I find reading literature from the era in which I am writing helps me to get the feel of the language and times. Many of the following books I’ve read over the years – AJ Cronin and Kenneth Roberts are favorite authors of mine, and I loved Nancy Drew and Laura Ingalls Wilder:
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1940
The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer, 1940
The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk, by Carolyn Keene, 1940
Oliver Wiswell by Kenneth Roberts, 1940
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, 1940
The Keyes of the Kingdom by AJ Cronin, 1941
Windswept by Mary Ellen Chase, 1941
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis, 1942
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943
Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier, 1943
Animal Farm by George Orwell, 1945
The River Road by Frances Parkinson Keyes, 1946
Lydia Bailey by Kenneth Roberts, 1947
House Divided by Ben Ames Williams, 1947 (my mom’s favorite book of all time)
The Pearl by John Steinbeck, 1947
Shannon’s Way by AJ Cronin, 1948
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, 1948
1984 also by George Orwell, 1949 (1984 was also the year I graduated)