Shocking books in the 1930s and 40s

PastMidnight · Dec 12, 2007

Can someone give me the names of some books or authors that were considered to be shocking in the 1930s and early 1940s? They can't be so shocking or scandalous that they wouldn't be available in the library (the scene takes place in the library), but enough that a girl might think she needs to sneak them behind her mother's back.

Sandi LeFaucheur · Dec 12, 2007

Lady Chatterley's Lover would probably be the most famous one. But I don't think it would be available in libraries, so I guess it doesn't count. Married Love by Marie Stopes might fit the bill.

zornhau · Dec 12, 2007

Comingof Age in Samoa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa
Though it would be unlikely to be on an open shelf unless the librarian hadn't bothered to check its contents.

Stacia Kane · Dec 12, 2007

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor is a HUGE one, but it was written in 1944 so I don't know if that's too late for you to use.

FinbarReilly · Dec 12, 2007

Try this. Fanny Hill is probably your best bet....

FR

johnnysannie · Dec 12, 2007

"An American Tragedy" Theodore Dreiser 1930

This one still should be in libraries or readily available....I have a copy

"Back Street" Fannie Hurst 1931

Harder to find but not impossible - I have an original copy

"The Grapes of Wrath" John Steinbeck 1931

Now a classic and very available

"The Fountainhead "Ayn Rand 1943

" A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" Betty Smith 1943
I read this one as a kid and still list it as a favorite but one of my aunts, an adult in the 1940's, always said it was "the dirtiest book she ever read"

Something to keep in mind that you probably already know is that what was shocking then is tame now. And it wasn't everyone who was shocked - it was just that for the first time some things were included in literature that had not been before.

PastMidnight · Dec 12, 2007

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I guess I should clarify, as I think it may have been misunderstood. What I meant was, books or authors that were somewhat shocking or controversial (don't necessarily need to be scandalous) in the 30s/early 40s that would have still been in the library back then. I was able to come with a list of controversial books from that period but, as someone who wasn't alive then, it is hard for me to know just how universally such books were considered shocking and whether they would have still been available despite how they were regarded. You've all given me some titles that weren't on my original list (and thanks for the helpful link, Finbar!).

johnnysannie · Dec 12, 2007

Most - if not all - of the ones on my list were best sellers at the time and widely read but they were still considered controversial and even banned in some places. Hope that tidbit helps!

(I wasn't alive then either

)

tallus83 · Dec 12, 2007

Ullysses by James Joyce.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Dec 12, 2007

Sister Carrie by Drieser

Also shocking in that era ... Fannie Hurst (Imitation of Life) and Olive Higgins Prouty (Stella Dallas)

Chickie (author forgotten) ... she has an illigitimate child!

Eleanor Glyn's books were considered racy, mostly because the heroines weren't punished for their sins.

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/60october/library.htm

General Joy · Dec 12, 2007

Sanctuary by William Faulkner. It was shocking, but I believe it probably would have still been in libraries.

Shocking books in the 1930s and 40s

PastMidnight

Oponionated

Sandi LeFaucheur

zornhau

Swordsman

Stacia Kane

Girl Detective

FinbarReilly

johnnysannie

PastMidnight

Oponionated

johnnysannie

tallus83

Tsu Dho Nimh

General Joy

general soothsayer