Lost Girls: The Invention of the Flapper

In the glorious, boozy party after the First World War, a new being burst defiantly onto the world stage: the ‘flapper’. Young, impetuous and flirtatious, she was an alluring, controversial figure, celebrated in movies, fiction, plays and the pages of fashion magazines. But, as this book argues, she didn’t appear out of nowhere. Now available in paperback, this spirited, beautifully illustrated history presents a fresh look at the reality of young women’s experiences in America and Britain from the 1890s to the 1920s, when the ‘modern’ girl emerged.

Linda Simon shows us how the modern girl bravely created a culture, a look and a future of her own. Lost Girls is an illuminating history of the iconic flapper as she evolved from a problem to a temptation, and finally, in the 1920s and beyond, to an aspiration.

‘Echoing the flappers’ joy and exuberance, Simon’s history positively sizzles on the page. It is a story of booze, dance and danger.‘ - BBC History Magazine

’[A] fascinating study of the phenomenon known as the flapper.‘ - History Books of the Year, Daily Mail