Sophie Kinsella - Twenties Girl

A few years back, British novelist Sophie Kinsella wrote a book called Twenties Girl. Published in the United States in 2009, it tells the story of a friendship between two young women. One is a twenty-something contemporary woman, the other the ghost of a 1920s flapper.

In an interview from the time, Kinsella, the popular author of Shopaholic novels, said "I've always loved the glamour and spirit of the 1920s, and the idea came to me of a flapper ghost. A feisty, fun, glamorous girl who adored to dance and drink cocktails and get her own way. I wanted her to be a determined character who would blast into the life of someone with no warning and cause havoc. I then decided she should haunt a thoroughly modern girl, with all the culture clashes and comedy that would bring."

"Having come up with this idea I loved it, so it then remained to plunge myself into 1920s research, which was no hardship at all, as I find the era fascinating. I researched vintage make-up, vintage dresses, read fiction from the period, investigated 1920s slang, and tried to channel as much I could of those feisty flappers who cut their hair short (shock!), smoked cigarettes in public (shock!), had sex (shock!) and generally rebelled in all the outrageous ways they could."

This book has only recently been called to my attention, that's why I am writing about it now. However, what's striking is the book's visual allusion to Louise Brooks, especially Eugene Richee's pearls portrait. The allusion to Brooks is even more noticeable on the cover of the Italian edition.

Would love to hear from anyone who has read this novel.