back to the 1950s

Step back in time with our curated list of 1950s books! Discover classic novels, bestsellers, and hidden gems that defined the golden era of literature. Perfect for vintage book lovers and nostalgia seekers.

Item Not Found
ID: 0966335201
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0590031287
(Type: books)
The Outsiders Cover
Book

The Outsiders

by S. E. Hinton

Over 50 years of an iconic classic! This international bestseller and inspiration for a beloved movie is a heroic story of friendship and belonging. No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far. The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction that laid the groundwork for the YA genre. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. "The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." —The New York Times "Taut with tension, filled with drama." —The Chicago Tribune "[A] classic coming-of-age book." —Philadelphia Daily News A New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book A Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Item Not Found
ID: 0061042781
(Type: books)
Peachtree Road 10th Anniv Edition Cover
Book

Peachtree Road 10th Anniv Edition

by Anne Rivers Siddons

Tenth anniversary edition! Set amidst the grandeur of Old Southern aristocracy, here is a novel that chronicles the turbulent changes of a great city--Atlanta--and tells the story of love and hate between a man and a woman. When Lucy comes to live with her cousin, Sheppard, and his family in the great house on Peachtree Road, she is an only child, never expecting that her reclusive young cousin will become her lifelong confidant and the source of her greatest passion and most terrible need. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
Item Not Found
ID: 0694523453
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0060935979
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B00009V2NR
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0060505885
(Type: books)
Lucia, Lucia Cover
Book

Lucia, Lucia

by Adriana Trigiani

The daughter of an Italian immigrant family in 1950 Greenwich Village, Lucia Sartori pursues a career in the fashion industry until she falls in love with a handsome stranger, who must win over her traditional family to marry her.
Item Not Found
ID: 0764127276
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 1888054808
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0688153895
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 1560251840
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 1931921768
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0967004705
(Type: books)
Peyton Place Cover
Book

Peyton Place

 

No summary available.
Durable Goods Cover
Book

Durable Goods

by Elizabeth Berg

On the hot Texas army base she calls home, Katie spends the lazy days of her summer waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for Dickie Mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to blossom; waiting for the beatings to stop. Since their mother died, Katie and her older sister, Diane, have struggled to understand their increasingly distant, often violent father. While Diane escapes into the arms of her boyfriend, Katie hides in her room or escapes to her best friend’s house—until Katie’s admiration for her strong-willed sister leads her on an adventure that transforms her life. Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growth, the pain of change, the nearly visible vibrations that connect people, this beautiful novel by the bestselling author of Open House reminds us how wonderful—and wounding—a deeper understanding of life can be.
Joy School Cover
Book

Joy School

by Elizabeth Berg

In this exquisite new novel by bestselling writer Elizabeth Berg, a young woman falls in love -- and learns how sorrow can lead to an understanding of joy. Katie, the narrator, has relocated to Missouri with her distant, occasionally abusive father, and she feels very much alone: her much-loved mother is dead; her new school is unaccepting of her; and her only friends fall far short of being ideal companions. When she accidentally falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy. He is handsome, far older than she, and married, but she is entranced. As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie's awareness of the pain and intensity first love can bring. Beautifully written in Berg's irresistible voice, Joy School portrays the soaring happiness of real love, the deep despair one can feel when it goes unrequited, and the stubbornness of hope that will not let us let go. Here also is recognition that love can come in many forms and offer many different things. Joy School illuminates, too, how the things that hurt the most can sometimes teach us the lessons that really matter. About Durable Goods, Elizabeth Berg's first novel, Andre Dubus said, "Elizabeth Berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, loneliness, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems." The same will be said of Joy School, Elizabeth Berg's most luminous novel to date.
Item Not Found
ID: 0743411358
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0380728060
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0380728079
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 0380728052
(Type: books)
Fifteen Cover
Book

Fifteen

by Beverly Cleary

It seems too good to be true. The most popular boy in school has asked Jane out -- and she's never even dated before. Stan is tall and good-looking, friendly and hard-working -- everything Jane ever dreamed of. But is she ready for this? Suppose her parents won't let her go? What if she's nervous and makes a fool of herself? Maybe he'll think she's too young. If only she knew all the clever things to say. If only she were prettier. If only she were ready for this... With her usual warmth, perceptiveness, and humor, Beverly Cleary creates the joys and worries of a young girl's first crush.
The Wanderers Cover
Book

The Wanderers

by Richard Price

The Wanderers, a teenage gang in the 1960s Bronx, are coming of age and drifting apart. Tormented by cold-hearted girls and cold-blooded ten-year-olds, maniacal gangs and murderous parents, they are caught between the juveniles and the adults. This is the acclaimed writer's first book, which he wrote when he was only twenty-four, and the basis for a major feature film.