6 Novels Set in the 1970s

Written in the style of a modern oral history look back at the 1970s, journalist S. Sunny Shelton traces the history of the beloved, innovative, genre-defying musical duo Opal & Neb. Opal is a black female music icon who unexpectedly teams up with a British man named Nev. Their music sparked a movement, but being a Bonfire figure wasn’t as lucrative as Nev’s. As things move towards the reunion concert, old secrets are revealed.

New York City in the 1970s was coming apart at the seams. Due to the economic conditions and counterculture of the time, the city was in a period of rebirth. Harlem remains a cultural center, and this book follows three important years in Ray Carney’s life. Trying to establish a legitimate career, he comes into contact with blaxploitation film sets, unscrupulous opportunists (politicians), and constant neighborhood drama.

Feminist history typically celebrates contraception as a moment of freedom and self-determination for all women. However, the history of the development of these treatments is incredibly complex. Looking back from 2016 to 1973, Sybil Townsend reflects on her days at a federally funded family planning clinic in Montgomery, Alabama. When two very young girls, apparently prepubescent, are forced to undergo sterilization, she begins to question what they are doing and uncovers the systemic injustices perpetrated against thousands of poor black girls. Novels such as these are crucial in constructing the history of women’s rights, especially in understanding how the acquisition of bodily autonomy was used as a weapon against poor women, especially poor black women.

Starting in the summer of 1978, this is the perfect story about a second chance at love late in life. When Erica and Laure meet in Paris, the immediate attraction between them is a mixture of fate and the romance swirling around them. They indulge in the excesses of Paris and each other. Even after the summer ends, they keep in touch sporadically. Much later, that beautiful summer still brings them together and they think about what it truly means to be together.

Jasmine is a funny and relatable teen protagonist who wants to graduate high school and start a real life as New York City’s coolest music journalist. In order to secure her college application, she runs for class president (after stating in her application that she already was). However, because of the 1978 Iranian revolution, she and her Iranian family are considered enemies by neighboring countries. Jasmine wants to move forward with her life, but reconciling competing priorities isn’t easy.

In the summer of 1976, London experienced one of the worst heatwaves on record. Gretta, an Irish matriarch, is suffering even more from this terrifying weather phenomenon because her husband has recently gone missing. Her three adult children, Michael, Monica and Aoife, return to help her and figure out what happened. When the group returns to Ireland, more family secrets are uncovered and everyone is forced to confront old wounds.