitation of flapper influence, and direct artistic involvements during the Roaring Twenties, such as: Erté, art deco, and Absinthe. All three of which contributed gracefully to the flapper lifestyle of the 1920s... (less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Beboots rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An absolutely fascinating look into the flapper phenomenon in the United States in the 1920s. The author uses certain well-known people to focus on per chapter, from the shenanigans of authors (and their wives) like F. Scott Fitzgerald, working women like journalist Lois Long, haute couture designers like Coco Chanel, and of course a slew of silent film movie starlets. I found these anecdotes fascinating and illustrating!

I was also particularly impressed with the stories of "ordinary" American w...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Mitch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been really into reading historical non-fiction books as of late. I am sort of making my way into the early 20th century. I started with "Devil in the White City" which takes place at and before the Chicago World's Fair in the 1890's, moved to "Sin in the Second City" about turn of the century prostitution, and now here comes the Jazz Age in full swing in the 1920's with Joshua Zeitz's "Flapper". And of all three of these historical books, "Flapper" is by FAR the best.

I love the roaring 2...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Eva rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always found the 1920's an intriguing time period in American history, and this book touched on many of the topics I am most interested in- silent film stars, the advertising industry, development of ready-made fashion and consumer culture, Zelda & F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the role of technology and media in shaping how women viewed themselves as objects, all of which were themes that defined the 20's. The author has obviously done a lot of research, and the chapters read great as sta...more

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Apr 21, 2013 El rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to El by: Dicker

Shelves: cultural-studies-and-other, hear-me-roar

Learn how to do the Charleston in just a few easy steps.

This book wasn't especially on my radar except a coworker brought it for me to read because I had previously brought her Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America, and sharing books might just be something we're doing now. She said she had a little difficulty reading this one because it's not in an especially linear fashion, which I understood what she meant while I read it. But it didn't bother me so much. It's hard to be entirely linear about a...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Shelley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

Seriously fascinating look at flappers and the 20s through three lenses: books (Fitzgeralds, largely), clothing (Chanel and Madison Ave ad men) and Hollywood (Clara Bow, Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks, mostly). The sheer amount the 20s has in common with now is staggering, down to the ads.

I made so many little notes to refer back to that I don't want to type them all up. LOL Highlights of what I found interesting: this was the first generation of small families that allowed for teenagers/twent...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Sheryl Kirby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, pop-culture

A nice overview of the Roaring 20s, this struck me as a good starting point in terms of further exploration, but was mostly redundant in terms of anything new about the parts of the era that most interest me. With 3 biographies of Louise Brooks already on my shelves, Flapper didn't tell me anything new. Likewise, as other reviewers have mentioned, the chapters on clothing and style are a bit light, and there was a bit too much emphasis on the Fitzgeralds, who, while obvious flapper icons, weren'...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Ally rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

For me Zeitz has managed to strike the right balance between academic history and journalistic style making this a very entertaining read with just the right amount of substance. The main 'characters' - The Fitzgeralds, Lois Long, Clara Bow etc - were brought to life again and act as a focus to tell the story of a new 'modern' generation. I was disappointed however that the story did not play out as I had imagined it to. These were not pioneers of feminism but very confused women. The hedonism a...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm oddly fascinated with 20's culture and ideas, so I picked this book up after another fellow Goodreads friend marked it on their to-read list.

For the most part, I liked this book but I wish there wasn't so much detail given to Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Whether they defined the flapper or not, I could just pick up books on their life or read The Great Gatsby if I so chose. The same goes with the plethora of 20's era actresses and Coco Chanel. At the same time, I was sucked into this informa...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you’re looking for an in-depth look into the 1920s, or are a veteran fan of the era, this is probably not the book for you.

However, if you’ve always had an interest in the era of the Flapper, the history and culture surrounding her, and the events leading up to her emergence into the world, this is an excellent place to start.

Zeitz sets the stage throughout the book, telling of the stuffy Victorian years that lead up to the 1920s, examining the culture that spurred many women to seek change...more If you’re looking for an in-depth look into the 1920s, or are a veteran fan of the era, this is probably not the book for you.

However, if you’ve always had an interest in the era of the Flapper, the history and culture surrounding her, and the events leading up to her emergence into the world, this is an excellent place to start.

Zeitz sets the stage throughout the book, telling of the stuffy Victorian years that lead up to the 1920s, examining the culture that spurred many women to seek change and excitement in their lives, following up by painting a vivid picture of the creation and life of the Flapper, and the eventual downfall of the Jazz Age. He jumps right into the excitement with a few chapters on Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald to grab your interest, then reels back a little to give you the Victorian history that lead up to the conception of the Flapper before jumping back to the 1920s for a new look at our Modern Girls. While it may seem a little disjointed to some, I felt it was a good way of keeping my attention while simultaneously providing me with information vital to understanding the times.
You’ll be introduced to Coco Chanel, Clara Bow, and Louise Brooks, among other famous names, and given brief insight into their background, and how they contributed to the timeless image of the Flapper. While the book does focus quite a bit on the Fitzgeralds, there is still plenty of interesting information on other icons, and is quite the interesting read for those who don’t know much about Zelda and Scott.

I’ll be honest, my education on the 1920s was essentially “there were flappers, and then the depression, the end.” I learned more about American history from this one book than I’ve learned from over fourteen years of school, and it has only increased my hunger for more great historical reads. It has inspired me to look up books that have tighter focus and a more in-depth look at the times, and I feel that it has provided me with a wonderful foundation to continue my studies on the Jazz Age.
(less)

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Jan 18, 2009 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

A fun history of the women that fought against Victorian sensibilities and freed us from corsets and fought to get us the vote, jobs and birth control. This book discusses the movers and shakers of the flapper phenomena, Lois "Lipstick" Long, Zelda Fitzgerald, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, Louise Brooks and Coco Chanel. These women were mavericks but had their demons as well. Lois Long wrote racist remarks in some of her columns and came to work black and blue after her marriage to Peter Arno, Zelda...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Sharen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you enjoy social history, "Flappers" will engage you. Zeitz interweaves history with biography of the famed glitterati to illuminate an era which, in many ways, appears similar to our own.
F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda, Coco Chanel, Harold Ross, Lois Long, Peter Arno = wit and sophistication. And yet...he also reveals undercurrents of the new wave of daring feminism, the growth of consumerism, advertising and propaganda - all shaping society.
It is so healthy for us to look back and realize t...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Kevin Wright rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

How is there not a collected edition of Lois Long's articles? Smart, sexy, sophisticated...I think I'm in love. Is there a database with free access to 1920s issues of the New Yorker?

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May 02, 2011 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book should probably be renamed "Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the ADVERTISERS who made America modern" because "the flapper" was, if anything, the first example of the mass marketing trend cycles that define our entire society today. Overall, the history lesson from this book was entertaining...also sad to see how we have been bought and sold a million times over. I really did love that at the end he wrapped the whole thing up by telling us where the "main character...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Sarah added it · review of another edition

I only began this book and reached page 60 at most. It got tiring, and while the author's ideas were definitely interesting and probably true, I didn't feel like they were that important or compelling. I was reading it partially for my own questions/interest in the 1920s and part because I'm doing a project on American culture in this decade...but found it wasn't a good read for either purpose.
Side note: don't really enjoy studying the 20s AT ALL anymore. I just don't feel like there's that much...more

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Aug 18, 2010 Jules rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, historical

I adored this. Good history that's also readable is so hard to find, but Zeitz pulls it off wonderfully -- I absolutely devoured this. He keeps track of all the threads of his story, to weave together a great narrative, and he does a fantastic job not only of contextualizing the movements of the twenties (both as reaction to the Victorian period in America and as the formative period for much of modern American culture) but of looking at all sides of the issues. Zeitz is willing to take the wart...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed

It would be hard to make the topic of flappers boring and indeed the tales in this non-fiction piece are amusing and delightful. I particularly liked the way the author wove in excellent sociological analysis about the roots of feminism and the effect of modernization and industrialization on the history of women. He did a particularly nice job of neither judging these women or worshiping them, which is refreshing.

My only disappointment was the amount of space given to zelda fitzgerald. In my op...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An excellent, eminently readable non-fiction book. It is always much more interesting when an author not only discusses their main subject, but also thoroughly examines other topics that have had an impact on the main subject. The discussions of the birth of advertising as we know it, the youthful film industry and of course, fashion, both during the time of the flapper and during the Victorian era, are just as interesting as the discussions of the flappers themselves. This is not just a book ab...more

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Apr 08, 2011 BurningYourBooks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fashion, non-fiction

I can't imagine I'll ever need another book on flappers after reading this one. Zeitz is very thorough in how he approaches the subject and even though some of the chapters became a little jam-packed later on, the writing was very approachable.

Beginning with the late Victorian era, Zietz deftly maneuvers the reader throughout the rest of the 20's by using the Fitzgeralds (Zelda and Francis) as a vehicle for expounding upon the zeitgeist created by young women all over the world. It's interestin...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

wanted to read this book because it was my grandmother's youth - my mother was born in 1925.

Very enlightening about flappers but it turned into quite an education about the entire decade of the 1920's (more or less). The biggest thing I learned was that the 20s seem very similar to what's going on today in terms of technology changing things and people's perspectives on life, but then again, the 60s were like that too.

Therefore, it was a good picture of how history repeats itself over and over a...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Karolinde (Kari) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history-modern-era

It is hard to know exactly what Joshua Zeitz believes about Flappers and their place in American History. On one hand, he will extol their virtues and the liberating trends that arose out of the Flapper mystique, while on the other condemning the social ills it brought to women. And perhaps, maybe that is the point. The era of the Flapper brought increased consumerism, a change in relationships,and a rise in sexuality and promiscuity. But it also brought a new awareness of self and of society.

I...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Kara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2013

I've always liked and had an interest in the flapper and the 1920's. It seemed unusual that in such a short amount of time, not even two decades, the flapper changed the course of women in American society and it was fascinating to read about how and why this occurred. All of these changes happening at once: women entering the workforce, people moving en masse to cities, the proliferation of ready-made clothing, a whole new genre of music being played in the streets, the Feminist Movement, Prohi...more I've always liked and had an interest in the flapper and the 1920's. It seemed unusual that in such a short amount of time, not even two decades, the flapper changed the course of women in American society and it was fascinating to read about how and why this occurred. All of these changes happening at once: women entering the workforce, people moving en masse to cities, the proliferation of ready-made clothing, a whole new genre of music being played in the streets, the Feminist Movement, Prohibition and speakeasies, the movie industry and the birth of Hollywood and celebrity, and with that, the new gossip rags. It seems sad that, with the flick of a switch, the flapper was no more. The economy grew so large that it couldn't contain itself and it collapsed. Very like what just so recently happened.

Some of it I already knew about, like how the advertising business started (I have a degree in graphic design and we had to learn about it), I knew most of the authors and the Lost Generation set, the clothing and their designers (although I did not know about Mademoiselle Vionnet and Paul Poiret), and I had heard about the Hollywood starlets, but didn't know much about them so that was interesting.

Lois Long/Lipstick was a fascinating person and I would love to read more about her. Her persona reminded me of the tv series and book series "Gossip Girl". It wouldn't surprise me at all if the original author had been inspired.

I didn't realize how racist everything was, but that shouldn't really be a surprise I guess. Sadly, this book was very white-washed. African American flappers were briefly discussed, but there was no mention of musicians, or how Jazz music started, no Langston Hughes?! Come on now, his poetry is absolutely beautiful and some of the only poetry I ever liked! A Chinese American actress was mentioned, but she wasn't spoken about in depth like the other actresses in the book. I would've liked to have known where she came from and where she ended up. Jazz music was such an important part of this time period and, as an American, I take pride in it because it is one of the few art forms that America came up with and gave to the rest of the world. Think about it, most other popular music forms started elsewhere and is very old and steeped in tradition. In comparison, Jazz is very new to this world.

Also, artists of the time and the Art Deco movement was missing completely. Not even mentioned. Very disappointed with that. Cole Porter and the Ziegfeld Follies were mentioned, but they weren't the only things happening on Broadway.

Even with all that information missing, I enjoyed reading it. It was more of an incomplete summarization of an era, rather than a well thought-out history. It could've used some more psychological assessment of the people of the age. I mean, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were right there. Overall, I would consider this a good book to start off reading about the 1920s. Just don't expect A LOT of information about the era.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Kristen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-non-fiction, strong-female-characters, favorites

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a wonderfully entertaining, enlightening and thoughtful exploration of history, social changes, political evolution and, yes, fashion! If all "history books" were written as well, and as engagingly as this one is, we wouldn't have to force kids to do their homework!!

Our story begins, as is only right and proper, at the beginning - the beginning of America's Jazz Age, that is, or the arguable moment it began on a July evening in 1918, when F. Scott Fitzgerald...more I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a wonderfully entertaining, enlightening and thoughtful exploration of history, social changes, political evolution and, yes, fashion! If all "history books" were written as well, and as engagingly as this one is, we wouldn't have to force kids to do their homework!!

Our story begins, as is only right and proper, at the beginning - the beginning of America's Jazz Age, that is, or the arguable moment it began on a July evening in 1918, when F. Scott Fitzgerald met Zelda for the first time at the Mongomery Alabama Country Club. A chance meeting, the results of which would largely define an entire era.

Zelda was a "Flapper" and proud to flaunt her enjoyment of liquour, cigarettes and men, at a time when these things were shockingly scandalous.

In addition to following the colourful, but ultimately doomed relationship between Fitzgerald and Zelda, the book also explores the changing roles of women and expanding women's rights, the migration from country to cities, the expansion of the middle class consumption econonomy, and the Black Tuesday crash of 1929. There is so much packed into this 291 page book that no review will properly do it justice. It is a book that should be read.

In addition to the Fitzgeralds, we get acquainted with numerous other 20's icons: Coco Chanel, Lillian Gish, Lois "Lipstick" Long, fashion and entertainment columnist for The New Yorker, Bruce Barton - an advertising executive who wrote a "bio" about Jesus suggesting him as a major consumer and "founder of modern business", Edward Bernays the father of public relations who masterminded the ad campaign that made it okay for women to start smoking in public. And, lest we forget Ernest Hemingway, a contemporary and acquaintance of the Fitzgeralds in 1920's Paris where many American literary lions spent time.

We also take a rip-roaring trip through the various Flapper models of the fledgling motion picture industry in Hollywood: Colleen Moore, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks all of whom pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable for women of the day.

This book is chock-full of fascinating informational tid-bits and factoids about a decade that was a unique moment in history, and the author has clearly done substantial research on the era but the way he presents the info is total entertainment. By using the historical figures of the time to explore the social, political, economic and historical implications of the time it is completely intriguing.

Great book and I highly recommend it!!(less)

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“(…) the New Woman of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date—to work her own property, to live free of the strictures that governed her mother’s generation. (…) She flouted Victorian-era conventions and scandalized her parents. In many ways, she controlled her own destiny.” — 5 people liked it

“A study of fifty women conducted in 1887 revealed that the corset forcibly contracted their waists by anywhere between two and a half and six bodies. The pressure it applied to women's bodies averaged twenty-one pounds but could reach as high as eighty-eight pounds. Tight-lacing was thus akin to crushing oneself slowly from all sides. As a harsh critic of the corset noted, 'It is evident, physiologically, that air is the pabulum of life, and that the effects of a tight cord round the neck and of tight-lacing only differ in degree.... for the strangulations are both fatal. To wear tight stays is in many cases to wither, to waste and to die.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7070320-flapper-flapper?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1286629191l/7070320.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7070320-flapper-flapper?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Flapper Flapper by Joshua Zeitz[/url]

Flapper Flapper

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