The flapper, whose antics were immortalized in the stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the cartoons of John Held Jr. was the heroine of the Jazz Age. With her short hair and a short skirt, with turned-down hose and powdered knees — the flapper must have seemed to her mother (the proper Gibson girl of an earlier generation) like a rebel. Breaking free of home and tradition, the typical flapper was a young women who was considered a little fast and even a little brazen. Mostly, the flapper offended the older generation because she defied conventions of acceptable female behavior. The flapper was “modern.” Traditionally, women’s hair had been worn long. The flapper wore it short, or bobbed. She might appear androgynous. And, she used make-up, which, heaven forbid, she might well apply in public. The flapper also wore loose fitting dresses which often exposed her arms as well as her legs from the knees down. Flappers, however, did more than symbolize a revolution in fashion or behavior — they embodied the modern spirit of the Jazz Age.
“They’re all desperadoes, these kids, all of them with any life in their veins; the girls as well as the boys; maybe more than the boys.” — from Flaming Youth, the bestselling novel by Warner Fabian
In her own way, the silent film star Louise Brooks embodied the Jazz Age. Her rise as a personality and as a film star was in keeping with the central phenomenon of the flapper era — the worship of youth. Brooks’ exuberant social life echoed the flamboyant tenor of the times, while her social circle included the notable figures who helped define the era – notables such as composer George Gershwin, actress Clara Bow, and writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Benchley and Anita Loos. Prior to her career in Hollywood, Brooks appeared in New York stage productions like the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies. Her tenure on stage, and later in the movies, brought her into contact with the wealthy, the artistic and the socially glamorous figures of the 1920’s.
Brooks was painted by Vargas, photographed by Edward Steichen, and served as the inspiration for John H. Striebel’s long running flapper-inspired cartoon, “Dixie Dugan” (which was later re-titled “Show Girl”). In the 1920’s, Brooks also modeled, and appeared occasionally in fashion advertisements. Her sleek, boyish figure and signature bob helped define the flapper look.
As an actress, Brooks’ first on-screen role as a flapper was in the 1926 film A Social Celebrity. Brooks would also play flapper-like characters in Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em (1926), Just Another Blonde (1926), and significantly Rolled Stockings (1927), a “youth picture” aimed at the younger generation. To the public at large, however, actresses like bobbed hair Colleen Moore, Joan Crawford (star of the popular 1928 film Our Dancing Daughters) and Clara Bow (the so-called “It” girl) symbolized the flapper as actress.”
Along with once popular and now mostly forgotten authors of the time – such as Elinor Glyn (author of It) and Percy Marks (author of The Plastic Age), the one writer most identified with the roaring 20’s is F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940). A handsome and gregarious man who was often moody and retrospective, Fitzgerald became famous with the publication of his first novel This Side of Paradise (1920). Fitzgerald was among the first writers to draw attention to the new post-WWI sophistication, particularly such phenomena as petting parties and youthful love affairs. Fitzgerald’s books were such a success that he became a kind of king to American youth; his queen was his beautiful, witty (and emotionally unstable) wife Zelda.
| THE FLAPPER by Dorothy Parker
The Playful flapper here we see, She nightly knocks for many a goal Her golden rule is plain enough – |
This celebrity couple became nearly as well known for their map cap antics as for his writing. One famous incident involved them splashing in a public fountain. They also rode on the hoods of taxis, disrupted plays by laughing at the sad parts and weeping over jokes, and entertained lavishly at parties (during Prohibition) where alcohol was freely available. To foot the bill for their extravagant lifestyle, Fitzgerald wrote dozens of short stories for the leading magazines of the day. Both his stories and his novels record — and partly served to create – the period we call The Jazz Age.
Fitzgerald’s novels include The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) and The Great Gatsby (1925). The latter was filmed by Herbert Brenon in 1926. Unfortunately, it is now considered lost. Fitzgerald’s best known short story is certainly “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” which is included in Flappers and Philosophers (1920). Other story collections include Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) and All the Sad Young Men (1926). Over the last few decades, various publishers have reissued Fitzgerald’s books with smart looking covers evocative of the time in which they were written. (One even featured Louise Brooks on the cover.) Also now published is The Jazz Age (New Directions, 1996), which gathers Fitzgerald’s reportage from the time. There are many worthwhile biographies of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Movies have been made of their lives, and from Scott’s books Besides the well known and always quotable Dorothy Parker (1893 – 1967), of whom their is an excellent bio-pic, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), one other writer whose novels, scripts and other writings capture the spirit of the times is Anita Loos (1893 – 1981). While still a schoolgirl, Loos made a resolution never to be bored. Years later, to offset the tedium of a train trip, she began sketching a story about a gold-haired girl named Lorelei Lee. The sketch grew into the short novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925), which became such a bestseller it was serialized in Chinese. It and the sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1928) have been reissued many times. As amusing, insightful period pieces, these two short novels are written as the diaries of a flapper who travels to Europe, meets “everyone” and returns to America to marry a millionaire. Later, Loos authored a number of volumes of autobiographical essays and memoirs such as A Girl Like I (1966), Kiss Hollywood Goodbye (1974), and others. Each contains a handful of references to Louise Brooks and other personalities of the roaring ’20’s. More than any other illustrator, John Held, Jr’s comic art captures the style and exuberant tenor of the time. If F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the dialogue for the era – its been said – John Held Jr. drew its portrait. Like Fitzgerald, Held depicted with irony the superficial glitter of an age he nevertheless loved. Held’s work – which often depicted flappers and their collegiate male admirers – frequently appeared in publications like Life, Vanity Fair, and The Smart Set. One book on the artist is Shelley Armitage’s illustrated biographical study, John Held, Jr.: Illustrator of the Jazz Age (Syracuse University Press, 1987). Devotees of the era’s comic art will also enjoy the two volume paperback set Cartoons of the Roaring Twenties (Fantagraphics Books, 1992). Each volume contains hundreds of illustrations by a number of artist and illustrators. |
There are many worthwhile books centering on the Jazz Age. They include biographies, histories, pictorials and fiction from the time. Here are some that I own, have read, or liked. Each are recommended. I have tried to link to as many citations as possible: the titles that are linked link to readable copies of the books housed on the Internet Archive. Other unlinked titles may be available through your local library as either a print of e-book. Check them out!
Allen, Frederick Lewis. Only Yesterday and Since Yesterday: A Popular History of the ’20s and ’30s. Bonanza Books, 1986.
— the first volume, Only Yesterday, was first published in 1931, just after the events in the book took place
Baritz, Loren. The Culture of the Twenties. Macmillan, 1985.
— a look at this boisterous period in American history
Cowley, Malcolm and Robert Cowley. Fitzgerald and the Jazz Age. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1966.
— a literary look at the roaring twenties
Davis, Ronald L. The Social and Cultural Life of the 1920s. Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1972.
— a collection of essays on social and cultural life, manners and customs, etc…
Douglas, Ann. Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s. Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1996.
— very interesting: contains a handful of references to Louise Brooks
Earle, David M et al. Where All Good Flappers Go : Essential Stories of the Jazz Age. Pushkin Press 2023.
— newly published …. “Vivacious, charming, irreverent, the flapper is a girl who knows how to have a roaring good time. In this collection of short stories, she’s a party goer, a socialite, a student, a shop girl, and an acrobat. She bobs her hair, shortens her skirt, searches for a husband and scandalizes her mother. She’s a glittering object of delight, and a woman embracing a newfound independence. Bringing together stories from widely adored writers and newly discovered gems, principally sourced from the magazines of the period, this collection is a celebration of the outrageous charm of an iconic figure of the Jazz Age.”
Fabian, Warner. Flaming Youth. Boni and Liverlight, 1923.
— the popular novel which helped define a generation
Fass, Paula S. The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920s. Oxford University Press, 1977.
— an academic study
Mackrell, Judith. Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation. Macmillan, 2013.
— biographies of six extraordinary women who, in their very different ways, epitomize the 1920s
Marks, Percy. The Plastic Age. Grosset & Dunlap, 1924.
— the bestselling novel, illustrated with scenes from the Clara Bow film
Zeitz, Joshua. Flapper: The Notorious Life and Scandalous Times of the First Thoroughly Modern Woman. Crown, 2006.
— a good general interest history
Along with books, there are a number of worthwhile websites and webpages devoted to the Jazz Age, including those focusing on its history, fashion, and personalities. Some that I found are listed below. But before you explore them, check out the video shown here. It is a swell little history of the time. Also, be sure and check out the curated list of video documentaries about the 1920s, flappers, the Lost Generation, etc… on the LBS YouTube account (see right hand column once you click through).
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