Vintage Kindle finds for 1920’s-40’s

By Kitty Lapin Agile on February 18, 2014 • ( 0 )

I’ve been stuck at home in need of serious distraction, and as mentioned before on the blog I’m enjoying immersion into the culture of the early 20th century.

Technology has been what has saved my sanity, with movies on Youtube and Netflix and books downloaded to my Kindle.

Youtube has tons of movies from the time, including silents. I have also downloaded some wonderful books from the era, which have found a new audience via the Kindle.

Vintage books are great!

The “Miss Buncle” series has been a real delight. Before Amazon and Kindle this book would probably have been a rare find in a used book store. It starts with “Miss Buncle’s Book”. What happens when a spinster in a small town decides to write about her neighbors? Marcel Proust and later on Truman Capote found out in real life what happens. The people you wrote about hate you! Of course, in this story the town doesn’t know who the real author of the book is, but the suspicions are many.

The series is light reading, but the books are filled with characters you enjoy reading about. I found myself feeling sad when I noticed I was reaching the end of any of the books in the series.

The next in the series is “Miss Buncle Married”.

Then it’s “The Two Mrs.Abbots”, which takes the reader into the WWII years.

One of the best books for understanding the “home front” during WWII in the UK is “Henrietta’s War”. It was written during the war, by a doctor’s wife. The day to day dangers on the home front, as well as what was asked of the civilian population, was quite moving. This was educational as well as entertaining. While fiction, I’m sure the book reflects real people and situations. There is also “Henrietta Sees It Through”, where we get the rest of the war!

Also there are new books, being written in the style of the first part of the 20th century. While not perfect, the mysteries of Clara Benson are good light reading. I enjoyed the first and third stories, the middle one was a bit of a disappointment. I hope to see more mystery books by her available soon.

Any suggestions from readers for literature like the above would be most welcome!