Book Riot | 13.05.2026 17:05
Historical fiction is a site of postmodernism. In whatever historical period a book takes place, we all bring associations and images to that time period. The recent past is obviously easier to conjure and reference with the visual support of film and photography. The 1970s were an especially important time in cultural history in the United States. After the end of the 1960s and the intense cultural upheaval, people were either searching for stability or looking for more freedom. The past of the American Dream was gone, and everyone was looking for something new. The rise of neo-Hollywood, musical genres like punk, and innovative art movements all mixed together to create a visually rich, innovative decade that many writers still draw from for inspiration. Novels set in the 1970s take on the arts and culture of the time, as well as the world-shaking anxieties humming under the surface.
